In this article we will talk about the 20 Countries with Highest Indian Population in the World.
Overseas Indians
India has the highest population in the world, which currently stands at around 1.43 billion, followed by China at 1.41 billion. Considering the Indian population, it is no surprise that it is the leading country with the highest rates of emigration. According to the UN, the total number of emigrants from India was around 78.26 million between 1990 and 2020. According to India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the total number of overseas Indians in the world is approximately 35.42 million, as of May 2024. This number includes a total of 15.85 million non-resident Indians and nearly 19.57 million people are of Indian origin.
Overseas Indians contribute around 3.5% to their GDP through remittances. Each year, overseas Indians send a large amount of capital back to their families in India. According to the World Bank, India received around $120 billion in total remittances in 2023, almost twice the $66 billion received by Mexico. The remittance flows to India soared by over 7.5% year over year, reflecting a positive demand for skilled and less-skilled workers in the GCC countries. The highest remittance in-flow to India was from the United Arab Emirates, accounting for almost 18% of total remittance in-flow, followed by the US. The majority of Indians in the United Arab Emirates are from the working class and send money back to their families each month. The United Arab Emirates is one of the best countries to work in and make the most money, and it is also one of the countries with zero income tax.
Indians have contributed massively to the global success in all major areas including science, food, and corporations. Around 24 executives of Indian-origin lead the Fortune 500 companies. Among the US Fortune 500 firms, the Indian-origin executives employ over 2.7 million Americans and generate more than $1 trillion in revenue, as per the local media outlet, Times of India. Apart from leading large firms and multinational corporations, Indian-Americans have a major presence in the startup world. Indian-Americans have co-founded 72 out of 648 US unicorns, valued at around $195 billion, and employing more than 55,000 people. In addition, Indian-Americans have small businesses in the US, with over 60% of all US hotels owned by Indians.
With Indians having a major presence in the US businesses, they also contribute immensely to the US tax base. Indian Americans contribute an estimated 5%-6% in all income taxes, which accounts for almost $250-$300 billion in revenue for the US government. Moreover, the Indian diaspora has contributed to the research, innovation, and academia in the US. Between 1975 and 2019, the US patents obtained by Indian Americans increased from almost 2% to 10%. With that said, let’s take a look at one of the top US companies led by an Indian-American executive.
Indians Leading the Race in Disruptive Innovation
Sundar Pichai, an Indian-born overseas American, is the CEO of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). Pichai joined Google in 2004 and led the development of Google Toolbar and then Google Chrome, making it the world’s most popular internet browser. In 2014, Pichai became the lead of product and engineering for all of Google’s products and platforms, where his major achievements included the development of all the Google Apps. Under Pichai’s leadership, Google has invested in various new opportunities such as machine learning, quantum computing, and now AI. Google Cloud and YouTube have grown under Pichai, becoming two of the leading platforms in their segment. Google Cloud has the third largest market share after Microsoft and Amazon, making Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) the third biggest cloud provider by market share in 2024.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) recently posted its earnings for the second quarter of 2024. The company surpassed EPS estimates by $0.05 and reported earnings of $1.89 per share, while the revenue was around $84.74 billion, ahead of estimates by $445.49 million. Alphabet Inc.’s revenue has grown by 13.6% year over year, thanks to major growth in Google Cloud. In Q2, Google Cloud revenue was reported at $10.35 billion, up by nearly 30% from a year ago. The Cloud revenue reached its all-time high after crossing the $10 billion mark for the first time. The highest source of revenue for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) remains its ‘Search’ platform as it generated around $48.51 billion in revenue, up by 13.8% year over year. AI is making a major difference for the tech giant as the company improves its performance in Search, YouTube ads, Google Services, and other segments. Here is what Sundar Pichai said during the Q2 2024 earnings call:
“In Q2, Cloud reached some major milestones. Quarterly revenues crossed the $10 billion mark for the first time, at the same time pass the $1 billion mark in quarterly operating profit. Year-to-date, our AI infrastructure, and generative AI solutions for Cloud customers have already generated billions in revenues and are being used by more than 2 million developers. As I spoke about last quarter, we are uniquely well-positioned for the AI opportunity ahead.
Our AI product advances come from our long-standing foundation of research leadership, as well as our global network of infrastructure. In Q2, we announced our first data center and cloud region in Malaysia, and expansion projects in Iowa, Virginia, and Ohio. Our TPUs are a key bet here, too. Trillium is the sixth generation of our custom AI accelerator, and it’s our best performing and most energy efficient TPU to-date. It achieves a near 5 times increase in peak compute performance per chip and a 67% more energy efficient compared to TPU v5e. And the latest Nvidia Blackwell platform, will be coming to Google Cloud in early 2025.”
Considering the overall growth of the company, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) seems to be on the right track with AI development. The company is expected to earn $7.65 per share in 2024, up by almost 31% year over year. Compared to the 5-year average, GOOG is trading at a discount price of almost 14.77%, as of August 3.
At the moment, GOOG has an average price target of $205, which implies an upside of 22% from current levels. Out of 64 analysts, 78% are bullish on the stock and have a ‘Buy’ rating.
As Sundar Pichai leads Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to new heights, it’s time to take a look at the 20 countries with highest Indian population in the world.
