International Migration Policies
Data Booklet
United Nations
E c o n o m i c &
S o c i a l A f f a i r s
International Migration Policies
As international migration gains increasing
attention in policy debates, understanding
key trends in migration policies is crucial.
This data booklet highlights current policies
on immigration and emigration, drawing on
data published in World Population Policies
Database: The 2015 Revision. All information
is available at www.unpopulation.org.
The Population Division of the Department
of Economic and Social Affairs provides the
international community with timely and
accessible population data and analysis of
population trends and development
outcomes for all countries and areas of the
world. The Population Division has been
systematically monitoring population
policies, including those related to
international migration, since 1974.
Suggested citation: United Nations,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
Population Division (2017). International
Migration Policies: Data Booklet (ST/ESA/
SER.A/395).
International Migration Policies
1
Number of international migrants by development level of their country of origin,
1990-2017
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Millions
Total
Migration is a fact of life in today’s globalized world
More people are on the move now than ever. The number of
international migrants—persons living in a country other than
where they were born—reached 258 million in 2017, an
increase of 85 million, or 49 per cent, compared to 2000. This
increase resulted primarily from the rapid growth in the
number of migrants originating from countries of the global
South.
Economic and social factors are the main reasons why people
migrate. In addition, global migration trends are also
influenced by political instability and conflict. Today, the
number of persons forcibly displaced globally is the highest
since the aftermath of World War II, with the number of
refugees and asylum seekers reaching nearly 26 million.
While the international community has long recognized the important relationship between international migration
and development, the integration of migrants and migration into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
represents an important step forward.
Specifically, target 10.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls on countries to facilitate orderly, safe, regular
and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-
managed migration policies.
Other migration-related targets in the 2030 Agenda include retaining health workers in developing countries;
providing scholarships for study abroad; ending human trafficking; respecting the labour rights of migrant workers,
in particular women migrants; reducing the costs of transferring remittances and providing legal identity for all. The
disaggregation of data by various characteristics, including migratory status, is a cross-cutting target that can help
identify the particular vulnerabilities of migrants and ensure inclusive development.
Migration in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Originating from the South
Originating from the North
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017a).
Notes: The “North” is comprised of all countries or areas of Europe and Northern America, plus Australia, New
Zealand and Japan. The “South” is comprised of all countries or areas of Africa, Asia (excluding Japan) and Latin
America and the Caribbean, as well as Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.
International Migration Policies
2
The available evidence suggests that the overall
economic impact of migration is positive for
both countries of origin and countries of
destination. Migration can play a critical role in
economic growth and development including by
helping to fill labour market shortages and by
providing jobs and sources of revenue for
individual migrants and their families.
In 2016 alone, migrants sent $429 billion in
remittances to low and middle income
countries. This is more than triple the global
official development assistance or ODA. China,
India, Mexico and the Philippines were among
the largest recipients of remittance inflows in
2016.
When supported by appropriate policies, migration can contribute to inclusive and
sustainable economic growth and development
International migration can contribute to reducing old-age dependency ratios
Because international migrants tend to comprise
larger proportions of working-age persons
compared to the overall population, positive net
migration can contribute to a reduction in the
old-age dependency ratios of host countries.
However, while international migration can play
a role in modifying dependency ratios, it cannot
reverse the trend of population ageing.
Data sources: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017a, 2017b).
Remittance inflows in US$, 2016
Distribution by age and sex, 2017
10 5 0 5 10
0-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
70-74
75+
10 5 0 5 10
0-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
70-74
75+
Total population
International migrants
Percentage
Percentage
Data source: World Bank (2017).
Notes: The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the
United Nations. The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan.
The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. Chagos Archipelago/Diego Garcia appears without
prejudice to the question of sovereignty. A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). Final boundary between the Republic of the Sudan and
the Republic of South Sudan has not yet been determined. Final status of the Abyei area is not yet determined. Based on 181 countries or
areas with available data.
Males
Females
International Migration Policies
3
At the global level, the majority of Governments (61 per
cent) have a policy to maintain current levels of
immigration. Among the remaining Governments with
available data, 13 per cent have policies to lower the level
of documented immigration into their country, 12 per cent
have policies to raise it, and 14 per cent have either no
official policy or do not seek to influence levels of
immigration.
Among all regions, Europe has the highest proportion of
countries seeking to raise immigration levels (32 per cent),
followed by Asia (10 per cent). Asia has the highest share
of countries seeking to reduce current levels of
immigration (23 per cent), followed by Africa (13 per cent).
Rationale for current immigration policy, 2015
(Percentage of Governments)
3
13
15
46
68
Globally, most countries seek to maintain current levels of immigration
Government policies to influence the level of documented immigration by region, 2015
Percentage of Governments with a policy on immigration
Raise
Maintain
Lower
No intervention/
No official policy
World
12
61
13
14
Africa
4
43
13
40
Asia
10
65
23
2
Europe
32
55
9
5
Latin America and the Caribbean
6
76
9
9
Northern America
0
100
0
0
Oceania
6
94
0
0
Globally, 68 per cent of Governments identify meeting labour
market demands as the underlying reason for their current
immigration policy. The ILO (2015) estimates that migrant
workers make up nearly three quarters of all international
migrants of working age (15 years or over) worldwide.
A large share of Governments also view immigration policy as
a tool to safeguard employment opportunities for their
nationals. This rationale informed 46 per cent of
Governments’ immigration policies globally.
Demographic drivers are the third most widely cited rationale,
with 15 per cent of Governments pursuing their current
immigration policy to address population ageing and 13 per
cent to counter long-term population decline.
Meeting labour demands is the top rationale for countries’ immigration policies
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016).
Notes: Based on 196 countries with available data.
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016).
Note: Based on 148 countries with available data.
To meet labour demands in certain sectors of the economy
To safeguard employment opportunities for nationals
To address population ageing
To counter long-term population decline
None of these
International Migration Policies
4
Policy to influence the immigration of highly skilled workers into the country
Large increase in the number of countries with policies to attract highly skilled
workers
Globally, the majority of Governments either seeks to raise (44 per cent) or maintain (41 per cent) current levels of immigration of highly
skilled workers. Only 4 per cent of Governments have implemented policies to reduce the inflow of highly skilled workers into their country,
while the remaining 11 per cent of Governments have no relevant policies in place.
The share of Governments with a policy to raise the level of immigration of highly skilled workers doubled from 22 per cent in 2005 to 44 per
cent in 2015. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of Governments with policies to encourage immigration of highly skilled workers increased
across nearly all regions.
2005
2015
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016).
Notes: The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in
Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. Chagos Archipelago/Diego Garcia appears without prejudice to the question
of sovereignty. A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). Final boundary
between the Republic of the Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan has not yet been determined. Final status of the Abyei area is not yet determined. Based on 134 countries with available data for 2005 and 176
countries with available data for 2015.
International Migration Policies
5
37
17
19
79
23
100
17
36
17
24
67
27
50
33
52
40
43
74
43
100
50
59
40
51
86
53
100
50
0
20
40
60
80
100
World Africa Asia Europe Latin America and
the Caribbean
Northern America Oceania
Percentage
Language skills training
Transfer of professional
credentials
Protection against
discrimination
Any of these measures
More than half of all countries have a policy to promote the integration of migrants
Integration policies are essential to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth in countries of destination and contribute to the
wellbeing of migrants. Globally, 59 per cent of Governments have introduced a policy or programme aimed at integrating non-nationals into
their society. The share of Governments with at least one policy measure to promote the integration of immigrants ranges from a low of 40
per cent in Africa to a high of 100 per cent in Northern America.
