New Delhi: India is the third most popular country for sourcing foreign talent after China and the US, a survey by global recruiting firm Manpower Inc released on Tuesday said.

The Borderless Workforce Survey conducted in 27 countries also showed India received the highest remittances ($27 billion) from nationals working abroad.

It is closely followed by China ($25.7 billion), Mexico ($25 billion) and the Philippines ($17 billion).

"The demand for Indian skilled labour is the highest in the US followed by the Gulf. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for engineers in the oil and gas sector and aviation," said Manpower India managing director Naresh Malhan.

Others in demand are nurses, drivers and construction workers, he said.

The survey also ranked India third in the list of the top 10 countries considered an economic threat to other nations.

Of the 26 countries surveyed other than India, all countries with the exception of Costa Rica and Peru believe that India provides competitive threat to their own country's ability to compete economically.

So far as Indian employers are concerned, they consider China, the US and the UK as the biggest competitive threats.

According to the survey, Chinese employers - followed by those in India - were the least concerned about migration of talents to foreign countries.

In India, employers in public administration, education, services, finance, insurance, real estate and manufacturing are most concerned about this, while those in wholesale and retail, transport, utilities, mining, oil and gas sectors are the least bothered.

"While it's true that we need to do more to keep our most talented workers, we must also consider how we can strengthen our collective employer 'brand' to attract talented workers from overseas," said Malhan.

Some of the key findings of the survey:

- India is the third most popular country for sourcing foreign talent; 11 of the 26 countries surveyed other than India sourced foreign talent from India.

- India receives the highest remittances ($27 billion) from nationals working abroad, followed by China ($25.7 billion), Mexico ($25 billion) and the Philippines ($17 billion).

- India has the highest percentage of nationals working abroad with tertiary education. Of the nearly 2.2 millions of Indians working abroad, 53 percent have acquired tertiary education.

- India ranks third in the list of Top 10 countries believed to be an economic threat to other nations.

- Indian employers are second least concerned about government and businesses not doing enough to slow the outward migration of talent. IANS