World Migration Report 2022: Chapter 2 - Migration and Migrants: A Global Overview

Original Language
English
ISBN (PDF)
978-92-9268-127-2
Number of Pages
47
Reference Number
PUB2021/032/L*/2
Date of upload

01 Dic 2021

World Migration Report 2022: Chapter 2 - Migration and Migrants: A Global Overview

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This chapter provides an overview of global data and trends on international migrants and international migration. It also provides a discussion of particular migrant groups – namely migrant workers, refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs – as well as of COVID-19 impacts on migration and long-term trends on international remittances. In addition, the chapter highlights the growing body of IOM programmatic and other data, particularly on missing migrants, assisted voluntary returns and reintegration, resettlement, and displacement-tracking.

Current estimates are that there are 281 million international migrants globally (or 3.6% of the world’s population). While the vast majority of people in the world continue to live in the country in which they were born, more people are migrating to other countries, especially those within their region. Many others are migrating to high-income countries that are further afield, however, COVID-19 caused significant disruptions to migrants and migration systems, especially in sector relying on high mobility arrangements.  Work is the major reason that people migrate internationally, and migrant workers constitute a large majority of the world’s international migrants, with most living in high-income countries. Global displacement is at a record high, with the number of internally displaced at around 55 million and the number of refugees at over 26 million.