Council leaders and charities have spoken of the “positive” contribution immigrants make to the economy on International Migrants Day.
The General Register of Scotland estimates that 11,000 people from outside the UK now live in Dundee, while as many as 9,000 live in Perth and Kinross and a further 17,000 in Fife. No figures are available for Angus.
Leader of Dundee City Council, Ken Guild, said: “Over the centuries Dundee has welcomed many different migrant communities who have found their place in the city, becoming proud Dundonians without losing touch with their own cultures and traditions.”
The number of migrants in Perth and Kinross has boomed since the enlargement of the European Union in 2004.
The majority of incomers have arrived from eastern Europe, making a “positive impact” on the local economy, according to the council leader Ian Miller.
He said: “The tendency observed is that people have travelled here to work and they tend to contribute in a continuous manner to the local economy.”
In the 2001 census the migrant population of Fife was approximately 6,000.
A spokeswoman for Fife Council said: “The present ethnic minority population is around 23,740.”
Maciej Dokurno, who runs Fife Migrants Forum, a charity that helps incomers settle in the Kingdom, said: “Migrants bring with them a range of benefits.
“For instance, they can fill skills gaps and contribute to the economy both by paying taxes and by buying goods and services locally.”
Pat Elsmie, director of Auchterader-based charity Migrants’ Rights Scotland, added: “Migrants are very much part of our communities in Dundee, Angus, Perth and Fife.
“They run thriving businesses, create employment and provide their skills in many areas including their hard work as NHS consultants or other professionals, on our farms and in our care homes.
“Migrants from many countries across the world are here, bringing their sense of values, respectful behaviour, their strong work and study ethic.”