Every day around the world, individuals and families decide to immigrate to a new country. Some do so to escape oppressive regimes, others for personal reasons, and others to seek brighter financial futures. Regardless of immigrants' reasons for leaving their homelands, some nations are more likely than others to welcome them with open arms.
Recent Gallup Polls in three Western countries that accept a large number of immigrants -- the United States, Canada, and Great Britain* -- reveal that the Canadian people are much more positively oriented toward immigration than are Americans and Britons.
Melting Pot or Not?
Canada
For its size, Canada is sparsely populated and has long relied on immigrants to keep its population growing. Canada's number of recent immigrants, as a percentage of the population, is actually three times higher than that of the United States. Twenty percent of Canadians, far more than the 7% of Americans and 5% of Britons, would like to see immigration increase in their country. A majority of Canadians would like to see immigration levels stay the same, and 27% would like to see them decreased.
United States
According to a January 2005 U.S. Gallup Poll, a slim majority (52%) believes immigration should be decreased, while roughly 4 in 10 (39%) think it should remain the same, and just 7% think immigration should be increased.
Past Gallup polling on immigration has suggested that Americans' views of immigration have been influenced by economic conditions and national security. At one point during difficult economic times in the mid-1990s, a sizable majority of Americans (65%) thought immigration should be decreased. That percentage had declined by the turn of the millennium, but rose again in 2001 following the 9/11 terror attacks.
Great Britain
Britons are even less supportive of immigration than Americans are. In Great Britain, about two-thirds (65%) of residents want to see immigration decreased, 27% want it to remain the same, and just 5% of Britons want immigration increased. Immigration has skyrocketed in Great Britain since the European Union expanded to include several Eastern European countries in the spring of 2004. Recent figures from the British Home Office show 170,000 Eastern Europeans applied for work in Great Britain during in the first 11 months after EU expansion -- far more than in any prior year. This influx could be helping fuel disenchantment about immigration among Britons.
So, How Much?
In Great Britain and Canada, Gallup asked those who say they want to see immigration decreased if they want it to be decreased a moderate amount, decreased a lot, or stopped altogether. Far fewer Canadians than Britons overall want immigration decreased, but opinion among those who do want it decreased in the two countries is more moderate in Canada than in Britain. The roughly one-quarter of Canadians who say they want immigration decreased breaks down into 19% who want immigration decreased a moderate amount, 5% who want it decreased a lot, and 3% who want it stopped altogether. Among Britons, 29% want immigration decreased a moderate amount, 21% want it decreased a lot, and 15% want it stopped altogether.
*Results in the United States are based on telephone interviews with and 1,005 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Jan. 3-5, 2005. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup USA.
Results in Canada are based on telephone interviews with 1,006 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted April 11-17, 2005. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup Canada.
Results in Great Britain are based on telephone interviews with 1,012 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted April 5-18, 2005. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by Gallup UK.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
