Is immigration is a burden or strength

 According to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey of 18 countries that host half of the world's migrants, majorities of the public in top migrant destination countries believe immigrants strengthen their countries.

Majorities in ten of the countries polled see immigrants as a source of strength rather than a burden. Some of the world's largest migrant receiving countries are among them: the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Australia (each hosting more than 7 million immigrants in 2017).

In contrast, majorities in five of the countries polled – Hungary, Greece, South Africa, Russia, and Israel – see immigrants as a burden on their respective countries. These countries, with the exception of Russia, each have fewer than 5 million immigrants.

Meanwhile, public opinion in the Netherlands is divided on the impact of immigrants. More people in Italy and Poland believe immigrants are a burden, while a sizable proportion in both countries is undecided (31% and 20%, respectively).

Six-in-ten adults (59%) in the United States, the country with the world's largest number of immigrants, believe immigrants make the country stronger through their work and talents, while one-third (34%) believe immigrants are a burden because they take jobs and social benefits. Since the 1990s, when most Americans believed immigrants were a burden on the country, attitudes toward immigrants have shifted in the United States.

Meanwhile, public opinion on the impact of immigrants has shifted in six European Union countries since 2014. That was the last time the Center posed this question to European audiences. It was also before the arrival of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers on European shores in 2015. In Greece, Germany, and Italy, three countries with high numbers of arrivals

In contrast, public opinion in France, the United Kingdom, and Spain, which received fewer asylum seekers in 2015, shifted in the opposite direction. In 2018, majorities in all three countries said immigrants made their countries stronger, up from about half in 2014. 1

While many of the 18 countries surveyed see immigrants as a strength, this view is not shared equally across all groups within countries. In most of the countries polled, those on the left of the ideological spectrum are more optimistic about the impact of immigration on their country than those on the right.

Similarly, in many of the countries polled, those with a higher level of education, younger adults, and higher incomes are more likely to believe that immigrants make their countries stronger through their work and talents. (For group breakdowns, see Appendix B.)

Furthermore, in all countries polled, those who want fewer immigrants to arrive are less likely to see immigrants as making their countries stronger.

The general public is divided about immigrants' willingness to adopt their societies' customs and way of life.

The chart shows that attitudes toward immigrants' willingness to integrate vary across the 18 countries represented in the survey.

Immigrants' willingness to adopt the destination country's customs or desire to be distinct from its society is mixed. In the countries surveyed, a median of 49% of immigrants want to be distinct from the host country's society, while a median of 45% want to adopt the host country's customs and way of life.

Publics in six destination countries – Japan, Mexico, South Africa, the United States, France, and Sweden – are more likely to believe that immigrants want to adopt the host country's customs and way of life than that immigrants want to leave.

Japan is an outlier: A large majority of the public (75%) believes that immigrants want to adopt the country's customs and way of life. This country, whose ageing population and low birth rate make immigration important for population growth, has recently changed its policies to attract more foreigners. Views on immigrant integration in Japan may be influenced by the country's low number of immigrants and the fact that many immigrants in Japan are ethnically Japanese.

In contrast, more people in eight destination countries – Hungary, Russia, Greece, Italy, Germany, Poland, Israel, and Australia – say immigrants want to be distinct than say they are willing to adopt the host country's customs. This is the majority view in Hungary, Russia, Greece, Italy, and Germany. Furthermore, when asked this question, a sizable proportion of people in most of these countries refused to choose one option or the other.

Younger adults, those with higher levels of education, and those on the left of the political spectrum are more likely to say immigrants are adopting the country's customs and way of life in many of the countries polled (see Appendix B for group breakdowns).

Read More: Tension Signs and Side effects (healthylifestyle89065.blogspot.com)