Among the specific integration measures considered, protection against discrimination is the most prevalent type of intervention globally,
employed by 52 per cent of Governments. Language skills training for immigrants and the transfer of professional credentials are other
common measures, adopted by 37 per cent and 36 per cent of Governments, respectively.
Percentage of Governments with a policy to promote the integration of immigrants by type of policy measure and region, 2015
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016).
Note: Based on 153 countries with available data.
International Migration Policies
6
Government policy to influence the level of emigration of its citizens, 2015
Almost all countries have adopted policy measures to address irregular immigration
Few Governments worldwide explicitly seek to raise levels of emigration
Nearly all Governments have adopted specific policy measures
to address the issue of irregular immigration. Globally, 99 per
cent of Governments employ fines, detention or deportation of
migrants in an irregular situation, while 77 per cent use penalties
for employers of migrants in an irregular situation. One third of
all Governments (34 per cent) have taken measures to regularize
their legal status through defined schemes or conditions.
Migrants in irregular situation are particularly vulnerable to
discrimination, exploitation and abuse and are in danger of being
exploited by crime organizations involved in human trafficking
and migrant smuggling.
Percentage of Governments with specific measures
to address irregular immigration, 2015
34
77
99
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016).
Note: Based on 177 countries with available data.
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016).
Notes: The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. The dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in
Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties. Chagos Archipelago/Diego Garcia appears without prejudice to the question
of sovereignty. A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). Final boundary
between the Republic of the Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan has not yet been determined. Final status of the Abyei area is not yet determined. Based on 196 countries with available data.
Globally, the majority of Governments either have no explicit
policy on emigration (36 per cent) or seek to maintain current
levels (23 per cent). Only 9 per cent of Governments seek to
raise the level of emigration of their citizens, while 32 per cent
have policies to lower current levels.
Oceania (38 per cent) is the region with the highest share of
Governments encouraging the emigration of its citizens,
followed by Asia (23 per cent). Latin America and the Caribbean
is the region with the highest proportion of Governments
seeking to lower emigration levels (39 per cent), followed by
Africa (34 per cent), Europe (32 per cent) and Oceania (31 per
cent).
Fines, detention or deportation of
migrants in an irregular situation
Penalties for employers of migrants in
an irregular situation
Regularization of legal status under
defined schemes or conditions
International Migration Policies
7
Less than half of Governments have policies to encourage investment by their diaspora
Globally, less than half (42 per cent) of Governments have
instituted one or more policy measures to encourage investment
by their diaspora. Twenty-six per cent of Governments have
policies to reduce the costs of transferring remittances; 21 per cent
have tax exemptions or breaks specifically available to their
diaspora; and 21 per cent give their diaspora preferential
treatment in providing credit or allotment of licenses.
Latin America and the Caribbean is the region having the highest
proportion of Governments with at least one of these policy
measures (68 per cent), followed by Asia (52 per cent).
Among the ten countries with the highest share of remittances
as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), only three—
Honduras, the Republic of Moldova and Tajikistan—have a policy
to reduce the transfer costs of remittances.
In many countries, the cost of remittance transactions remains
high relative to incomes of the migrant workers and the
recipients of the remittances. According to the World Bank, if the
cost of sending remittances could be reduced by 5 percentage
points relative to the value sent, remittance recipients would
receive over 16 billion dollars more each year than they do now.
26
20
36
17
35
18
21
23
27
7
32
9
21
20
30
7
32
9
42
32
52
27
68
0
27
0
20
40
60
80
World Africa Asia Europe LAC Northern
America
Oceania
Percentage
Reduced costs of
transferring
remittances
Tax exceptions or
breaks
Preferential treatment
in providing credit or
licenses
Any of these measures
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016).
Notes: Based on 150 countries with available data. LAC refers to Latin America and the Caribbean.
Percentage of Governments with a policy to encourage investment
by their diaspora by type of policy measure and region, 2015
Ten countries with the highest share of remittances as a percentage of
GDP and a policy to reduce the transfer costs of remittances, 2016
Rank
Country
Remittances as
a percentage of GDP
Policy to reduce
costs of transferring
remittances
1.
Nepal
31.2
○
2.
Kyrgyzstan
30.4
○
3.
Haiti
29.4
○
4.
Tajikistan
26.9
●
5.
Liberia
26.1
○
6.
Republic of Moldova
21.7
●
7.
Gambia
21.5
○
8.
Comoros
21.2
○
9.
Tonga
20.3
○
10.
Honduras
18.0
●
Data sources: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016)
and World Bank (2016).
Notes: A black dot ● indicates that policies were adopted, while a white dot ○ indicates that no
policies were adopted.
International Migration Policies
8
Policy to encourage the return of their citizens in twenty countries with the largest number of citizens living
abroad, latest year available
3.0
3.4
3.4
3.6
3.8
4.1
4.2
4.2
4.7
4.8
4.9
5.7
5.9
6.0
6.9
7.5
10.0
10.6
13.0
16.6
0 5 10 15 20
Italy
Egypt
Turkey
Romania
State of Palestine
Kazakhstan
Germany
Indonesia
Poland
Afghanistan
United Kingdom
Philippines
Ukraine
Pakistan
Syrian Arab Republic
Bangladesh
China
Russian Federation
Mexico
India
Number of citizens living abroad (millions)
Government has a policy
to encourage the return
of their citizens
Yes
No
Many Governments have instituted policies to encourage the return of their citizens
Many Governments, especially
from less developed regions, have
instituted policies or programmes
to encourage the return of their
citizens.
Globally, 72 per cent of
Governments have policies to
encourage the return of their
citizens. The share of Governments
seeking to encourage the return of
their citizens is highest in Latin
America and the Caribbean (88 per
cent), followed by Africa (78 per
cent).
Of the 20 countries with the largest
number of citizens living abroad, 15
have a policy to encourage the
return of their citizens.
The return of citizens can have
positive impacts for the
development of countries of origin
by promoting capital inflows and
investments and the transfer of
technologies and skills.
Data source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016, 2017a).
Note: Data on policies to encourage the return of their citizens refer to 2015; data on the number of citizens living abroad refer to 2017.
International Migration Policies
9
SELECTED POLICY VARIABLES ON IMMIGRATION OR EMIGRATION
Variable name
Definition
Policy on immigration
1
Indicates the Government’s policy to influence the level of documented immigration into the country. Response categories for this
variable are: Raise; Maintain; Lower; No intervention; No official policy.
Rationale for current immigration policy
2
Indicates the Government’s underlying reasons for the current immigration policy. Response categories for this variable are: 1. To
counter long-term population decline; 2. To address population ageing; 3. To meet labour demands in certain sectors of the
economy; 4. To safeguard employment opportunities for nationals; None of these; Not applicable.
Policy on highly skilled workers
1
Indicates the Government’s policy to influence the level of immigration of highly skilled workers into the country.
3
Response
categories for this variable are: Raise; Maintain; Lower; No intervention; No official policy.
