Few issues excite politicians’ and voters’ passions as much as immigration. For decades now, the world has been on the move: last year, according to the United Nations Population Fund, the number of people living outside their country of origin reached 232 million – 50% more than in 1990.
That may feel like a lot of people; in fact, it represents just 3.2% of the world’s population. They are, however, unevenly spread: 60% live in the developed world, including 72 million in Europe, 71 million in Asia and 53 million in North America. Nearly two-thirds of migrants currently living in the developed world came from a developing country.
Logically, the developed world is also where international immigrants represent a larger proportion of the total population: 10.8%, against just 1.6% in developing regions. Migrants, for example, now make up 9.8% of the total population in Europe, 14.9% in North America, and more than 20% in Oceania.
But it seems migration patterns are shifting. While more people still settle in developed countries than in developing, the growth rate is now higher in the latter: 1.8% against 1.5%. Also, overall migration is slowing. From 2000 to 2010, 4.6 million people left their home country each year; that number is now 3.6 million. But migration and its effects, real or perceived, remain one of the defining political and social issues of the day. In Britain and the US, the subject – anti-immigration; Ukip’s onward march; Barack Obama’s decision to give up to 5 million immigrants work permits – dominates national debate.
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