India's diaspora population is the largest in the world with 16 million people from India living outside their country in 2015, according to a latest United Nations survey on international migrant trends.

The survey conducted by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) said the number of international migrants - persons living in a country other than where they were born - reached 244 million in 2015 for the world as a whole, a 41 per cent increase compared to 2000.
 

The study said that the US is the most preferred destination of the world's migrants with 47 million migrants. Germany and Russia were the joint second with about 12 million each.

Saudi Arabia (10 million), Britain (9 million) and the UAE (8 million) were the other preferred countries.

The 2015 Revision, nearly two thirds of international migrants live in Europe (76 million) or Asia (75 million), according to the Trends in International Migrant Stock.

"The rise in the number of international migrants reflects the increasing importance of international migration, which has become an integral part of our economies and societies," said Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

"Well-managed migration brings important benefits to countries of origin and destination, as well as to migrants and their families," Hongbo added.