Measures on integration of immigrants
2
Indicates whether the Government has adopted specific policies or programmes aimed at integrating immigrants into the host
society. Response categories for this variable are: 1. Language skills training; 2. Transfer of professional credentials; 3. Protection
against discrimination;
4
None of these.
Measures on irregular immigration
2
Indicates whether the Government has adopted specific policy measures to address the issue of irregular immigration. Response
categories for this variable are: 1. Penalties for employers of migrants in an irregular situation; 2. Fines, detention or deportation of
migrants in an irregular situation; 3. Regularization of legal status under defined schemes or conditions; None of these.
Policy on emigration
1
Indicates the Government’s policy to influence the level of emigration of its citizens from the country. Response categories for this
variable are: Raise; Maintain; Lower; No intervention; No official policy.
Measures to attract investment by diaspora
2
Indicates specific policy measures that the Government has adopted to encourage or facilitate investment in the country by its
diaspora.
5
Response categories for this variable are: 1. Reduced costs of transferring remittances; 2. Tax exceptions or breaks; 3.
Preferential treatment in providing credit or allotment of licences; None of these.
Policy to encourage the return of citizens
1
Indicates whether the Government has adopted any policies or programmes to encourage the return of its citizens living abroad.
Response categories for this variable are: Yes; No.
1
Response categories are mutually exclusive.
2
Response categories are not mutually exclusive.
3
Highly skilled migrants generally include highly qualified workers with post-secondary technical or professional education or job experience, especially with qualifications or skills in
demand in the host country.
4
Includes measures to protect migrants from discrimination in access to housing, education, healthcare, work, social security and other welfare benefits.
5
Response categories refer to the 2015 revision of the World Population Policies Database. Response categories for this variable in previous revisions were: 1. Tax exceptions or
breaks; 2. Reduction of tariffs on goods or import duties for diaspora companies; 3. Preferential treatment in providing credit; 4. Preferential treatment in allotment of licenses;
5. Streamlined bureaucratic procedures for investment; 6. Diaspora bond/mutual fund; None of these.
Glossary and definitions
International Migration Policies
10
SELECTED INDICATORS ON INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND REMITTANCES
Variable name
Definition
International migrants
The mid-year (1 July) estimate of the number of people living in a country or area other than that in which they were born. Where
the number of foreign-born was not available, the estimate refers to the number of people living in a country other than that of
their citizenship.
International migrants as a percentage of total population
The number of international migrants divided by the total population. Data are expressed as percentages.
Females among all international migrants
The number of migrant women and girls divided by the total number of international migrants. Data are expressed as percentages.
Median age of international migrants
The age that divides the migrant population in two parts of equal size, with as many persons with ages above the median as there
are with ages below the median. Data are presented in years.
Inflows of migrant remittances
Remittances are defined as the sum of three components: (a) workers’ remittances recorded under the heading “current transfers”
in the current account of the balance of payments; (b) compensation of employees which includes wages, salaries, and other
benefits of border, seasonal, and other non-resident workers (such as local staff of embassies) and which are recorded under the
“income” subcategory of the current account; and (c) migrants’ transfers which are reported under “capital transfers” in the capital
account of the IMF’s Balance of Payments Yearbook (item codes 2391, 2310, and 2431 respectively). All data are reported in current
(nominal) US dollars and are presented in millions.
Inflows of migrant remittances as a percentage of GDP
Inflows of migrant remittances divided by the Gross Domestic Product of the recipient country. Data are expressed as percentages.
For polices, programmes and measures on immigration or emigration: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2016).
World Population Policies Database: 2015 Revision. See: http://esa.un.org/poppolicy/about_database.aspx.
For international migrants by sex, age and origin: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017a). Trends in International
Migrant Stock: The 2017 Revision (United Nations database, POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2017). See: www.unmigration.org.
For international migrant workers: International Labour Office (2015). ILO Global estimates on migrant workers: Results and Methodology - Special focus on
migrant domestic workers. See: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_436343.pdf.
For total population: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017b). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision,
DVD Edition. See: esa.un.org/wpp.
For remittances: World Bank (2017). Migrant remittance inflows. See: http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/migrationremittancesdiasporaissues.
For GDP: World Bank (2016). World Development Indicators. See: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/.
Data sources
Annex tables
International Migration Policies
12
Policy on
immigration
Rationale for current immigration policy
Policy on highly
skilled workers
Measures on integration of immigrants
To
counter
long-term
population
decline
To address
population
ageing
To meet
labour
demands
in certain
sectors of
the
economy
To safeguard
employment
opportunities
for nationals
Language
skills
training
Transfer of
professional
credentials
Protection
against non-
discrimination
AFRICA
Eastern Africa
Burundi
No official policy
..
..
..
..
Raise
●
●
●
Comoros
No intervention
..
..
..
..
Djibouti
Lower
○
○
○
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Eritrea
No intervention
..
..
..
..
Raise
Ethiopia
No intervention
..
..
..
..
Raise
—
—
—
Kenya
Lower
○
○
○
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Madagascar
No official policy
..
..
..
..
Maintain
●
○
●
Malawi
Lower
Maintain
—
—
—
Mauritius
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Mozambique
Maintain
○
○
○
●
Maintain
Rwanda
Raise
○
○
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
Seychelles
Lower
○
○
○
●
Maintain
Somalia
No intervention
..
..
..
..
South Sudan
Uganda
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
—
—
—
United Republic of Tanzania
No intervention
..
..
..
..
—
—
—
Zambia
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Zimbabwe
No intervention
..
..
..
..
Raise
Middle Africa
Angola
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
○
○
●
Cameroon
Maintain
○
○
○
●
No official
policy
●
●
●
Central African Republic
No intervention
..
..
..
..
Chad
Maintain
Raise
Congo
Maintain
—
—
—
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Maintain
Raise
Selected policy variables on immigration or emigration, 2015
International Migration Policies
13
Measures on irregular immigration
Policy on
emigration
Measures to attract investment by
diaspora
Policy to
encourage
the return
of citizens
Penalties for
employers of
migrants in an
irregular
situation
Fines,
detention or
deportation
of migrants in
an irregular
situation
Regularization
of legal status
under defined
schemes or
conditions
Reduce costs
of
transferring
remittances
Tax
exceptions
or breaks
Preferential
treatment
in providing
credit or
allotment
of licences
AFRICA
Eastern Africa
Burundi
No
intervention
—
—
—
Comoros
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Djibouti
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Eritrea
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Ethiopia
●
●
●
Maintain
●
●
●
Yes
Kenya
●
●
●
Lower
●
●
○
Yes
Madagascar
○
●
●
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Malawi
○
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Mauritius
○
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Mozambique
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Rwanda
●
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Seychelles
○
●
○
Lower
Yes
Somalia
No
intervention
○
○
●
No
South Sudan
—
—
—
Yes
Uganda
●
●
○
No
intervention
○
○
●
Yes
United Republic of Tanzania
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Zambia
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Zimbabwe
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Middle Africa
Angola
○
●
○
No
intervention
No
Cameroon
●
●
●
Lower
●
●
●
Yes
Central African Republic
●
○
○
No
intervention
Chad
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Congo
●
●
○
Maintain
○
○
●
Yes
Democratic Republic of the Congo
○
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
International Migration Policies
14
Policy on
immigration
Rationale for current immigration policy
Policy on highly
skilled workers
Measures on integration of immigrants
To
counter
long-term
population
decline
To address
population
ageing
To meet
labour
demands
in certain
sectors of
the
economy
To safeguard
employment
opportunities
for nationals
Language
skills
training
Transfer of
professional
credentials
Protection
against non-
discrimination
Equatorial Guinea
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
Gabon
Raise
●
○
●
○
Raise
○
●
●
São Tomé and Príncipe
No intervention
..
