In this instant ‘ricochet’ age of effects we live in, Uncle Sam might well say being America isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For Brand USA, the big smart kid on the global block, opting in or out on pretty much anything in the world yard draws a volley of opinion. So get this from a recent Gallup poll across 154 countries representing over 98% of the world’s adult population.
- Around 13% of the world’s adults, some 630 million people, want to leave their country and move to another place permanently.
- The place about 138 million of them want to move to permanently is the USA, the top choice (The next three choices are UK-42m, Canada-37m, France-31m).
- Potential migrants who would like to permanently settle in the U.S. are most likely to come from some of the most populous countries (19m in China) in the world.
- In Liberia (37%), Sierra Leone (30%) and Dominican Republic (28%), well over 25% want to move to the US.
The pull toward America is not universal but worldwide well over 100m people dream of living in America – it remains the most popular destination for potential migrants. Economic opportunity is a key factor, indicates Gallup. For the flak America takes, it’s clear that freedom and opportunity still rule the imaginations of people across the world. Onwards, Captain America.
