UN statistics says more migrants living abroad

United Nations

Accra, Sep 13, GNA - A new United Nations (UN) data on migrants shows that more people than ever are living abroad with the US remaining the most popular destination, followed by the Russian Federation and Germany.

The new estimates, which include breakdowns by region and country of destination and origin, and by sex and age, show that in 2013, 232 million people, or 3.2 per cent of the world's population, were international migrants, compared with 175 million in 2000 and 154 million in 1990.

According to the report, said though the north, or developed countries, is home to 136 million international migrants, compared to 96 million in the south, or developing countries, there are as many international migrants born in the south living in other countries in the south as in countries in the north, reflecting changing patterns of Asian migration.

The UN report said most international migrants are of working age (20 to 64 years) and account for 74 per cent of the total. Globally, women account for 48 per cent of all international migrants.

It said in Ghana, about 359,000 migrants, representing 1.4 per cent of the entire population, live in the country as at 2013.

The data was released in advance of the upcoming High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, which will take place October 3-4 at the UN Headquarters.

The purpose of the High-level Dialogue is to identify concrete measures to strengthen coherence and cooperation at all levels with a view to enhancing the benefits of international migration for migrants and countries alike and its important links to development while reducing its negative implications.

The data shows that South-South migration is as common as South-North migration, in 2013; about 82.3 million international migrants who were born in the South were residing in the South, which is slightly higher than the 81.9 million international migrants originating in the South and living in the North.

According to the report in 2013, half of all international migrants lived in 10 countries, with the US hosting the largest number (45.8 million), followed by the Russian Federation (11 million); Germany (9.8 million); Saudi Arabia (9.1 million); United Arab Emirates (7.8 million); United Kingdom (7.8 million); France (7.4 million); Canada (7.3 million); Australia (6.5 million); and Spain (6.5 million).

GNA