..
..
..
Northern Africa
Algeria
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
○
○
●
Egypt
Lower
○
○
●
●
Maintain
○
○
●
Libya
Maintain
Maintain
Morocco
No official policy
..
..
..
..
Maintain
●
●
●
Sudan
Maintain
Tunisia
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
—
—
—
Southern Africa
Botswana
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
Lesotho
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
Namibia
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
○
○
●
South Africa
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
○
○
●
Swaziland
Maintain
—
—
—
Western Africa
Benin
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
—
—
—
Burkina Faso
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
—
—
—
Cabo Verde
Maintain
○
○
●
○
No
intervention
●
●
●
Côte d'Ivoire
Maintain
Maintain
—
—
—
Gambia
Lower
○
○
○
●
Lower
Ghana
Lower
No
intervention
—
—
—
Guinea
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
—
—
—
Guinea-Bissau
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
Liberia
Maintain
—
—
—
Mali
Maintain
No
intervention
—
—
—
Mauritania
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
Niger
Maintain
Maintain
—
—
—
Nigeria
Maintain
Raise
○
○
●
Senegal
No official policy
..
..
..
..
No official
policy
○
○
●
Sierra Leone
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
Togo
No intervention
..
..
..
..
No
intervention
—
—
—
International Migration Policies
15
Measures on irregular immigration
Policy on
emigration
Measures to attract investment by
diaspora
Policy to
encourage
the return
of citizens
Penalties for
employers of
migrants in an
irregular
situation
Fines,
detention or
deportation
of migrants in
an irregular
situation
Regularization
of legal status
under defined
schemes or
conditions
Reduce costs
of
transferring
remittances
Tax
exceptions
or breaks
Preferential
treatment
in providing
credit or
allotment
of licences
Equatorial Guinea
○
●
○
Lower
Gabon
●
●
●
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
São Tomé and Príncipe
No
intervention
Northern Africa
Algeria
●
●
○
No
intervention
●
●
●
Yes
Egypt
○
●
○
Maintain
●
●
○
Yes
Libya
○
●
○
Maintain
No
Morocco
○
●
●
●
●
●
Yes
Sudan
○
●
○
Lower
Yes
Tunisia
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
○
No
Southern Africa
Botswana
●
●
○
Lower
Yes
Lesotho
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Namibia
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
South Africa
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Swaziland
Lower
Western Africa
Benin
○
●
○
No
intervention
Yes
Burkina Faso
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Cabo Verde
●
●
●
Maintain
●
●
●
Yes
Côte d'Ivoire
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Gambia
—
—
—
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Ghana
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Guinea
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Guinea-Bissau
Lower
—
—
—
Liberia
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Mali
●
●
○
Lower
○
●
○
Yes
Mauritania
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Niger
○
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Nigeria
●
●
○
Maintain
●
○
○
Yes
Senegal
●
●
●
○
●
●
Yes
Sierra Leone
○
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Togo
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
International Migration Policies
16
Policy on
immigration
Rationale for current immigration policy
Policy on highly
skilled workers
Measures on integration of immigrants
To
counter
long-term
population
decline
To address
population
ageing
To meet
labour
demands
in certain
sectors of
the
economy
To safeguard
employment
opportunities
for nationals
Language
skills
training
Transfer of
professional
credentials
Protection
against non-
discrimination
ASIA
Eastern Asia
China
Raise
○
○
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Maintain
○
○
○
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Japan
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
Mongolia
Maintain
○
●
●
●
Raise
●
●
●
Republic of Korea
Raise
○
○
●
●
Raise
●
○
●
South-Central Asia
Afghanistan
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
Bangladesh
Maintain
○
○
○
●
—
—
—
Bhutan
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
India
Maintain
Maintain
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Lower
Maintain
Kazakhstan
Raise
○
○
●
○
Raise
○
○
●
Kyrgyzstan
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
○
●
○
Maldives
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
Nepal
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Pakistan
Lower
Maintain
—
—
—
Sri Lanka
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Tajikistan
Maintain
—
—
—
—
○
○
●
Turkmenistan
Lower
○
○
○
●
—
—
—
Uzbekistan
Maintain
Maintain
South-Eastern Asia
Brunei Darussalam
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
—
—
—
Cambodia
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Indonesia
Maintain
○
●
●
●
Maintain
●
○
●
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
Malaysia
Lower
○
○
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
Myanmar
Maintain
○
○
○
●
Raise
Philippines
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
○
○
●
Singapore
Maintain
●
●
●
●
Lower
●
○
○
Thailand
Raise
○
○
●
●
Raise
○
○
●
Timor-Leste
Maintain
Maintain
International Migration Policies
17
Measures on irregular immigration
Policy on
emigration
Measures to attract investment by
diaspora
Policy to
encourage
the return
of citizens
Penalties for
employers of
migrants in an
irregular
situation
Fines,
detention or
deportation
of migrants in
an irregular
situation
Regularization
of legal status
under defined
schemes or
conditions
Reduce costs
of
transferring
remittances
Tax
exceptions
or breaks
Preferential
treatment
in providing
credit or
allotment
of licences
ASIA
Eastern Asia
China
●
●
○
No
intervention
●
●
●
Yes
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
○
●
○
Maintain
Japan
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Mongolia
●
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Republic of Korea
●
●
○
No
intervention
○
○
●
Yes
South-Central Asia
Afghanistan
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Bangladesh
○
●
○
Raise
●
○
○
No
Bhutan
●
●
○
Maintain
No
India
○
●
○
Maintain
●
○
●
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
●
●
●
Lower
Yes
Kazakhstan
●
●
●
Maintain
○
○
●
Yes
Kyrgyzstan
○
●
○
Maintain
Yes
Maldives
●
●
●
Maintain
No
Nepal
○
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
Yes
Pakistan
○
●
●
Raise
—
—
—
Yes
Sri Lanka
●
●
●
Raise
●
○
●
Yes
Tajikistan
○
●
○
Raise
●
○
○
No
Turkmenistan
●
●
○
Lower
Uzbekistan
○
●
○
Raise
No
South-Eastern Asia
Brunei Darussalam
●
●
○
No
intervention
No
Cambodia
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
○
No
Indonesia
●
●
●
Maintain
●
○
●
Yes
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Lower
Yes
Malaysia
●
●
●
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Myanmar
○
●
○
Maintain
Yes
Philippines
●
●
●
Maintain
●
●
●
Yes
Singapore
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Thailand
○
●
●
Raise
No
Timor-Leste
●
●
●
Raise
International Migration Policies
18
Policy on
immigration
Rationale for current immigration policy
Policy on highly
skilled workers
Measures on integration of immigrants
To
counter
long-term
population
decline
To address
population
ageing
To meet
labour
demands
in certain
sectors of
the
economy
To safeguard
employment
opportunities
for nationals
Language
skills
training
Transfer of
professional
credentials
Protection
against non-
discrimination
Viet Nam
Maintain
Raise
Western Asia
Armenia
Maintain
○
●
●
○
Maintain
●
●
●
Azerbaijan
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
○
○
●
Bahrain
Lower
○
○
●
●
Lower
Cyprus
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Lower
●
●
●
Georgia
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
○
●
●
Iraq
Maintain
○
○
○
●
No official
policy
○
●
●
Israel
Raise
●
○
○
○
Maintain
●
●
○
Jordan
Lower
○
○
○
●
Maintain
○
●
●
Kuwait
Lower
○
○
●
●
Raise
—
—
—
Lebanon
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
○
○
●
Oman
Lower
○
○
●
●
Lower
○
●
●
Qatar
Lower
○
○
●
●
Raise
—
—
—
Saudi Arabia
Lower
○
○
○
●
Maintain
—
—
—
State of Palestine
No official policy
..
