Youth and Migration

International migrant workers and international students

As detailed in the section on data and trends above, the number of youth international migrants has increased over time. The search for employment opportunities is a major driver of youth migration and has contributed to this increase. Of the 169 international migrant workers globally in 2019, around 86.5 per cent were adults aged between 25 and 64 years. Youth migrants (15-24) constituted 10 per cent while the share of those aged 65 and older was 3.6 per cent. The share of youth migrant workers in overall stock of international migrant workers has been growing and increased by 1.3 percent since 2017.

Age composition of international migrant workers (2017 and 2019)

Expand icon

Source: ILO, 2021.

Many young people are also moving to other countries to pursue education and training, contributing to an increase in the number of international youth migrants. There were more than 6 million internationally mobile students globally in 2021 (IOM, 2024; UNESCO, n.d).

Countries in Asia are the origins of the largest number of internationally mobile students in the world (IOM, 2024; UNESCO, n.d). In 2021, more than 1 million internationally mobile students were from China, by far the highest number globally and more than double the number of students from India, which ranks second (around 508,000). Other significant origin countries include Viet Nam, Germany and Uzbekistan (around 100,000 each), although their numbers are far fewer than the top two origin countries. The United States is the largest destination country for internationally mobile students in the world (more than 833,000). The United States is followed by the United Kingdom (nearly 601,000), Australia (around 378,000), Germany (over 376,000) and Canada (nearly 318,000).

Top origin (left) and destination (right) countries for international students (2021)

Expand icon

  1. Of the 272 international migrant workers globally, the share of youth migrants was (%) in 2019, growing from () in 2017.

  2. The United States, () and () were the three largest destinations for international students globally in 2021.

  3. The first and second largest origin countries of international students in 2019 were () and () with over ( million) and ( million students), respectively.