William Perugini/Shutterstock.com
Our Methodology
To gather the list of countries with highest Indian population in the world, we compiled the data of overseas Indians from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Government of India. The data is updated as of May 2024. The countries with highest Indian population in the world are ranked in ascending order of population of overseas Indians.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
20 Countries with Highest Indian Population in the World
20. Fiji
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 316,081
Indians initially moved to Fiji as laborers to work in cane plantations. Fiji has around 2,283 non-resident Indians and 313,798 are persons of Indian origin. Fiji ranks 20th among the countries with the highest Indian population in the world.
19. Guyana
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 321,500
Just like in Fiji, the majority of Indians came to Guyana as laborers to replace Africans in plantation work. Today Indo-Guyanese work in plantation agriculture, and many of them are independent farmers and landowners.
18. Bahrain
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 327,807
Most of the overseas Indians in Bahrain are laborers and work in the construction sector. Around 323,908 non-resident Indians and 3,899 persons of Indian origin were living in Bahrain, as of May 2024. Bahrain ranks among the countries with the highest Indian population in the world.
17. Trinidad & Tobago
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 549,545
Overseas Indians in Trinidad & Tobago are mainly focused on the food industry. With a total overseas population of 549,545 Indians, Trinidad & Tobago ranks 17th among the countries with the highest Indian population in the world.
16. Singapore
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 650,000
Singapore has a small district named Little India with a vibrant culture including temples and mosques, street art, and brightly painted shophouses. Singapore has 350,000 non-resident Indians and 300,000 people of Indian origin.
15. Oman
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 686,635
Oman ranks 15th among the countries with the highest Indian population in the world. Oman has a mix of Indian population including unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers.
14. Nepal
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 700,004
Nepal is a neighboring country of India in the North. Nepal and India have an open border allowing easy access to people of both countries. Nepal has the 14th highest Indian population in the world.
13. Qatar
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 836,784
Qatar has around 836,784 overseas Indians which consist of a majority of 835,175 non-resident Indians and only 1,609 people of Indian origin.
12. Mauritius
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 894,848
Mauritius is the only African country with over 500,000 Indians. Back in the 1700s, Indians were brought to Mauritius as artisans and masons. Today there are around 894,848 overseas Indians living in Mauritius, ranking it 12th among the countries with the highest Indian population in the world.
11. Australia
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 976,000
Indians in Australia are associated with different sectors. Around 350,000 are non-resident Indians and 626,000 are those of Indian origin.
10. Kuwait
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 995,528
Kuwait has around 995,528 Indians with a mix of unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers. Kuwait ranks 10th among the countries with the highest Indian population in the world.
9. Sri Lanka
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 1,607,500
Sri Lanka has only 7,500 non-resident Indians and the majority of Indians in the island country have South Indian origin. There are around 1.6 million Indian people living in Sri Lanka.
8. South Africa
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 1,700,000
South Africa has 60,000 non-resident Indians and a majority of 1.64 million people of Indian origin live in South Africa. With a total Indian population of 1.7 million, South Africa is one of the countries with the highest Indian population in the world.
7. United Kingdom
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 1,864,318
The United Kingdom has one of the largest communities of Indians across the nation. Just under 1.9 million people live in the United Kingdom, which is one of the highest Indian population living overseas.
6. Myanmar
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 2,002,660
Myanmar has an Indian population of just over 2 million and has the 6th highest Indian population in the world. There are around 2,660 non-resident Indians and almost 2 million individuals of Indian origin living in Myanmar.
5. Saudi Arabia
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 2,463,509
The growing economy of Saudi Arabia is attracting skilled labor and a huge number of Indian people have moved for job purposes. With an Indian population of just under 2.5 million, Saudi Arabia ranks fifth among the countries with the highest Indian population in the world.
4. Canada
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 2,875,954
Canada is one of the leading countries with highest number of immigrants from around the world. The majority of Indians living in Canada are Punjabi and a few of them are part of Canadian politics.
3. Malaysia
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 2,914,127
Malaysia had the third highest Indian population in the world. A larger number of Indian Tamils reside in Malaysia. Malaysia has around 163,127 non-resident Indians and nearly 2.7 million individuals are of Indian origin.
2. United Arab Emirates
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 3,568,848
The United Arab Emirates attracts a lot of immigrants from around the world due to its government policy to attract workforce and foreign investment. There are over 3.5 million Indians living in the United Arab Emirates.
1. United States
Population of Overseas Indians (2024): 5,409,062
The United States is the ‘land of opportunities’ and has the largest overseas population. According to the US Census Bureau, the US foreign-born population reached a record 46.1 million in 2022, which was around 13.9% of the total US population. There are over 5.4 million overseas Indians living in the US, as of May 2024. Indians are the largest ‘Asian-alone’ group in the US. Indians are working at different levels in the US from the top to bottom. Two of the most famous overseas Indians in the US are Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella. Both Pichai and Nadella lead two of the largest companies in terms of market capitalization, Alphabet and Microsoft, respectively.
Indian Americans contribute massively to the US economy. There are around 24 Fortune 500 companies led by Indian-origin CEOs, collectively employing 2.7 million Americans and generating approximately $1 trillion in revenue. In addition, Indian Americans own around 60% of all US hotels and contribute 5% to 6% of all income taxes. The United States is the country with highest Indian population in the world.
At Insider Monkey, we delve into a variety of topics, however, our expertise lies in identifying the top-performing stocks. Currently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology stands out as one of the most promising fields. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVDA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: Analyst Sees a New $25 Billion “Opportunity” for NVIDIA and Jim Cramer is Recommending These 10 Stocks in June
Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.
