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Countries of the Indian Diaspora

Which countries outside of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have the most people of Indian origin or descent?
According to Wikipedia
Includes migrant workers who have no permanent resident status
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: October 18, 2021
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First submittedJanuary 3, 2017
Times taken38,105
Rating4.39
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#
Country
4.46 mil
United States
3.43 mil
United Arab Emirates
2.99 mil
Malaysia
2.59 mil
Saudi Arabia
2.09 mil
Myanmar
1.89 mil
United Kingdom
1.70 mil
Canada
1.50 mil
Sri Lanka
#
Country
1.49 mil
South Africa
1.03 mil
Kuwait
895 k
Mauritius
800 k
Nigeria
781 k
Oman
747 k
Qatar
660 k
Australia
650 k
Singapore
Tramp
+1
Level 72
Jan 4, 2017
No Bangladesh either?
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Jan 4, 2017
Added that to the caveat. No data exists. I would assume that Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Indian were not separate national identities until their countries split apart.
JoshPen
+4
Level 78
Oct 22, 2021
I was mildly surprised that Sri Lanka wasn't in the excluded list with India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The land bridge didn't wash out until fairly recent times. (1480, I think?) And they were under similar British rule.
Malbaby
+3
Level 71
Jan 4, 2017
I think mostly heading for where there is no language problem and little religious fanaticism.
Quizmaster
+16
Level ∞
Jan 4, 2017
Saudi Arabia?

According to Gallup, 5% of Indian adults would like to leave the country. That's about 50 million people. Obviously, that's beyond the level that the tolerant English-speaking countries are willing to absorb.

So a large number of South Asians work as laborers with few rights in Middle Eastern countries.

