Since the turn of the millennium, the number of international migrants has grown at a rapid pace as human population and mobility continues to increase. Understanding this dynamic of rapidly emergent international migration requires up-to-date facts and figures to understand. This fact-sheet provides an overview of data concerning migration and emigration, including age- and sex-disaggregated data.
In terms of broad, overall trends, the number of international migrants in the world rose 42% from 2000 to 2015, to 244 million people. Two-thirds of international migrants live either in Europe or Asia, the latter of which has seen especially significant growth in the last 15 years. Migration usually occurs within regions or continents, although this is not the case in North America and Oceania where the vast majority of migrants come from far away areas. The United States is home to almost one-fifth of all international migrants, while Germany and the Russian Federation are also among the nations receiving the highest numbers of migrants.
The fact-sheet shows that 48.2% of international migrants are women, a slight fall from 49.1% in the year 2000. However, the gender imbalance is more pronounced in Africa (46.1% women) and Asia (42% women). This low figure for Asia is due mainly to demand for oil workers in Western Asia, which has seen a 62% increase in the number of male migrants in the region. In terms of age: the median age of foreign-born migrants worldwide is 39, one year older than in 2000; the lowest median age was found in Africa (29); and the highest was found in North America, Europe, and Oceania, at 42, 43, and 44 respectively.
With regard to trends concerning diasporas, Asia has experienced the biggest increase in emigration, having grown twice as fast as in Europe over the last 15 years. Asia is now the birthplace of 43% of all international migrants, compared to Europe at 25%. India has the largest diaspora in the world at 16 million persons, followed by Mexico at 12 million.
The publication shows that while international migration can contribute to population growth, it cannot reverse the trend of population aging. In Europe, net migration has ensured population numbers overall did not decline, while in North America and Oceania migration accounted for 42% and 32% of population increases respectively. Yet, while the predominantly working-age migrants will help reduce old-age dependency ratios in the short-term, all major areas are still expected to have significantly higher old-age dependency ratios by 2050.