What does immigration rate measure?

• A. The number of people entering a country each year for every thousand of the population
• B. The number of people leaving a country each year for every thousand of the population
• C. The total population size of a country
• D. The birth rate of a country

Answer: (A)

Immigration rate measures the inflow of people entering a country over a given time, usually a year, relative to the country’s population. It is expressed as the number of immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants, which lets us compare countries of different sizes. This focuses on people moving into the country, not those leaving (emigration), not the total population, and not the birth rate. For example, if 60,000 people immigrate to a country with a mid-year population of 6,000,000, the immigration rate is 60,000 divided by 6,000,000, times 1,000, which equals 10 immigrants per 1,000 people per year.