tshalla
+15
Level 72
Feb 25, 2017
Which ones are the tolerant English-speaking countries?
bks961
+5
Level 79
Feb 26, 2017
really tshalla?
AllenY
+1
Level 66
Feb 27, 2017
Many Indians don't speak English; a lot could probably go to non-English speaking developed countries
Quizmaster
+27
Level ∞
Mar 11, 2020
Since you asked, the tolerant English speaking countries are UK, USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. People of Indian descent have done incredibly well in those places and generally have higher incomes than the native population. That is absolutely not true of Indian workers in places like Saudi Arabia.
tshalla
+13
Level 72
Jul 8, 2020
People of Indian descent in Canada often do very well because of the points system that is the basis of Canadian immigration. Indians (and others) usually only get into the country if they already have unusual advantages (money, tertiary education, fluency in English - or, less likely, in French, etc.). It's not like a general swath of Indians come to Canada, find the society tolerant, and then climb the class ladder. Canada takes in refugees as well, but they typically make up only about 7% of all immigrants. Canada also "takes in" about as many temporary foreign workers (who have to reapply for re-entry each year and have virtually no ability to change employers or to challenge them on labour law) as immigrants with full rights.
canadry
+10
Level 65
Jul 8, 2020
Tolerantly skimming off the doctors and engineers after their education is paid for by India. Very enlightened.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 83
Jul 8, 2020
It's incredible how myopic woke Westerners can be when they're trying to talk about the treatment of minorities or the struggles that women go through in their own countries versus other places around the world. I picture one of the patients who used to come in and sit in the ER waiting room where I used to work, while we've got patients in the back who were shot in the face with a shotgun, cut near in half by a tractor trailer, or in the middle of a heart attack... meanwhile they're getting pissy because it's been an hour and we haven't sent out a team of doctors to tend to their paper cut.
EcceHomo
+1
Level 73
Mar 3, 2021
Khalid Hosseini has a tendency to juxtapose these differences when he portrays the attitudes of older Afghans (after all they have experienced) compared to the attitudes of the modern mollycoddled and westernised emigrants. It's a common theme in three of the novels I've read by him.
gzx5
+6
Level 62
Jan 9, 2022
@Quizmaster, even though the richest people in those countries are white, a big part of the reason that Indians generally do better than natives there is because western countries are often very selective of who they allow in from the under developed world. Those who are skilled will often take precedence over those who are not. Plus apart from a thifty and dog eat dog mindset people often have from living in India, India is to overtake China as the world's largest country in the not too distant future.
roleybob
+1
Level 75
Jan 9, 2022
You include USA and UK as tolerant but not Ireland.. is that intentional or an oversight?
Jerry928
+5
Level 75
Jan 4, 2017
The UAE figure is astonishing - according to Wikipedia, they are the largest ethnic group in the UAE, even more than Emiratis.
kalbahamut
+9
Level 83
Feb 25, 2017
Not difficult to accept if you've ever been to Dubai before.
Yamaneko
+8
Level 75
Feb 28, 2017
It's the same for Qatar, where Qatari people are in minority due to massive immigration from Nepal and Bangladesh if I'm not mistaken. But it doesn't bother them since they give super cheap labor while Qatari earn very high wages "employing" them (to not say "exploiting them")
oranje
+4
Level 59
Jul 8, 2020
I wouldn't call it immigration. They're on work visas as cheap labour.
Malbaby
+21
Level 71
Feb 25, 2017
In my opinion one of the best migrants to arrive anywhere are the Indian peoples. They do not carry with them the hidden agendas of the religious fanatics that many immigrant people do, they are generally intelligent, quick to learn and cheerful by personality and bring with them the wonderful cuisine of India which has become one of the favourite foods of countries lucky enough to receive great cooks with the work ethic to open up Indian Restaurants. You only have to see the popularity of Indian food in Countries such as UK and Australia, just to name two.
kalbahamut
+37
Level 83
Feb 25, 2017
"hidden agendas of the religious fanatics that many immigrant people do"-- what are you talking about? Do you mean the Pilgrims who settled in New England?
Malbaby
+5
Level 71
May 23, 2017
Don't try and outsmart yourself Kal.
redsplat
+10
Level 75
Nov 13, 2018
Well said kalbahamut.
Malbaby
+1
Level 71
Oct 29, 2021
Sycophant
JohnOfili
+1
Level 45
Feb 25, 2017
they are also the highest paid demographic in America (Indian Americans have an average income >$100,000 according to Wikipedia), which I think is interesting, considering this is over 40 times what they would be earning in their native cojntry.
kalbahamut
+10
Level 83
Feb 25, 2017
It's harder to get to the United States from India than some of these other countries. The ones who make it are often highly educated, skilled, and motivated. Not all of them, but, a higher percentage than those who go to Saudi Arabia to work as drivers, janitors, and clerks, for sure.
Yamaneko
+1
Level 75
Feb 28, 2017
kalbahamut -> Is it because they are above the cap for Green Card lottery application? It would be logical since the lottery may be the only way for less skilled / poorer people to have access permanent residency.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
Mar 4, 2017
Yamaneko to be honest I don't know exactly why. I'm just repeating what I've been told by Indians- it's much easier for them to find work and get visas to Gulf countries than to the USA. Plus, geographically, it's a lot closer.
AntiMatter8192
+1
Level 60
Oct 19, 2021
It does make sense; most of the Middle East wants cheap labour so they would make it easier to enter the country, but the USA doesn't really need it as they have grown anti-immigration over the last few years.
SundarIsaacs
+1
Level 61
Apr 12, 2017
Thanks Malbaby!
AllHailKingHomer
+6
Level 59
Jul 8, 2020
Backhanded compliment: praising something while disparaging something else
wiifly
+3
Level 50
Sep 1, 2020
They are generally intelligent and quick to learn because the U.S. mostly takes intelligent and quick to learn migrants. this is the main reason the model minority myth came up around asians. The U.S. needed to "suck up" to their asian allies in the Cold War and so they started talking about how great asians were and started giving citizenship to rich and successful asians and people started "realizing" how rich and successful asians were now that rich and successful asians were being let in.

I don't remember this all perfectly so correct me on parts I had trivial mistakes in and ridicule me for it, I would really appreciate it.

JWatson24
+7
Level 68
Apr 23, 2021
According to this, it also partially came about as a backlash against the Civil Rights Movement. Racist white people thought that they could avoid talking about Black-related issues by pointing out that another group of racial minorities were doing well, even though the real reason they chose Asians is because they were deemed less of a "threat."

Unfortunately, I'd say the model minority myth has hurt Asian-Americans more than it has helped them. Yes, Asian Americans are the highest earning group in America, but there's also a ton of income inequality in Asian communities. I've met as many South Asian cashiers, gas station workers, taxi drivers, etc. as I have doctors and engineers (for the record, I'm a Bangladeshi-American so I'm familiar with these communities). Also, as we saw recently in Atlanta and Indianapolis, Asians face plenty of violence and hate...

JWatson24
+7
Level 68
Apr 23, 2021
The model minority myth has just made it more difficult for Asians to talk about the issues they face, and we're seeing the consequences of this now with anti-Asian hate crimes on the rise.

