Singapore is Top country to migrate to!

[neddy]

ASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup's Potential Net Migration Index finds Singapore, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, and Kuwait atop the list of countries that could see the highest net adult population growth from international migration. If all adults worldwide who desire to migrate permanently to other countries actually moved where they wanted today, each country would see their adult populations double or even triple.

A Potential Net Migration Index (PNMI) score is the estimated number of adults who would like to move permanently out of a country if the opportunity arose, subtracted from the estimated number who would like to move into it, as a proportion of the total adult population. The initial index released in 2009 was based on 135 countries and about 260,000 interviews conducted between 2007 and mid-2009. The latest results include 148 countries or areas surveyed through early 2010 and a total of about 350,000 interviews.

The higher the resulting positive PNMI value, the larger the potential net adult population gain. For example, in Switzerland, subtracting the estimated 800,000 Swiss adults who would like to move to another country if they had the opportunity from the 10 million adults who would like to move to Switzerland and dividing that number by the total Swiss adult population (6 million) results in a PNMI value -- or a net adult population gain -- of +150%.

Except for Switzerland and Kuwait, which are new to the index, the list of countries with the highest positive index scores remains relatively unchanged from the first release. The United States, the top desired destination among all potential migrants, continues to place farther down the list, after Canada and several other developed nations. It's important to keep in mind, though, that a country's population size affects how high or low its index score is and its ranking.


http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/08/20/where_would_people_live_in_a_borderless_world

 

[Xisiqomelir]

I've been looking at Switzerland actually, and it's pretty decent IF you're the appropriate sort of potential migrant.

The Swiss barricades that most of the world can't surmount:

-12 years residency

This is goddamn hard, especially since getting your permit to get in and start building the 12 years is amazingly difficult for a non-EU citizen.

-Fluency in a Swiss national language

Leaving aside the joke option of Romansch, most people don't speak German or Italian unless they happen to BE German, Austrian, Luxembourgish or Italian. This leaves French as the most likely language for people to already have proficiency in, with La Belle France itself, Belgium, Montreal and the French-speaking African former colonies as potential sources. However, there aren't that many French-speaking cantons in Switzerland, and those are pretty exclusive places (Vaud has the highest proportion of billionaires/sq mile in the world), which brings me to the final point:

-You have to be fucking loaded

Give up the thought of coming here and THEN finding a job and striking it big. Do that wherever you are first, and then Switzerland might consider you if you can hit the first two points.

I like my current situation in America, but Switzerland is probably where I'll want to raise the kiddicles once they show up.