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United States of America (USA) is the world’s second-leading destination for Hindu migrants, after India; according to a new study by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The report, titled “The Religious Affiliation of International Migrants”, points out that Hindu migrants come mostly from India and Bangladesh and a much smaller numbers have come from the Pacific region known as Oceania (particularly Fiji) and the Caribbean (particularly Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana). USA has an estimated 1.3 million first-generation (foreign-born) Hindu immigrants, most of whom have arrived in recent decades.

Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, pointed out to Hindu migrants the importance of passing on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst immigration struggles and many distractions in the consumerist society, and hoped that immigrant families would focus in this direction.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.

According to this report, top ten countries of origin for Hindu migrants are India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Fiji, Kenya, and United Kingdom. Top ten destination countries are India, United States, Bangladesh, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Canada, and Sri Lanka. There are about 214 million international migrants, including about 11 million Hindus.

India, Mexico and Russia are the leading sources of international migrants. India is also among the top ten destinations for migrants. Besides being the number one source of Hindu migrants, India is also among the top four countries of origin for Muslim migrants, the report adds.

Washington DC (USA) headquartered The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (Director Luis Lugo), a project of the Pew Research Center (President Andrew Kohut), claims to deliver timely, impartial information on the issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs in the USA and around the world.