United Nations: There are 281 million migrants in the world by 2020 and the pandemic is slowing migration
The number of people living outside their countries of origin reached 281 million in 2020. Between 2000-2020, the number of people fleeing conflict, crises, persecution, violence or human rights violations doubled from 17 to 34 million.
This is according to the International Migration Report 2020 issued by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The report provides the most recent estimates of the number of international migrants, by country of destination, origin, age and gender, for all countries and regions of the world.
The pandemic has slowed the growth of migration
The report indicates that the growth in the number of international migrants has been strong over the past two decades, with the number of people living outside their countries of origin reaching 281 million in 2020, up from 173 million in 2000 and 221 million in 2010. International migrants currently represent about 3.6% of the world’s population.
“The report confirms that migration is part of today’s globalized world, and illustrates how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the livelihoods of millions of migrants and their families and undermined progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Mr. Liu Xinmin, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Economic and Social Affairs.
According to the report, the Corona virus has disrupted all forms of human mobility by closing national borders and stopping travel around the world. It is estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed the growth of international migrant numbers by about 2 million by mid-2020, which is 27% less than expected since mid-2019.
Two-thirds of immigrants are in high-income countries
IOM 2016 / Amanda Nero Archives – Photograph: International Organization for Migration
The report showed that two-thirds of all international migrants live in only 20 countries, and the United States of America remained the largest destination, hosting 51 million international migrants in 2020, equivalent to 18% of the global total. Germany hosted the second largest number of immigrants, with about 16 million, followed by Saudi Arabia (13 million), the Russian Federation (12 million) and the United Kingdom (9 million).
On the other hand, most of the world’s refugees live in low- and middle-income countries that hosted 80% of the world’s refugees in 2020. Refugees make up about 3% of all international migrants in high-income countries, compared to 25% in middle-income countries, and 50%. In low-income countries.
Forced displacement across borders
The report notes that India topped the list of countries with the largest diaspora in 2020, with 18 million people from India living outside their country of origin, and other countries with large transnational groups included Mexico and the Russian Federation (11 million each) and China (10 million). ) And Syria (8 million).
In 2020, refugees represented 12% of all international migrants, up from 9.5% in 2000, as forced displacement across national borders continued to rise faster than voluntary migration. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of people fleeing conflict, crises, persecution, violence or human rights violations doubled from 17 to 34 million.
48% of them are women and girls
© UNICEF / Juan Haro Migrant women and their children at a site in Niger, by © UNICEF / Juan Haro
The report finds that nearly half of all international migrants worldwide are women or girls (48%). In 2020, the number of female migrants exceeded – slightly – the number of male migrants in Europe, North America and Oceania. This is partly due to the higher life expectancy of women compared to men. In sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia, the number of males increases significantly, due to temporary labor migration.
The authors of the report emphasized that international migrants often make up a greater proportion of people of working age than the national population. In 2020, 73% of all international migrants were between 20 and 64 years of age, compared to 57% of the total population.
The impact of migration on host societies
The report confirms that had it not been for international migrants, the proportion of people aged 65 or over for every 100 people between 20 to 64 years old, or the elderly dependency ratio, in high-income countries, would have been about 3 percentage points higher. Migration has major impacts on people and places. Well-managed migration can contribute to inclusive and sustainable development in both countries of origin and destination.
Diasporas contribute to the development of their countries of origin by encouraging foreign investment, trade, technology access and financial inclusion. However, World Bank projections indicate that the Covid-19 pandemic may reduce the volume of remittances sent to low and middle-income countries from $ 548 billion in 2019 to $ 470 billion in 2021, a decrease of $ 78 billion, or 14%.
ILO / Marcel Crozet Two immigrants from the “Masai” ethnic group work in construction in Tanzania.
Source: United Nations website
