More people moving to a new country head for America than anywhere else, with the UK a distant second.

The USA became home to one in every three people who settled in the world’s developed nations in 2006, accepting 1.3 million newcomers. The UK accepted 343,000 newcomers.

Family reunification was the biggest reason given by newcomers to America, accounting for 70 percent of permanent arrivals. Many European countries were more popular as destinations for job-seekers, with work reasons accounting for between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of moves to these countries.

Around four million people immigrated to OECD countries in 2006 on a permanent basis, an increase of 5 per cent on 2005. Asylum requests fell for the fourth consecutive year to 282,000 in 2006, the lowest level since 1987.

Other major destinations for migrants included Germany (216,000), Italy (204,000), Australia (192,000), France (169,000), Japan (96,000) and the Netherlands (59,000) – according to an OECD report out this week.

As a proportion of their current population, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland received some of the biggest inflows – representing more than 1 percent of their populations.

As many as 50 percent of newcomers leave their new countries within five years of arriving, with most returning to their home country for family reasons or job opportunities.