Africans can be found everywhere in the world. They have made homes in all corners of the globe. Much like the population of the continent, this immigrant population outside the continent continues to grow and has exploded in the last decade.
According to census data, these seven countries, all of which were former colonial powers in Africa, have the highest population of African migrants today.
France
France is the top destination for African migrants. The country has approximately 3.5 million migrants of African descent, with the majority coming from the African Maghreb, including Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria. Migrants from the region make up more than 75 percent of the migrant population from Africa. The other 25 percent is of Africans from French-speaking countries or francophone countries of sub-Saharan Africa, such as Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Cameroon. Many migrants settle around Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, and Bordeaux.
United Kingdom
As of 2011, there were about 2.8 million African immigrants in the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The majority of African immigrants come from former British colonies around West Africa, with Nigeria staking a clear majority with approximately 150,000 legally documented Nigerians. Ghana comes in second with about 96,000 immigrants. Kenya, South Africa, and Libya also have large flows of migrants to London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds.
United States
Africans make up just 4.4 percent of the U.S. immigrant population, at an estimated 2.1 million people as of 2017. This, however, is a substantial increase from the 800,000 African migrants living in America in 1970. The number of migrants from Africa to the United States is the fastest among all populations from 2000 and 2013, increasing 41 percent during that period. The majority of African immigrants come from sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya, and settle in African enclaves in New York, California, Texas, and Maryland.
Germany has the largest economy in Europe and is home to about 2 million immigrants from Africa. The majority of African migrants come from West Africa: Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, as well as Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. This sizable number of African migrants have managed to fit into German society even though Namibia is the only African country where German is an official language. Most Africans settle around Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Cologne.
Italy
There are an estimated 1 million immigrants from Africa in Italy. Many are from North Africa, including Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Algeria, representing a total of 647,000 documented residents in 2010. The remaining 337,000 are registered immigrants from West Africa, including Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana. Africans typically cluster around Rome, Palermo, Milan, Turin, and Bologna.
Spain
There are about 683,000 documented Africans living in Spain. Most of the migrants come from nearby North Africa, specifically Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria as well as former Spanish colony Equatorial Guinea. Migrants from Nigeria and Senegal are also present in large numbers. Many settle in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, and Palma.
Belgium
According to 2015 census data, 600,000 African migrants live in Belgium. Most migrants come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as the Belgian Congo. There are also Senegal and Nigerian migrants, alongside those from North Africa, most notably, Morocco. Many African immigrants choose to settle in Brussels, Liege, and Antwerp.
