Introduction

International migration is strongly associated with opportunity for positive advancement, most typically in economic terms.¹ A long-standing, influential international migration narrative is deeply intertwined with the notion of betterment, whether this relates to individual attainment, household income or community resilience and coping strategies.² People migrate for better lives. This has long been a cornerstone of international migration research, analysis and policy:

"Like many birds, but unlike most other animals, humans are a migratory species. Indeed, migration is as old as humanity itself. … A careful examination of virtually any historical era reveals a consistent propensity towards geographic mobility among men and women, who are driven to wander by diverse motives, but nearly always with some idea of material improvement." ³

There are many stories of the migrant who arrived in a new country with little and managed to build a successful business, become a respected civic leader, fund the education of an entire generation of extended family members back home or personally achieve the highest levels of academic attainment through sustained hard work. Likewise, we have also read complaints from some critics about people moving to access welfare regimes or certain jobs, mostly in negative and sometimes politicized terms. While these somewhat superficial narrative examples might be quite different in framing and perspective, they are both strongly associated with attainment and the fact that migration offers the person(s) migrating some positive and tangible benefit. In other words, it is difficult to contemplate someone actively migrating into a worse situation. To have moved internationally and to be worse off is more likely to be associated with “forced migration” (otherwise referred to as displacement) and can be due to war, persecution, disaster or other reasons. Unsurprisingly, displacement is strongly related to unanticipated and profound loss.⁴

Beyond narratives of migration, international emigration has been a policy pursued by some national governments over many decades as part of broader economic agendas.⁵ Emigration has supported the development of international trade, diplomacy and peace, and helped to forge cultural ties as well as provide a source of foreign income. In other countries, international immigration has been a significant policy lever in the journey of “nation building” during a period in which international competition between States has intensified and the search for “global talent” amplified.⁶

In numerical terms, the number of international migrants has grown from around 84 million globally in 1970 to 281 million in 2020, although when global population growth is factored in, the proportion of international migrants has only inched up from 2.3 to 3.6 per cent of the world’s population.⁷ However, the change in the number and proportion of international migrants has not been uniform, with significant variation in migration rates around the world. Distinct regional patterns have emerged over time (see Figure 1), often underpinned by large, historical migration corridors linked to geographic proximity as much as geoeconomic disparity.

Source: UN DESA, 2019.

Note: “Migrants to Europe” refers to migrants residing in the region (i.e. Europe) who were born in one of the other regions (e.g. Africa or Asia). “Migrants within Europe” refers to migrants born in the region (i.e. Europe) and residing outside their country of birth, but still within the European region. “Migrants from Europe” refers to people born in Europe who were residing outside the region (e.g. in Latin America and the Caribbean or Northern America).

Note: “Migrants to Latin America and the Caribbean” refers to migrants residing in the region (i.e. Latin America and the Caribbean) who were born in one of the other regions (e.g. in Europe or Asia). “Migrants within Latin America and the Caribbean” refers to migrants born in the region (i.e. Latin America and the Caribbean) and residing outside their country of birth, but still within the Latin America and the Caribbean region. “Migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean” refers to people born in Latin America and the Caribbean who were residing outside the region (e.g. in Europe or Northern America).

We can see from Figure 1 that very distinct trends have emerged at the regional level over the last 30 years, such as the strong preference of people from Latin America and the Caribbean to migrate to Northern America, and the almost doubling of migration to Europe from other regions. Within these regional pictures, additional variability is apparent at the country level, with some countries accounting for a greater share of international migrants over time (e.g. the proportion of migrants in the United Arab Emirates has risen from 71% in 1990 to 88% in 2019), while other countries face increasing emigration and declining fertility such that “depopulation” challenges are looming (Latvia, Lithuania and Bosnia and Herzegovina all experienced more than 10% declines in population since 2009).⁸

In this chapter, we examine the key questions of “who migrates internationally and where do they go?” We analyse a range of statistical data at the country and regional levels and draw upon some of the existing body of research on migration determinants and decision-making. The next section summarizes some of the key debates in international migration, including those in the development context. The following section presents an analysis of migration between 1995 and 2020,⁹ with reference to human development, before discussion in the third section on policy levers. The chapter then concludes by outlining some of the key policy and programmatic implications and challenges ahead.