NEW DELHI — India was the biggest source of outward migration followed by China as the number of international migrants grew to 257.7 million in 2017.
India accounted for 17 million migrants, China’s share was 10 million, and Bangladeshi migrants were recorded at 7.5 million, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
The number of migrants increased by four per cent from 247.7 million in 2015, to 257.7 million last year, with one third of them from Asia.
The United States (US) hosts 12.3 million Asian migrants, Saudi Arabia has 8.5 million and the Russian Federation, 6.8 million.
The top 10 sources of migrants included those from Pakistan, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar and Vietnam.
“Countries with sustained population growth and an expanding workforce continued to lead in outward migration, while rising income levels and improved regulatory efficiency has helped bring down the cost of overseas worker migration,” the ADB report noted.
“Rapidly ageing populations in many developed host countries create labour shortages that contribute to rising demand for migrant labour,” it said.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries remain the main destination for skilled workers coming from Asia, with the majority going to the US.