..
..
..
Syrian Arab Republic
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Turkey
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
○
○
●
United Arab Emirates
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
—
—
—
Yemen
Lower
○
○
○
●
Maintain
EUROPE
Eastern Europe
Belarus
Raise
●
●
●
○
Raise
●
○
●
Bulgaria
Raise
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Czechia
No official policy
..
..
..
..
No official
policy
●
○
●
Hungary
Raise
●
○
●
●
Raise
●
●
●
Poland
Raise
●
●
●
●
Raise
●
○
●
Republic of Moldova
Maintain
○
○
○
●
Maintain
●
●
●
Romania
Raise
○
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Russian Federation
Raise
●
●
●
○
Raise
●
○
●
Slovakia
Maintain
●
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Ukraine
Raise
●
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Northern Europe
International Migration Policies
19
Measures on irregular immigration
Policy on
emigration
Measures to attract investment by
diaspora
Policy to
encourage
the return
of citizens
Penalties for
employers of
migrants in an
irregular
situation
Fines,
detention or
deportation
of migrants in
an irregular
situation
Regularization
of legal status
under defined
schemes or
conditions
Reduce costs
of
transferring
remittances
Tax
exceptions
or breaks
Preferential
treatment
in providing
credit or
allotment
of licences
Viet Nam
●
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
Yes
Western Asia
Armenia
●
●
○
Lower
●
○
○
Yes
Azerbaijan
●
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Bahrain
●
●
●
No
intervention
Cyprus
●
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Georgia
○
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Iraq
●
●
○
Lower
●
●
●
Yes
Israel
●
●
●
Lower
○
●
○
Yes
Jordan
●
●
●
Maintain
●
●
●
Yes
Kuwait
○
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Lebanon
●
●
●
Lower
○
●
○
Yes
Oman
●
●
●
—
—
—
Yes
Qatar
●
●
○
No
intervention
No
Saudi Arabia
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
State of Palestine
Lower
○
●
●
Yes
Syrian Arab Republic
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Turkey
●
●
○
Maintain
●
●
○
No
United Arab Emirates
●
●
●
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Yemen
●
●
○
Raise
No
EUROPE
Eastern Europe
Belarus
●
●
●
Lower
●
○
○
Yes
Bulgaria
●
●
●
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Czechia
●
●
○
—
—
—
Yes
Hungary
●
●
○
No
intervention
Yes
Poland
●
●
●
—
—
—
Yes
Republic of Moldova
●
●
●
Lower
●
○
○
Yes
Romania
●
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Russian Federation
●
●
●
Lower
●
○
○
Yes
Slovakia
●
●
○
—
—
—
Yes
Ukraine
○
●
○
Lower
●
○
○
Yes
Northern Europe
International Migration Policies
20
Policy on
immigration
Rationale for current immigration policy
Policy on highly
skilled workers
Measures on integration of immigrants
To
counter
long-term
population
decline
To address
population
ageing
To meet
labour
demands
in certain
sectors of
the
economy
To safeguard
employment
opportunities
for nationals
Language
skills
training
Transfer of
professional
credentials
Protection
against non-
discrimination
Denmark
No official policy
..
..
..
..
Raise
●
●
○
Estonia
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
●
●
●
Finland
Raise
●
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Iceland
Maintain
Raise
●
●
○
Ireland
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Latvia
Maintain
●
●
●
●
Raise
●
○
○
Lithuania
Raise
●
●
●
○
Raise
○
●
●
Norway
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Sweden
Raise
○
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
United Kingdom
Lower
○
○
○
●
Lower
●
●
●
Southern Europe
Albania
Maintain
Maintain
—
—
—
Andorra
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Maintain
Maintain
—
—
—
Croatia
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
●
●
●
Greece
Lower
○
○
●
○
Lower
●
●
●
Holy See
Maintain
Italy
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
●
●
●
Malta
Maintain
Maintain
●
●
●
Montenegro
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Portugal
Raise
●
●
●
●
Raise
●
●
●
San Marino
Raise
○
○
●
○
No
intervention
○
○
●
Serbia
Maintain
●
●
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Slovenia
Maintain
●
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Spain
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
●
●
●
The former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Western Europe
Austria
Raise
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Belgium
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
●
●
●
France
Lower
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Germany
Raise
●
●
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
Liechtenstein
Maintain
Maintain
●
○
○
Luxembourg
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
●
●
International Migration Policies
21
Measures on irregular immigration
Policy on
emigration
Measures to attract investment by
diaspora
Policy to
encourage
the return
of citizens
Penalties for
employers of
migrants in an
irregular
situation
Fines,
detention or
deportation
of migrants in
an irregular
situation
Regularization
of legal status
under defined
schemes or
conditions
Reduce costs
of
transferring
remittances
Tax
exceptions
or breaks
Preferential
treatment
in providing
credit or
allotment
of licences
Denmark
●
●
○
—
—
—
No
Estonia
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Finland
●
●
●
—
—
—
Yes
Iceland
●
●
○
No
intervention
No
Ireland
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Latvia
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Lithuania
●
●
●
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Norway
●
●
○
—
—
—
No
Sweden
●
●
○
—
—
—
No
United Kingdom
●
●
●
No
intervention
No
Southern Europe
Albania
○
●
○
Maintain
●
○
●
Yes
Andorra
Maintain
No
Bosnia and Herzegovina
○
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Croatia
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Greece
●
●
○
○
●
○
Yes
Holy See
Maintain
Italy
●
●
●
No
intervention
○
●
○
Yes
Malta
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Montenegro
○
●
○
No
intervention
○
○
●
Yes
Portugal
●
●
●
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
San Marino
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
Serbia
○
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Slovenia
●
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Spain
●
●
○
No
intervention
Yes
The former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia
●
●
○
Lower
Yes
Western Europe
Austria
●
●
●
Yes
Belgium
●
●
●
—
—
—
No
France
●
●
●
No
intervention
No
Germany
●
●
●
No
intervention
No
Liechtenstein
●
●
○
No
intervention
No
Luxembourg
●
●
●
No
intervention
International Migration Policies
22
Policy on
immigration
Rationale for current immigration policy
Policy on highly
skilled workers
Measures on integration of immigrants
To
counter
long-term
population
decline
To address
population
ageing
To meet
labour
demands
in certain
sectors of
the
economy
To safeguard
employment
opportunities
for nationals
Language
skills
training
Transfer of
professional
credentials
Protection
against non-
discrimination
Monaco
Maintain
○
○
●
Netherlands
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
●
○
Switzerland
Lower
○
○
●
●
Maintain
●
●
●
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda
Maintain
Maintain
●
○
○
Bahamas
Maintain
Maintain
—
—
—
Barbados
Lower
○
○
●
●
Raise
—
—
—
Cuba
Maintain
—
—
—
—
Maintain
—
—
—
Dominica
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Dominican Republic
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Grenada
No official policy
..
