UNITED NATIONS: Latest estimates released by the United States show that 244 million people, or 3.3 per cent of the world's population, live in a country other than the one where they were born. The ranks are growing at a faster pace than the world population as a whole, with enormous economic, social and demographic repercussions for their native and adopted countries.
The most popular destination in 2015 was the United States, followed by Germany, Russia and Saudi Arabia. The ranking, however, cannot be seen as a popularity contest as Saudi Arabia only popped up on the list because it hosts an enormous number of migrant workers, not immigrants who resettle. The report does not distinguish between who migrates with legal papers and who does not. Among the migrants worldwide are 20 million refugees - those who have fled war or persecution in their home countries.
Also revealed is that Indians make up the largest diaspora, with over 16 million Indians scattered across the world, which partly reflects the country's demography and youth. Many migrants send home remittances, and in some countries that far exceeds what their governments take in traditional donor aid. Migrants are mostly young, working-age people, which can be a boon to countries like those in Europe where the native population is swiftly ageing. Africans and Asians are seen to be the youngest of migrants. Migration can also roil domestic politics in the receiving countries, as the presidential campaign in the United States has already demonstrated, especially when it comes to the issue of Mexican migrants.
After India, Mexico has the second largest diaspora, with 12 million living abroad, the majority of them in the US.
