Saudi Arabia, UAE feature as popular destinations for aspiring immigrants

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates feature in the top ten list of countries people want to emigrate to, according to results of a poll released on Friday.

The United States ranked the highest in being the most preferred destination for aspiring immigrants, with 150 million out of the 640 million surveyed by Gallup. The organization interviewed 452,199 adults 15 or older between 2009 and 2011 in 151 countries.

The United Kingdom, Canada, France were followed by Saudi Arabia which came in at fifth place, attracting a prospective 31 million people.

Australia followed in sixth place, after which came Germany, Spain, Italy, and UAE which ranked as number 10, galvanizing the attention of 13 million people.

People surveyed for the poll said they wanted to migrate largely to reunite with family members and to seize economic opportunities not readily available in their countries.