The number of people currently leaving their home countries for foreign lands is unprecedented in absolute terms leading to both positive and negative implications for sustainable development, according to the latest report from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The International Migration and Sustainable Development report indicates that over 280 million people have crossed international borders over the last six decades, with the highest number having been recorded between 1990 and 2020. The number of international migrants has increased almost fourfold over the past 60 years rising by close to 80 million between 1960 and 1990, and by nearly 130 million between 1990 and 2020.
In host countries, especially high-income and upper-middle-income nations, migrants are closing the gaps in labor markets in key sectors such as agriculture, health, and hospitality as well as improving productivity through tech innovations and the flow of new ideas. For instance, the report notes that without millions of migrant workers in many host countries during the coronavirus pandemic three years ago, several sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, transportation, food production, and social services would have been seriously understaffed resulting in serious implications for sustainable development.
It adds that migrants and their children as well as their descendants are also delaying the ageing and decline of populations in developed countries. Similarly, migrants are contributing to revitalizing urban areas that natives have abandoned by establishing new businesses and generating employment.
Remittances: pros and cons
In the countries of migrants’ origin, money sent to households and communities can potentially bolster family incomes, reduce poverty, increase school enrolment levels, improve access to healthcare, and improve agricultural productivity thus contributing to the achievement of sustainable development goals and targets for health, education, poverty and hunger reduction. In 2023, migrants sent over US$850 billion in remittances to their home countries of which more than US$660 billion was received by those in low-income or middle-income nations.
Conversely, earnings sent home by migrants can increase inequalities and dependence and also encourage more people to leave their countries. This can result in endless cycles of migration and loss of critical human resources and deny countries the skilled workforce that is required to drive implementation of the sustainable development goals. For instance, if substantial numbers of healthcare workers exit countries where such personnel are already in short supply, efforts towards universal healthcare access becomes seriously undermined, the report’s authors highlighted.
The challenges for migrants
Migrants face exclusion and discrimination as well as obstacles to accessing quality health services in host countries which results in poor health outcomes. Similarly, policies that lock migrants in low-income areas can find them trapped in endless cycles of poverty and income inequalities, according to the report.
In host countries and along transit routes, the report notes that large numbers of migrants without legal status can create many challenges such as overstretching social services, and criminal activities such as human trafficking.
Where are these migrants?
The majority of international migrants live in high-income nations, having left their homes mainly to work or join their families. Regionally, by 2020, Europe hosted the highest number of migrants at around 90 million, while North America was home to about 60 million. North Africa and Western Asia accommodated nearly 50 million migrants. The numbers of migrants in other regions were smaller.
At the country level, the United States hosted the largest number of migrants at 51 million which accounts for 18% of the global total, a number that is higher than that of the four main destinations of migrants combined. For instance, there were over 15 million migrants in Germany, 13 million in Saudi Arabia, 12 million in Russia, and fewer than 10 million in the United Kingdom.
Most people who leave their countries for foreign lands for work and family-related reasons are from middle-income nations rather than the poorest states. In 2020, India, Mexico, Russia, China, and Syria were among the countries with the highest number of citizens living abroad.
What’s next?
Most countries now have policies in place to improve the pathways for regular migration, and strategies to align their migration plans with labor requirements. While there are sufficient links between migration and sustainable development, policies that aim to ensure people can unlock their full potential anywhere without necessarily leaving their homelands to build livelihoods elsewhere out of desperation are similarly important, the report concluded.
