Why do people migrate?

Why do people migrate?

The majority of people who migrate internationally do so for reasons related to work, family and study – involving migration processes that largely occur without fundamentally challenging migrants themselves or the countries they enter. In contrast, other people leave their homes and countries for a range of compelling and sometimes tragic reasons, such as conflict, persecution and disaster. While those who have been displaced, such as refugees, comprise a relatively small percentage of all migrants, they are often the most in need of assistance and support. This is also the case of those displaced within their own countries– internally displaced persons– who are sometimes considered as internal migrants.

Migrant worker statistics

Labour migration is a driving force in international and internal migration. In the case of international migration, the move can be regional (across countries in a specific region) or inter-regional (to different regions). The latest available estimates indicate that there were roughly 169 million migrant workers around the world in 2019, which is just under two-thirds of all international migrants.

As evident from the data, the international migrant worker population is currently gendered as well as geographically concentrated. 102.4 million or almost 61 per cent of all international migrant workers resided in three subregions: Northern America; the Arab States; and Northern, Southern and Western Europe. Notably, there is a striking gender imbalance of migrant workers in two regions: Southern Asia (5.7 million males compared with 1.4 million females) and the Arab States (19.9 million males compared with 4.2 million females). The Arab States region is one of the top destinations for international migrant workers, where they comprise 41.4 per cent of the entire working population, often dominating in key sectors.

International students

Millions of people migrate every year for education reasons. The number of internationally mobile students globally has significantly increased over the last two decades, as highlighted by data collected by UNESCO. In 2001, this number was at just over 2.2 million. A decade later, the number of internationally mobile students had grown to more than 3.8 million. This number continued to increase in the following years, rising to over 6 million in 2021, nearly triple the figure 20 years prior. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and related mobility restrictions, the number of internationally mobile students remained strong. Between 2020 and 2021 — at the height of the pandemic — the number of internationally mobile students increased slightly (from 6.38 million to 6.39 million), defying expectations.

Research and Analysis on the Topic

• Global Overview (WMR 2022, Ch. 2)
• Migration and health (WMR 2020, Ch. 7)
• Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2020

Internal displacement globally by cause

As shown in Figure 19, in previous years, annual new internal disaster displacements outnumbered new displacements associated with conflict and violence. Internal disaster displacements include those caused by floods, storms/hurricanes, wild fires, earthquakes, and so on, while conflict and violence displacements are usually caused by war or other violent instability.

Over more than a decade (2012 to 2022), internal disaster displacements have been higher than those caused by conflict and violence. However, in 2022 the numbers were much closer than for previous years, mainly due to the war in Ukraine, which resulted in millions being displaced within the country. Importantly, a significant portion of the global total of new displacements by disasters is usually associated with short-term evacuations in a relatively safe and orderly manner, whereas conflict and violence typically result in prolonged displacement.