On the move

• Author: Jia Feng
• Position: Communications officer, IMF Communications Department
• Pages: 52-53

52 FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT | December 2018

PICTURE THIS

MODERN TRANSPORTATION and digita l technologies

make it easier for people to move across borders.

Around the world, 258 million people, or 3.4 percent

of the global population, live outside their countr y of

birth. e international migr ant population is now

triple its 1970 level. International migration takes

dierent forms: economic migrants volunta rily leave

in search of work, while refugees are forced to ee

due to conict and violence. Migration ca n be an

economic boon, but it can also be a critical polic y

and political cha llenge.

Work is the main motivator. Migrant workers

comprise two-thirds of a ll international migrants,

and most move to high-income countries. For

these individual s and their families, migr ation can

bring considerable gains in income, educat ion, and

health. For their home countries, emigrat ion can

reduce unemployment and foster knowledge trans-

fer. e remittances migrants send home—$613

billion in 2017—provide nancial ows and a

stable source of income. For destination countries,

immigration can increase labor supply, enhance

productivity, and ease pressures on pension system s.

Not all migration occurs in positive circum-

stances. Conict and persecution uprooted 68.5

million people by 2017—including 25.4 million

refugees, 3.1 million asylum seekers, and 40 mil-

lion people displaced within their countries—

a level not seen in decades. More than ha lf the

refugees were children, many unaccompanied or

separated from their parents. A third of all refu-

gees ed to the least developed economies, where

the capacity to accommodate and integrate them

often falls short.

Migration matters to economic prosperity,

human development, and security, and ensur-

ing safer and better-regulated migration has

become a global priority. e United Nations,

for example, is set to adopt two global compac ts

to improve the governance of migration. One

thing is clear : no country can manage mig ration

issues on its own. Cross-border challeng es require

cross-border solutions.

Prepared by JIA FENG, communications officer, IMF

Communications Department

Migration, with its upsides and downsides, is increasing globally.

ON THE MOVE

International migration on the rise

Dramatic changes, particularly in the Gulf

(proportion of international migrants, 2000–17, percent)

Source: United Nations.

Kuwait

Oman

Luxembourg

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

United Arab Emirates

Lebanon

+20.5

+17.2

+13.2

+11.6

+11.4

+10.9

+10.5

2000

55%

27

32

25

35

78

21

76%

45

45

37

46

88

32

2017 CHANGE

A steady increase worldwide

(number of international migrants, millions)

Source: World Migration Report Update 2018.

84 90 102

191

222

244 258

173

161

153

113

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

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PHOTO: IS TOCK / MATRI YOSHK A