Number of international migrants worldwide reaches 244 million -- UN

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The United Nations {UN} has yesterday disclosed that  the number of international migrants worldwide had reached 244 million in 2015, representing an increase of 71 million, compared to 2000.

This was made known by the  UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, while launching a report on the 2015 revision of the International Migrants Stock on Tuesday in New York.

Eliasson   said that in many parts of the world, migration occur primarily between countries that were located within the same major area.

The report   further stated that nearly 76 million of all international migrants live in Europe or Asia, which has 75 million.

It added that Northern America hosts 54 million, followed by Africa, with 21 million, Latin America and the
Caribbean with nine million each and Oceania which has eight million, while  between 2000 and 2015, Asia added more international migrants than any other major area of the world.

It stated that Asia gained 26 million international migrants during this period, Europe 20 million, Northern America 14 million, and Africa, six million.

Both Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania, it stated, added comparatively smaller numbers of migrants during this period with three million each.

In contrast, the report added that the majority of international migrants living in Northern America or about 98 per cent and Oceania, 87 per cent, were born in a major area other than the one where they currently reside.

The report also added that in 2015, two thirds of all international migrants were living in just twenty countries.

It added that 47 million of the migrants, reside in the United States of America, while Germany and the Russian Federation host the second and third largest numbers of migrants worldwide, about 12 million each.

They are followed by Saudi Arabia with 10 million, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, have nearly 9 million each and the United Arab Emirates which has eight million.

Of the top twenty countries of destination for international migrants worldwide, the report stated that nine are located in Asia, seven in Europe, two in Northern America and one each in Africa and Oceania.

The report  also show that between 2000 and 2015, the female share in the global international migrant stock fell slightly, from 49.1 per cent to 48.2 per cent.

The report further showed that international migrants living in Africa are the youngest, with a median age of 29, followed by Asia (35 years) and Latin America and the Caribbean (36 years).

It said that migrants are older in Northern America, Europe, and Oceania, where the median age is 42, 43 and 44 years, respectively.

Source : (NAN)