..
..
..
No official
policy
○
○
●
Haiti
Maintain
Jamaica
Maintain
Raise
—
—
—
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Maintain
○
○
○
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Saint Lucia
Maintain
Maintain
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Maintain
Maintain
Trinidad and Tobago
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
○
●
○
Central America
Belize
Lower
○
○
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Costa Rica
Maintain
●
●
●
●
Maintain
●
●
●
El Salvador
No intervention
..
..
..
..
Maintain
—
—
—
Guatemala
No intervention
..
..
..
..
Maintain
—
—
—
Honduras
Maintain
Maintain
—
—
—
Mexico
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
●
○
●
Nicaragua
Maintain
—
—
—
—
Maintain
—
—
—
Panama
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
○
●
●
South America
Argentina
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
●
●
●
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Maintain
Maintain
○
●
●
Brazil
Raise
●
●
●
○
Raise
●
○
○
Chile
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
○
●
●
Colombia
Maintain
—
—
—
—
Raise
●
●
●
International Migration Policies
23
Measures on irregular immigration
Policy on
emigration
Measures to attract investment by
diaspora
Policy to
encourage
the return
of citizens
Penalties for
employers of
migrants in an
irregular
situation
Fines,
detention or
deportation
of migrants in
an irregular
situation
Regularization
of legal status
under defined
schemes or
conditions
Reduce costs
of
transferring
remittances
Tax
exceptions
or breaks
Preferential
treatment
in providing
credit or
allotment
of licences
Monaco
Maintain
Netherlands
●
●
○
No
intervention
No
Switzerland
●
●
○
—
—
—
No
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda
○
●
○
No
intervention
○
●
●
Yes
Bahamas
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Barbados
●
●
○
Lower
○
●
○
Yes
Cuba
Maintain
●
●
○
No
Dominica
●
●
○
Lower
○
●
●
Yes
Dominican Republic
●
●
●
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Grenada
●
●
●
○
●
○
Yes
Haiti
○
●
○
Lower
○
○
●
Yes
Jamaica
○
●
○
Maintain
●
●
●
Yes
Saint Kitts and Nevis
○
●
●
Maintain
Yes
Saint Lucia
●
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Trinidad and Tobago
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Central America
Belize
●
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
Yes
Costa Rica
●
●
●
—
—
—
Yes
El Salvador
●
●
○
Maintain
●
○
●
No
Guatemala
●
●
○
Maintain
○
○
●
No
Honduras
●
●
○
Lower
●
○
○
Yes
Mexico
●
●
○
Lower
●
○
○
Yes
Nicaragua
●
●
○
Lower
●
○
○
Yes
Panama
●
●
●
—
—
—
No
South America
Argentina
●
●
●
Lower
○
●
○
Yes
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
●
●
○
Lower
●
○
●
Yes
Brazil
●
●
●
●
○
○
Yes
Chile
●
●
●
Maintain
○
●
●
Yes
Colombia
●
●
●
Maintain
●
○
○
Yes
International Migration Policies
24
Policy on
immigration
Rationale for current immigration policy
Policy on highly
skilled workers
Measures on integration of immigrants
To
counter
long-term
population
decline
To address
population
ageing
To meet
labour
demands
in certain
sectors of
the
economy
To safeguard
employment
opportunities
for nationals
Language
skills
training
Transfer of
professional
credentials
Protection
against non-
discrimination
Ecuador
Lower
No
intervention
○
○
●
Guyana
Maintain
○
○
○
●
Raise
—
—
—
Paraguay
Maintain
Raise
○
○
●
Peru
Maintain
○
○
○
●
Maintain
○
○
●
Suriname
Maintain
Raise
—
—
—
Uruguay
Raise
●
●
●
○
Raise
○
○
●
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Maintain
○
○
○
●
Maintain
●
●
●
NORTHERN AMERICA
Canada
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
●
●
●
United States of America
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Maintain
●
○
●
OCEANIA
Australia/New Zealand
Australia
Maintain
○
●
●
●
Maintain
●
●
●
New Zealand
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
○
●
●
Melanesia
Fiji
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
○
○
●
Papua New Guinea
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Raise
—
—
—
Solomon Islands
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
Vanuatu
Maintain
Maintain
Micronesia
Kiribati
Maintain
Marshall Islands
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Maintain
Raise
Nauru
Maintain
Palau
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Polynesia
Cook Islands
Maintain
○
○
●
○
Raise
Niue
Raise
Samoa
Maintain
○
○
●
●
Maintain
—
—
—
Tonga
Maintain
Raise
Tuvalu
Maintain
Notes:
A black dot ● indicates that policies or strategies were adopted or concrete measures were taken.
A hollow dot ○ indicates that no policies were adopted nor measures were taken.
Two dots (..) indicate that the item is not applicable.
An em dash (—) indicates “none of these”.
A blank cell indicates that data are not available.
International Migration Policies
25
Measures on irregular immigration
Policy on
emigration
Measures to attract investment by
diaspora
Policy to
encourage
the return
of citizens
Penalties for
employers of
migrants in an
irregular
situation
Fines,
detention or
deportation
of migrants in
an irregular
situation
Regularization
of legal status
under defined
schemes or
conditions
Reduce costs
of
transferring
remittances
Tax
exceptions
or breaks
Preferential
treatment
in providing
credit or
allotment
of licences
Ecuador
●
●
●
Lower
●
○
●
Yes
Guyana
○
●
○
Lower
○
●
○
Yes
Paraguay
●
●
●
Lower
○
●
○
Yes
Peru
●
●
●
Maintain
●
○
●
Yes
Suriname
●
●
●
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Uruguay
●
●
●
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
●
●
●
Yes
NORTHERN AMERICA
Canada
●
●
●
No
intervention
No
United States of America
●
●
●
No
intervention
—
—
—
No
OCEANIA
Australia/New Zealand
Australia
●
●
○
●
○
○
No
New Zealand
●
●
○
No
intervention
—
—
—
Yes
Melanesia
Fiji
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Papua New Guinea
●
●
○
Raise
Yes
Solomon Islands
●
●
○
Raise
Vanuatu
●
●
○
Maintain
No
Micronesia
Kiribati
●
●
○
Raise
No
Marshall Islands
●
●
○
Maintain
—
—
—
No
Micronesia (Federated States of)
○
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Nauru
●
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
No
Palau
●
●
○
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Polynesia
Cook Islands
Lower
—
—
—
Yes
Niue
●
●
○
Lower
○
●
●
Yes
Samoa
●
●
○
Maintain
●
○
○
Tonga
○
●
○
Raise
—
—
—
No
Tuvalu
○
●
○
Raise
No
International Migration Policies
26
Total
population
(thousands)
2017
International migrants, 2017
Inflows of migrant remittances, 2016
Total number
(thousands)
As a percentage
of total
population
Females among
international
migrants
(percentage)
Median age
(years)
Total amount
(millions of US$)
As a percentage
of GDP
AFRICA
Eastern Africa
Burundi
10 864.2
299.6
2.8
50.7
31.0
51.0
1.7
Comoros
813.9
12.6
1.5
51.6
36.7
130.6
21.2
Djibouti
957.0
116.1
12.1
47.4
30.8
63.3
3.7
Eritrea
5 068.8
16.0
0.3
44.6
31.2
..
