USA

The Average American Supports High Skilled Immigrants In The USA

The USA has the highest number of educated immigrants in the world
The USA ranks 6^th among 12 countries in terms of percentage of immigrants with a college degree
80% of immigrants from India are college educated

While the USA is making a number of changes to its immigration policies, a large percentage of the native population is not against high skilled immigrants in the USA. In fact, the USA is home to the highest number of educated immigrants in the world. Read on to find out more.

The Statue of Liberty

Unlike what you might perceive, not every American is against immigrants. According to a study conducted by PEW Research Center, the majority of citizens are supportive of highly skilled immigrants in the USA.

The study was conducted across 12 countries:

The study was conducted across 12 countries including: the UK, Canada, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Israel, Australia, the Netherlands, and Spain.

View Towards High Skilled Immigrants; The USA Vs The Other 11 Countries

78% of about 8 of every 10 American adult citizens support high skilled immigration. This places the USA at around a middle-ranking among the 12 countries the study was conducted in.

The average percentage in support of high skilled immigration among all 12 countries is about 73%. Thus the USA lies above the median. The percentage of US citizens in support of high skilled immigration is exceeded by Australia, Germany, Canada, the UK, and Sweden.

It is interesting to note that like the USA, all of these countries are trying to reduce overall immigration. Only Israel, Italy and the Netherlands were not very enthusiastic about high skilled immigration.

Country	Percentage Opposes	Percentage Supports
Sweden	11	88
UK	12	85
Canada	14	84
Germany	18	81
Australia	19	79
USA	19	78
France	31	68
Spain	31	67
Netherlands	36	61
Greece	42	54
Israel	51	42
Italy	50	35

High Skilled Immigrants In The USA – Educational Qualifications

More than one-third of all immigrants in the USA hold degrees in varying fields. This places the country in the middle of the ranking system with respect to advanced economies with high immigration.

Highly educated immigrants constitute of a majority percentage only in two countries; Canada and Australia.

The UK, Israel, and Sweden are also ahead of the USA with regards to the educational qualifications of their immigrants. The USA is ahead of Spain, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Greece, and Italy.

Country	Percentage of Immigrants With A College Degree
Canada	65
Australia	63
UK	49
Israel	49
Sweden	41
USA	36
Spain	29
Netherlands	28
France	26
Germany	22
Greece	22
Italy	14

It is important to note that while keeping the above statistics in mind, the USA boasts of the highest number of immigrants with a college education in the world. As per a study conducted in 2015, around 14.7 million immigrants in the USA had a college degree or a postsecondary diploma.

This is about thrice the number of college-educated immigrants in Canada and four times the number of college-educated immigrants in the UK. Other countries with a high number of educated immigrants include Australia, France, and Germany.

Country	College Educated Immigrants (in Million)
USA	14.7
Canada	4.4
UK	3.4
Australia	3
Germany	2
France	1.8
Spain	1.4
Israel	0.8
Italy	0.7
Sweden	0.5
Netherlands	0.5
Greece	0.2

High Skilled Immigrants In the USA – Factors Influencing Immigrant Education Profiles

The rising education levels in the USA are a result of many factors including better educational facilities in the countries the immigrants originate from and an increased number of highly skilled immigrants from Asia and Africa.

52% of immigrants from China and 80% of immigrants from India are college educated. Many African immigrants also have an average educational qualification that surpasses their American peers. In contrast, only 9% of Mexican immigrants above the age of 25 have had a college education.

With the proposed changes to the US immigration system made by the Trump administration, the percentage of educated immigrants in the USA may be set to rise further.

In Canada, the changing demographics have been a gradual result of the points-based system introduced in 1967. This system favored immigrants with higher educational qualifications.

As a result, the percentage of immigrants with a college education increased over a decade from 13% in 1971 to 44% in 1981. After four decades, nearly 63% of Canada’s immigrant population has a post-secondary education.

Educational Levels in the USA: Immigrants vs Native Population

In many countries, the percentage of immigrants with college degrees or diplomas is roughly the same as the native population.

However, in the USA, 40% of the native population has a post-secondary diploma. This is much higher than the percentage of immigrants with similar qualifications.