International Organization for Migration (IOM) published its annual World migration report.
Data summarized in the report reveals that in 2020 there were around 281 million international migrants and that equates to 3.6 percent of global population. The document indicates that during recent decades this number has considerably increased – to compare with 1990, the number of international migrant increased by 128 million, and, compared to 1970, it has more than tripled.
On the other hand, most people continue to live in countries wherein they were born – data reveals that only one out of thirty people eventually becomes an international migrant. However, the report draws attention to additional trends and how they relate to available data, specifically – the extent of internal migration and unique experiences countries might face (for instance, last year international migrants equated to 88 percent of United Arab Emirates’ population).
During the previous year, most international migrants (61 percent) were hosted by European (87 million) and Asian (86 million) countries. In the meantime, the largest international migrants’ share was registered in the populations of Oceania (22 percent), North America (16 percent), and Europe (12 percent). To compare, international migrants comprised a small share in Asian (1.8 percent) and African (1.9 percent) populations. During the last two decades, the largest growth of international migrants’ communities was registered in Asia (increase of 37 million if compared to 2000), Europe (increase of 30 million if compared to 2000), North America (increase of 18 millions if compared to 2020), and Africa (increase of 10 million if compared to 2000).
In 2020, the most frequent international migrants’ countries of origin were six countries in Asia (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Afghanistan), Mexico, and Russia. Just like previously, most of these individuals migrated to the United States of America and Germany.
The report also looks over the trends of international migrants’ remittances. The data reveals that, despite of global coronavirus outbreak, last year exposed a rather insignificant decrease of remittances, and, compared to 2000 (126 billion dollars), increase of an overall of 702 billions dollars. Most of such remittances were received in India (83 billion dollars), China (59 billion dollars), Mexico, the Philippines, and Egypt. Usually remittances were transferred from high-income countries, specifically – from the United States of America (69 billion dollars), United Arab Emirates (43.2 billion dollars), Saudi Arabia (34.6 billion dollars), Switzerland (28.96 billion dollars), and Germany (22 billion dollars).
Full report and interactive explainers can be accessed: here
More information about COVID-19 virus impact on international migration is available: here