5 facts about migration
WorldRemit celebrates migration in all its aspects. Not only are we a company that proudly employs migrants from all over the world, but we support diasporas with a fast, secure and online money transfer service. Our mission is to make global payments more accessible, so that they can unlock the potential and prosperity of cross-border communities.
Unfortunately, there’s a great deal of prejudice and misinformation on the subject of migration. And so, as champions of migrants, we’ve laid out 5 key migration facts and figures that we hope you’ll find interesting and illuminating.
WorldRemit Content Team
• 3 mins read • Updated
Which country has the highest migration rate?
The number of international migrants grew to 281 million in 2020, meaning that 3.6% of the world’s people lived outside their country of birth that year, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration.
Of course, the number of immigrants (or foreign born immigrants) varies considerably from one country to another. Some countries are more popular with migrants than others; and make it far easier to move to. Some countries actually encourage immigration, while others make it far more difficult.
Migrant population by country
According to the World Population Review, these 5 countries have the highest numbers of immigrants:
United States - 50.6m
Germany - 15.8m
Saudi Arabia - 13.5m
Russia - 11.6m
United Kingdom - 9.4m
Which country do the majority of migrants come from?
People emigrate for a number of reasons. It may be for work or economic opportunities, or to study. Others move to escape conflict, persecution and terrorism. While others move in response to the effects of climate change, natural disasters, and other environmental factors.
Of all the countries people emigrate from, India has the largest number of natives living abroad: 17.9 million people. It’s worth noting, though, that emigrant numbers aren’t always as accurate as immigrant numbers - mainly because most governments aren’t as concerned about people leaving, as they are about people entering their countries.
Emigrant population by country
According to the World Population Review, these are the 5 countries with the highest numbers of people leaving their homeland to start a life elsewhere:
India - 17.9m
Mexico - 11.1m
Russia - 10.8m
China - 10.5m
Syria - 8.5m
Which country has the lowest population of migrants?
The World Population Review shows that the following 5 countries have the lowest percentage of migrants in their total populations.
Cuba - 0.03%
China - 0.07%
Vietnam - 0.08%
Indonesia - 0.13%
Madagascar - 0.13%
How much money is sent in remittances worldwide?
Remittances are the funds that migrants send to friends and family in their home countries. They’re crucially important to people’s well-being and can often account for a significant percentage of a country’s GDP. For a better view of what they are, and how they work, we’ve written a complete guide to answer any questions you may have.
According to the Pew Research Center, global remittances had been steadily increasing since 2010; but fell from $722 billion in 2019 to $711 billion in 2020, largely due to the pandemic. According to the World Bank, remittances reached $781 billion in 2021, and were estimated to reach $794 billion in 2022 - both record highs. We await 2023 figures.
What percentage of migrants are children?
Unicef’s figures show that in 2020, the number of international migrants reached 281 million - and 36 million of them were children. So, children account for 12.81% of all migrants.
What percentage of migrants are men?
The share of male international migrants has increased in recent decades. In 2000, 50.6% of international migrants were men and 49.4% were women. By 2020, men made up 51.9% of global migrants while 48.1% were women, according to estimates by the United Nations.
WorldRemit makes living abroad so much easier
As we said at the start of this article, supporting migrants, as well as their family and friends is our mission. If you move away from your homeland and need to send money back home, we’re there for you. We can offer you an excellent low cost, online money transfer service: one that allows you to send fast and secure transfers.
And, if you need any more information on the many different aspects of living abroad, you can also refer to our blog for a host of interesting articles.
The contents of this blog post does not constitute legal or financial advice and is provided for general information purposes only. If you require specific legal and / or financial advice you should contact a specialist lawyer or financial advisor. Information true at time of publishing.
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