..
Ethiopia
104 957.4
1 227.1
1.2
49.1
22.1
772.2
1.1
Kenya
49 699.9
1 078.6
2.2
50.1
24.6
1 739.2
2.5
Madagascar
25 570.9
33.8
0.1
43.0
42.5
250.5
2.5
Malawi
18 622.1
237.1
1.3
52.4
34.5
34.4
0.6
Mauritius
1 265.1
28.7
2.3
44.6
39.0
249.0
2.0
Mozambique
29 668.8
247.0
0.8
51.1
30.0
93.4
0.8
Rwanda
12 208.4
443.1
3.6
50.2
29.2
172.5
2.1
Seychelles
94.7
12.9
13.6
30.0
37.8
22.1
1.5
Somalia
14 742.5
44.9
0.3
47.5
28.1
..
..
South Sudan
12 575.7
845.2
6.7
48.9
29.4
..
..
Uganda
42 863.0
1 692.1
3.9
53.1
30.5
1 015.7
4.0
United Republic of Tanzania
57 310.0
492.6
0.9
50.1
34.3
411.2
0.9
Zambia
17 094.1
157.0
0.9
49.5
33.9
38.5
0.2
Zimbabwe
16 529.9
403.9
2.4
43.1
38.3
..
..
Middle Africa
Angola
29 784.2
638.5
2.1
51.8
21.9
11.1
0.0
Cameroon
24 053.7
540.3
2.2
50.6
28.9
241.6
1.0
Central African Republic
4 659.1
88.8
1.9
47.0
32.0
..
..
Chad
14 900.0
489.7
3.3
53.9
25.9
..
..
Congo
5 260.8
398.9
7.6
45.2
31.9
..
..
Democratic Republic of the Congo
81 340.0
879.2
1.1
51.3
28.0
4.7
0.0
Equatorial Guinea
1 267.7
221.9
17.5
22.9
33.8
..
..
Gabon
2 025.1
280.2
13.8
42.9
32.0
..
..
Selected indicators on international migration and remittances
International Migration Policies
27
Total
population
(thousands)
2017
International migrants, 2017
Inflows of migrant remittances, 2016
Total number
(thousands)
As a percentage
of total
population
Females among
international
migrants
(percentage)
Median age
(years)
Total amount
(millions of US$)
As a percentage
of GDP
São Tomé and Príncipe
204.3
2.3
1.1
50.0
44.1
18.0
5.1
Northern Africa
Algeria
41 318.1
248.6
0.6
47.2
39.6
2 000.0
1.3
Egypt
97 553.2
478.3
0.5
46.1
34.3
16 590.0
4.9
Libya
6 374.6
788.4
12.4
28.8
32.2
..
..
Morocco
35 739.6
95.8
0.3
49.8
34.8
7 087.7
7.0
Sudan
40 533.3
735.8
1.8
49.9
27.6
153.4
0.2
Tunisia
11 532.1
57.7
0.5
48.2
38.2
1 971.4
4.7
Southern Africa
Botswana
2 291.7
166.4
7.3
45.3
34.1
28.9
0.2
Lesotho
2 233.3
6.7
0.3
45.9
37.3
343.7
15.6
Namibia
2 533.8
95.1
3.8
46.1
35.2
2.2
0.0
South Africa
56 717.2
4 036.7
7.1
44.4
33.7
755.4
0.3
Swaziland
1 367.3
33.3
2.4
48.2
36.4
18.7
0.5
Western Africa
Benin
11 175.7
253.3
2.3
43.9
31.1
207.1
2.4
Burkina Faso
19 193.4
708.9
3.7
52.4
31.0
405.7
3.3
Cabo Verde
546.4
15.3
2.8
49.4
38.3
220.7
13.6
Côte d'Ivoire
24 294.8
2 197.2
9.0
44.6
36.2
342.0
0.9
Gambia
2 100.6
205.1
9.8
47.3
30.8
207.4
21.5
Ghana
28 833.6
417.6
1.4
49.1
28.0
2 100.0
4.9
Guinea
12 717.2
122.8
1.0
41.1
27.6
52.2
0.8
Guinea-Bissau
1 861.3
23.4
1.3
51.5
25.6
93.3
8.3
Liberia
4 731.9
98.6
2.1
43.0
29.6
548.8
26.1
Mali
18 542.0
383.7
2.1
48.8
26.9
936.8
6.7
Mauritania
4 420.2
168.4
3.8
43.5
25.0
..
..
Niger
21 477.3
295.6
1.4
52.6
25.2
181.6
2.4
Nigeria
190 886.3
1 235.1
0.6
45.1
18.9
20 112.1
5.0
Senegal
15 850.6
265.6
1.7
46.9
29.1
2 015.9
13.7
Sierra Leone
7 557.2
95.2
1.3
45.2
28.6
48.2
1.3
Togo
7 797.7
284.0
3.6
49.7
23.1
351.2
8.0
ASIA
Eastern Asia
China
1 409 517.4
999.5
0.1
38.6
36.8
61 000.0
0.5
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
25 491.0
48.9
0.2
50.2
36.3
..
..
International Migration Policies
28
Total
population
(thousands)
2017
International migrants, 2017
Inflows of migrant remittances, 2016
Total number
(thousands)
As a percentage
of total
population
Females among
international
migrants
(percentage)
Median age
(years)
Total amount
(millions of US$)
As a percentage
of GDP
Japan
127 484.5
2 321.5
1.8
55.0
34.3
3 818.9
0.1
Mongolia
3 075.6
18.2
0.6
27.0
38.8
259.9
2.3
Republic of Korea
50 982.2
1 151.9
2.3
43.9
35.4
6 393.4
0.5
South-Central Asia
Afghanistan
35 530.1
133.6
0.4
50.1
24.2
430.8
2.2
Bangladesh
164 669.8
1 500.9
0.9
47.3
31.7
13 559.4
6.1
Bhutan
807.6
52.3
6.5
18.9
35.5
34.3
1.5
India
1 339 180.1
5 188.6
0.4
48.8
45.6
62 744.4
2.8
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
81 162.8
2 699.2
3.3
47.0
30.2
1 330.0
0.3
Kazakhstan
18 204.5
3 635.2
20.0
50.4
38.9
275.4
0.2
Kyrgyzstan
6 045.1
200.3
3.3
59.6
46.9
1 994.6
30.4
Maldives
436.3
67.0
15.4
12.3
32.4
3.8
0.1
Nepal
29 305.0
502.7
1.7
69.4
40.7
6 606.8
31.2
Pakistan
197 016.0
3 398.2
1.7
48.7
43.0
19 761.0
7.0
Sri Lanka
20 876.9
40.0
0.2
47.8
25.3
7 257.4
8.9
Tajikistan
8 921.3
273.3
3.1
56.9
54.0
1 867.4
26.9
Turkmenistan
5 758.1
195.1
3.4
53.4
53.0
9.0
0.0
Uzbekistan
31 910.6
1 159.2
3.6
53.4
51.6
2 479.0
3.7
South-Eastern Asia
Brunei Darussalam
428.7
108.6
25.3
43.4
35.8
..
