More Americans say they want to move out the United States permanently in 2025 than at any time in the last two decades − with younger women leading the trend according to a new national poll.
AGallupsurvey analysis published Nov. 13 found that 2 in 5 American women and girls ages 15 to 44 say they would leave the United States permanently if they could. That's four times higher than in 2014, when the 10% of women and girls who wanted to leave the country was generally in line with other age and gender groups. The rise includes both single women and married women.
More Gallup Polls:Majority of Americans pessimistic about their personal finances, April poll finds
More than twice as many women say they want to emigrate than men, Gallup pollsters said in their data review. In the same 15 to 44 age group, 19% of men and boys expressed the desire to emigrate, compared to the 40% of women in the survey. This gender gap is the largest Gallup has ever recorded on this issue since they started measuring this question in global polls in 2007.
Gallup pollsters said it's also the largest gender gap they've ever seen on the question across more than 160 countries.
Democratic Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, votes at The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts on Nov. 4, 2025 in the Queens borough of New York City. Voters in NYC are voting for who will be replacing Mayor Eric Adams between the front runner New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. More than 735,000 people have voted early, according to the Board of Elections, more than four times as many as in the 2021 contest. This election also has other city offices on the ballot, as well as six proposals." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Independent mayoral candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo departs after voting at a polling location at the High School of Art and Design in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Nov. 4, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Mary Wellington, from left, with Ventura County Elections Division, helps first-time voter Makailee Lindbergh, 18, cast her provisional ballot on Proposition 50 at the Best Western Plus Thousand Oaks Inn in Thousand Oaks, California on Nov. 4, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), (L) is cheered by supporters as she exits the polling center after casting her vote on Nov. 4, 2025 in Montclair, New Jersey. Sherrill faces off against Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, in a tightly contested race for New Jersey governor." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
A person exits a polling center after casting her vote on Nov. 4, 2025 in Montclair, New Jersey." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Virginia voters cast their ballots at Robius Elementary School Nov. 4, 2025 in Midlothian, Virginia. Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger faces off against Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the Commonwealth of Virginia's off-year election for governor and other statewide offices on November 4, a race that will lead to the first female governor in the commonwealth's history." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Bob Elsea, poll clerk at Ward 6 Precinct 1 at Trinity United Methodist Church, shouts out "polls are open" at 7 a.m. during election day in Anderson, South Carolina., Nov. 4, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Shunmuga Sankaran displays the sticker he recieved while voting at Cherry Hill East High School in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on Nov. 4, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Michael Powers, 63, of Pontiac, votes at precinct nine in the gymnasium at the Kennedy School in Pontiac, Michigan on Nov. 4, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. smiles as he waits to turn in his ballot alongside his wife Robin Kinloch early on Election Day inside Chrysler Elementary School in Detroit on Nov. 4, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
People vote at the Old Portage Masonic Temple on Nov. 4, 2025, in Akron, Ohio. Eight people are vying for four seats on the Akron Public School District board. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Election officials check in mail-in votes at the Buttonwood Warming House polling station in New Bedford, Massachusetts." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Election workers process mail-in ballots at the Lebanon County Courthouse in Pennsylvania on Nov. 4, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Voters cast their ballots in the municipal election on Nov. 4, 2025, at Holly Tree Elementary in Wilmington, North Carolina. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
New Yorkers vote to pick their new mayor at an election site in a church in Manhattan on November 4, 2025 in New York City. The latest polls show the front-runner continues to be Zohran Mamdani, holding a clear lead over independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Hope Mills Commissioners candidate Ronald Starling talks to a voter outside a polling site at Hope Mills Recreation Center in Hope Mills, North Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
See candidates and constituents cast their ballots on Election Day 2025
Democratic Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, votes at The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts on Nov. 4, 2025 in the Queens borough of New York City. Voters in NYC are voting for who will be replacing Mayor Eric Adams between the front runner New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. More than 735,000 people have voted early, according to the Board of Elections, more than four times as many as in the 2021 contest. This election also has other city offices on the ballot, as well as six proposals.
Canada was listed as American womens' top destination preference, followed by New Zealand, Italy and Japan.
More:Survey reveals just what Europeans really think of American tourists
Gallup's question asks about desire to migrate, not plans or intentions, and surveyors note previous Gallup research shows not everyone who wants to move will do so.
Data also shows those who say they want to leave the country are more likely to disagree with the nation's political leadership and express low levels of confidence in the nation's institutions.
Of those who say they approve of PresidentDonald Trump, both men and women, just 4% say they would like to leave the country. Of those who disapprove, 29% say they want to leave in the survey.
When it comes to different groups and their opinions on American institutions, such as the government, judiciary and military, Gallup researchers said younger women also made records in the latest survey. They saw the steepest drop in institutional confidence among any age or gender group.
More:Polls find Americans worried about political violence after Charlie Kirk's assassination
Since 2015, American women and girls aged 15 to 44 have lost trust in the country's institutions by 17 points. Men's confidence in institutions in the same time frame and age group have remained broadly stable, dropping just one point.
Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her atkapalmer@usatoday.comand on X @KathrynPlmr.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Young women increasingly want to leave US, Gallup poll says