Which countries have the highest number of US green card holders in 2024?
Executive summary
Mexico is the largest single country of origin among U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPRs); DHS/OHSS reporting and related summaries show Mexico accounted for a very large share of green cards issued in recent years and remains the largest source country [1] [2] [3]. Total estimated LPR population was about 12.8 million as of January 2024, with roughly 8.7–9.0 million eligible to naturalize, according to DHS and compiled summaries [4] [5].
1. Who has the most green‑card holders: Mexico on top
Government tabulations and data visualizations consistently put Mexico as the leading country of origin for people who obtain U.S. lawful permanent resident status; for example, a Statista summary of DHS data reports 138,772 green‑card recipients from Mexico in FY2022 and DHS/OHSS materials single out Mexico as accounting for over half of the North American LPR share and nearly a quarter of all resident LPRs in their 2024 estimates [3] [1].
2. How many green‑card holders are there overall: the 12.8 million baseline
Aggregate estimates compiled from DHS and Census inputs put the U.S. LPR population at about 12.8 million in 2024; independent summaries and reference pages repeat that figure and note that roughly 8.7–9.0 million of those holders were eligible to naturalize as of January 2024 [4] [5].
3. Which other countries are significant contributors
The Office of Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS/DHS) and related visualizations identify India, China, the Philippines and other Latin American and Asian countries among the top sources for green cards in recent years; Visual Capitalist’s 2024 graphic ranks the top 15 countries for new permanent residents in 2022 based on OHSS data, and DHS annual flow tables and population estimates list the leading birth countries for resident LPRs [6] [2] [7].
4. Recent flows vs. resident stocks: two different questions
Sources differentiate the annual flow of new green cards (who received LPR status in a fiscal year) from the stock of all green‑card holders living in the U.S. (the 12.8 million figure). The Statista and Visual Capitalist items draw on OHSS “flow” data (e.g., FY2022 recipients by country) while OHSS population estimates produce the country‑of‑birth composition of the LPR stock [3] [6] [1].
5. Fiscal‑year 2024 numbers and trends
Through the first three quarters of FY2024, sources report roughly 980,100 green cards issued, and FY2023 saw about 1.17 million new LPRs; those flow totals demonstrate large annual variation and an ongoing high volume of admissions, but country shares can shift year to year [8] [7].
6. Data sources, strengths and limits
The best public sources are DHS/OHSS tables and USCIS reports: OHSS produces both annual flow tables (who obtained LPR status by last residence or country of birth) and population estimates (LPR stock by country of birth), while USCIS posts inventories tied to adjustment‑of‑status filings [7] [2] [9]. Limitations: OHSS flow tables and population estimates use different denominators and timeframes, Visual Capitalist and Statista are secondary presentations of OHSS data, and not all materials explicitly publish a single ranked 2024 list of countries by LPR stock in the materials provided here [6] [3] [1].
7. What the available sources do not say
Available sources do not mention a definitive ranked list of countries with the largest LPR stocks specifically for the calendar year 2024 in a single table within the items supplied. They provide FY flows (e.g., FY2022) and population estimates (e.g., OHSS 2024 estimates by country of birth) but a one‑line “top countries by green‑card holders in 2024” table is not present among the provided documents [7] [1] [2].
8. Practical takeaway for readers
If you need a precise ranked list for 2024, use DHS/OHSS population estimates for LPR stocks by country of birth and OHSS annual flow reports for the most‑recent fiscal‑year admissions; the materials cited here (OHSS/DHS and USCIS summaries, plus Visual Capitalist/Statista reproductions) confirm Mexico’s lead and show India, China, the Philippines and other nations as major sources, but you should consult the OHSS population tables and flow tables directly for exact country counts and rankings [1] [7] [2].
Sources cited: OHSS/DHS population and flow publications and summaries [1] [2] [7], USCIS data portals [9], summaries and graphics based on OHSS data [6] [3], and LPR population overviews [4] [5] [8].