Number of international migrants worldwide reaches 244m – UN

The UN says the number of international migrants worldwide reached 244 million in 2015, representing an increase of 71 million, compared to 2000.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, who launched a report on the 2015 revision of the International Migrants Stock on Tuesday in New York, said in many parts of the world, migration occur primarily between countries that were located within the same major area.
It 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.
It added that 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 nine million each and the United Arab Emirates has eight million.
Of the top 20 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.
In 2015, it stated, the percentage female among all international migrants was highest in Europe and Northern America.
Furthermore, it stated that in recent years, Asia has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of international migrants.
The stock of male migrants in Asia, it showed, grew from 27 million in 2000 to 44 million in 2015, while the stock of female migrants increased from 22 million to 32 million.
It added that Africa also experienced a more pronounced growth in the number of male compared to female migrants.
By contrast, the report showed that in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern America and Oceania, the migrant stock grew faster for women than for men.
The increasing number of male migrants in Asia, it said, has been fuelled by a strong demand for migrant workers in the oil-producing countries of Western Asia.
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.
Most international migrants, it added, are of working age.
NAN.