P.S. If you think Indians aren't capable of religious fanaticism, look up "Vigilante Cow Killings" or "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh," or even just pay attention to the news. I will admit though that our food is pretty good :)

luxint
+1
Level 62
Feb 25, 2017
thats was tough
Djai
+3
Level 51
Feb 25, 2017
I could see this being a series, either with different countries of origin, or along the lines of what states have the most immigrants from the countries.
CaptainHumanLogic
+2
Level 43
Feb 26, 2017
No Australia? Wow
Malbaby
+1
Level 71
May 23, 2017
I was surprised at that 'Captain', I'm sure those numbers will change shortly and Australia will be on this list.
redsplat
+7
Level 75
Nov 13, 2018
Google "White Australia Policy." It's the name for a group of racist immigration policies that were in place until 1973. For example, the dictation test. Starting in 1901 an immigration officer would dictate a text to you...and here's the kicker: the test could be given in any European language (and even if you passed it the first time, they could re-administer it in any other European language they wanted!).

Here's one 50-word English sample from the test, in all its awesomeness: "If the land is ploughed when wet the furrows may, and in all probability will, wear a more finished appearance, and will be more pleasant to the eye, but land so ploughed will be more inclined to become set or baked, and when in this state will not produce a maximum yield."

wiifly
+1
Level 50
Sep 1, 2020
I had to reread that at least 10 times to figure out what it said and my native language is English. I'm still not sure what it says!
jennraven
+2
Level 62
Jan 9, 2022
Ploughing land while wet makes the land look nice but yields fewer crops.
heyheyheyitsfatalbert
+4
Level 48
Jan 11, 2018
If you're interested, I have a quiz about Indian food!
Jacktheguy
+1
Level 86
Jan 9, 2022
As much as I love international food, for some reason Indian food just doesn't seem to agree with my body.
gzx5
+3
Level 62
Mar 19, 2018
Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Singapore, Guyana, Trinidad, Fiji, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya have sizeable amounts too.
NHG
+1
Level 45
Sep 14, 2020
Like most of the answers above, either part of the Empire/Commonwealth, or the GCC.
greatestidiot
+2
Level 29
Mar 22, 2018
I am an Indian born in bahrain and felt sad it wasn't there.
parkave
+1
Level 57
Jan 13, 2021
Bahrain only has 1.6 million people
Pibeplei
+1
Level 8
Mar 31, 2018
I was surprised Australia wasn't there.
carlonian
+2
Level 60
Mar 8, 2020
What are we doing in Myanmar?
Tramp
+3
Level 72
Mar 12, 2020
It was a part of British India for a while. A lot of Indians chose to, or were forced, to go there for work. It was also somewhere where many "troublemaking" Indians were exiled to, since it was so far out of the way. A TON of people in Burma today have at least some Indian ancestry, especially in Yangon.
wkrpnyc
+2
Level 71
Mar 14, 2020
by percentage is also interesting
imtreaty
+1
Level 47
Jun 17, 2020
Pakistan has over 2 million indians..
Bigmasta
+1
Level 32
Jul 8, 2020
read the description
NeilV
+1
Level 51
Jul 8, 2020
100

%

undeadwarrior
+1
Level 60
Jul 13, 2020
I personally contest the accuracy of the data used for this - there is a quite sizeable influx of Indians into Australia over the past 20-30 years or so, and only ever increasing. I would say that they would account for at least 1 million of our population.
JWatson24
+4
Level 68
Oct 18, 2021
Wow, Nigeria??? I know there have historically been large Indian communities in Africa, but I thought most of them were in the East and South (Tanzania, South Africa, etc.).

That being said, even though the source article says 800,000, another Wikipedia article says 35,000. I've found the 35,000 used in other articles on the internet as well. Are you sure the 800,000 number is accurate? Seems like it might be a bit exaggerated (but then I again, I could be wrong).

Djilas
+2
Level 79
Oct 18, 2021
I'd guess it's not very historical in Nigeria.
Djilas
+1
Level 79
Oct 18, 2021
Only 4 countries outside Indian Ocean.
blizzrd33
+1
Level 75
Oct 22, 2021
Would be interesting to show percentages of total population next to the answers. Also would be interesting to do the quiz based on percentages of total populations, I think Fiji would be right up there if so.
Milo74
+1
Level 56
Dec 28, 2021
Not enough time.
MG17
+2
Level 34
Jan 9, 2022
I can already hear TheNatureThread typing his paragraphs in the comments...
TheNatureThread
+2
Level 65
Jan 9, 2022
his paragraphs in the comments...
FatSpartanJediLlama
+2
Level 58
Jan 10, 2022
Somehow forgot about Sri Lanka, and missed Nigeria. I like how I thought of Mauritius
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