India- The Top Source Of Immigrants

According to the International Migrant Stock 2019 report, released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), India has emerged as the leading country of origin for immigrants across the world.

Highlights of the Report

  • The report provides the latest estimates of the number of international migrants as per their age, sex, and origin, for all countries and areas of the world.
  • India remained the top source of international migrants constituting 6.4% of the total world’s migrant population.
    • The most preferred destination of the Indian migrants was the UAE followed by the US, and then Saudi Arabia.
    • In India, the highest number of international migrants came from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal.
  • The percentage of international migrants of the total global population has increased to 3.5% from 2.8% in 2000.
  • Source of Migrants: Around two-fifths of all international migrants had gone from one developing country to another.
    • The one-third of all international migrants originated from mostly 10 countries.
    • India (17.5 million international migrants) is followed by Mexico (12 million migrants), China (11 million), Russia (10 million) and Syria (8 million).
  • Destination of Migrants:
    • The European region hosted the highest number of immigrants (82 million), followed by North America (59 million) and Northern Africa and Western Asia (49 million).
    • Among countries, the U.S. hosted the highest number of international migrants that constitute about 19% of the global population.
  • Also, the forced displacements across international borders continue to rise.
  • The share of women and girls in the global number of international migrants fell slightly from 49% in 2000 to 48% in 2019.
  • In terms of age, one out of every seven international migrants is below the age of 20 years.

  • Facilitating orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people will contribute much to achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
  • It was formed in the year 1948.
  • It is the development pillar of the United Nations.
  • UN DESA is a pioneer of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • It brings the global community together to work towards common solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.
  • It helps countries translate their global commitments into national action in the economic, social and environmental spheres.

Source: TH