With 17.5 million international migrants, Indian diaspora largest in the world: UN report

United Nations, November 29: Globalisation has not only brought foreign businesses, technology and people to India but it has also opened the doors of the world to Indians. As per the 'Global Migration Report 2020' by the UN, India continues to be the largest country of origin of international migrants with a 17.5 million strong diaspora across the world. 

 

 

 

India continued to be the largest country of origin of international migrants. It had the largest number of migrants living abroad (17.5 million), followed by Mexico (11.8 million), and China (10.7 million). India received the highest remittance of $78.6 billion from Indians living abroad, the UN migration agency said. The International Organisation for Migration said in its 'Global Migration Report 2020' that the number of international migrants in 2019 is now estimated at 270 million and the top destination remains the US, at nearly 51 million. 

In its latest global report, the IOM noted that the overall figure represents just a tiny fraction of the world's population, although it is a 0.1 percent increase on the level indicated in its last report, published two years ago. "This figure remains a very small percentage of the world's population (at 3.5 percent), meaning that the vast majority of people globally (96.5 percent) are estimated to be residing in the country in which they were born," IOM's Global Migration Report 2020 said. According to the UN agency, more than half of all international migrants (141 million) live in Europe and North America. An estimated 52 percent are male, and nearly two-thirds of all migrants are looking for work; that's around 164 million people.

 

 

The top destination country remained the United States (50.7 million international migrants). The report also noted that international remittances increased to $689 billion in 2018. The top three remittance recipients were India ($78.6 billion), China ($67.4 billion), and Mexico ($35.7 billion). The US remained the top remittance-sending country ($68.0 billion) followed by the United Arab Emirates ($44.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($36.1 billion). 

Although most migrants travelled to the US, the report confirmed other important migration corridors from poorer countries to richer nations such as those to France, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. "This pattern is likely to remain the same for many years into the future, especially as populations in some developing subregions and countries are projected to increase in coming decades, placing migration pressure on future generations," IOM said. 

The Indian Diaspora is estimated to be over 30 million. The International Migrant Stock 2019, a dataset released by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) today, provides the latest estimates of the number of international migrants by age, sex and origin for all countries and areas of the world. India hosted 5.1 million international migrants in 2019, less than the 5.2 million in 2015. International migrants as a share of total population in India was steady at 0.4 per cent from 2010 to 2019.

 

 

The country hosted 207,000 refugees, the report said adding that refugees as a share of international migrants in the country was four per cent. Among the international migrants in the country, the female population was 48.8 per cent and the median age of international migrants was 47.1 years. In India, the highest number of international migrants came from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.