..
Cambodia
16 005.4
76.3
0.5
46.1
34.9
370.6
1.9
Indonesia
263 991.4
345.9
0.1
41.8
29.8
8 976.8
1.0
Lao People's Democratic Republic
6 858.2
45.5
0.7
46.3
36.8
116.4
0.7
Malaysia
31 624.3
2 703.6
8.5
39.6
33.0
1 584.9
0.5
Myanmar
53 370.6
74.7
0.1
45.2
36.9
681.8
1.0
Philippines
104 918.1
218.5
0.2
48.2
34.0
31 144.6
10.2
Singapore
5 708.8
2 623.4
46.0
55.9
39.4
..
..
Thailand
69 037.5
3 588.9
5.2
49.8
33.5
6 272.8
1.5
Timor-Leste
1 296.3
12.1
0.9
49.4
37.1
80.2
5.6
Viet Nam
95 540.8
76.1
0.1
42.1
36.5
11 880.0
5.9
Western Asia
Armenia
2 930.5
190.7
6.5
59.5
52.7
1 382.3
13.1
Azerbaijan
9 827.6
259.2
2.6
52.1
43.2
643.1
1.7
Bahrain
1 492.6
722.6
48.4
27.7
35.1
..
..
Cyprus
1 179.6
189.0
16.0
56.2
34.4
321.1
1.6
International Migration Policies
29
Total
population
(thousands)
2017
International migrants, 2017
Inflows of migrant remittances, 2016
Total number
(thousands)
As a percentage
of total
population
Females among
international
migrants
(percentage)
Median age
(years)
Total amount
(millions of US$)
As a percentage
of GDP
Georgia
3 912.1
78.2
2.0
56.2
40.6
1 520.8
10.6
Iraq
38 274.6
366.6
1.0
41.8
33.7
986.4
0.6
Israel
8 321.6
1 962.1
23.6
54.6
47.8
963.4
0.3
Jordan
9 702.4
3 233.6
33.3
49.6
21.0
4 374.6
11.3
Kuwait
4 136.5
3 123.4
75.5
32.0
34.9
4.0
0.0
Lebanon
6 082.4
1 939.2
31.9
51.9
23.8
7 615.6
16.0
Oman
4 636.3
2 073.3
44.7
16.0
32.8
39.0
0.1
Qatar
2 639.2
1 721.4
65.2
16.1
32.8
378.6
0.2
Saudi Arabia
32 938.2
12 185.3
37.0
31.5
32.9
307.5
0.0
State of Palestine
4 920.7
253.7
5.2
55.7
32.3
1 957.2
14.6
Syrian Arab Republic
18 269.9
1 013.8
5.5
48.9
34.1
1 622.5
..
Turkey
80 745.0
4 882.0
6.0
53.0
32.6
1 186.0
0.1
United Arab Emirates
9 400.1
8 312.5
88.4
25.3
33.8
..
..
Yemen
28 250.4
384.3
1.4
47.5
31.2
3 350.5
12.3
EUROPE
Eastern Europe
Belarus
9 468.3
1 078.7
11.4
54.2
52.8
920.4
1.9
Bulgaria
7 084.6
153.8
2.2
55.6
32.7
1 665.6
3.2
Czechia
10 618.3
433.3
4.1
42.6
38.9
3 126.4
1.6
Hungary
9 721.6
503.8
5.2
50.0
41.2
4 609.2
3.7
Poland
38 170.7
640.9
1.7
57.2
69.2
6 712.0
1.4
Republic of Moldova
4 051.2
140.0
3.5
64.6
52.3
1 464.9
21.7
Romania
19 679.3
370.8
1.9
46.9
25.1
3 484.2
1.9
Russian Federation
143 989.8
11 651.5
8.1
50.9
44.5
6 678.0
0.5
Slovakia
5 447.7
184.6
3.4
49.5
50.4
2 119.4
2.4
Ukraine
44 222.9
4 964.3
11.2
57.0
49.1
6 146.0
6.6
Northern Europe
Denmark
5 733.6
656.8
11.5
50.6
37.0
1 259.6
0.4
Estonia
1 309.6
193.0
14.7
58.2
59.3
478.7
2.1
Finland
5 523.2
343.6
6.2
49.1
36.2
804.4
0.3
Iceland
335.0
41.9
12.5
50.5
33.1
245.5
1.2
Ireland
4 761.7
806.5
16.9
51.1
36.1
594.1
0.2
Latvia
1 949.7
256.9
13.2
60.7
63.0
1 269.3
4.6
Lithuania
2 890.3
124.7
4.3
58.4
58.2
1 279.7
3.0
Norway
5 305.4
798.9
15.1
47.8
36.3
593.1
0.2
International Migration Policies
30
Total
population
(thousands)
2017
International migrants, 2017
Inflows of migrant remittances, 2016
Total number
(thousands)
As a percentage
of total
population
Females among
international
migrants
(percentage)
Median age
(years)
Total amount
(millions of US$)
As a percentage
of GDP
Sweden
9 910.7
1 747.7
17.6
50.6
40.1
2 854.5
0.6
United Kingdom
66 181.6
8 841.7
13.4
52.4
37.4
4 564.7
0.2
Southern Europe
Albania
2 930.2
52.5
1.8
49.1
19.7
1 051.2
8.8
Andorra
77.0
41.0
53.3
47.5
47.6
..
..
Bosnia and Herzegovina
3 507.0
37.1
1.1
52.3
37.1
1 831.4
11.1
Croatia
4 189.4
560.5
13.4
53.7
49.7
2 189.5
4.3
Greece
11 159.8
1 220.4
10.9
54.5
42.4
331.5
0.2
Holy See
0.8
0.8
100.0
52.9
..
..
..
Italy
59 359.9
5 907.5
10.0
54.4
39.2
9 712.8
0.5
Malta
430.8
45.5
10.6
46.6
38.9
218.8
2.0
Montenegro
629.0
71.0
11.3
60.8
43.0
396.2
9.5
Portugal
10 329.5
880.2
8.5
53.3
41.7
4 377.7
2.1
San Marino
33.4
5.2
15.6
44.6
36.4
..
..
Serbia
8 790.6
801.9
9.1
56.0
56.5
3 204.8
8.5
Slovenia
2 080.0
244.8
11.8
43.6
49.0
364.3
0.8
Spain
46 354.3
5 947.1
12.8
51.4
39.7
10 280.8
0.8
The former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia
2 083.2
131.0
6.3
58.3
52.4
291.1
2.7
Western Europe
Austria
8 735.5
1 660.3
19.0
52.0
44.9
2 880.6
0.7
Belgium
11 429.3
1 268.4
11.1
49.2
36.6
9 867.3
2.1
France
64 979.5
7 902.8
12.2
51.8
48.2
24 373.1
1.0
Germany
82 114.2
12 165.1
14.8
50.2
43.4
16 683.2
0.5
Liechtenstein
37.9
24.7
65.1
51.3
43.0
..
..
Luxembourg
583.5
264.1
45.3
49.2
41.7
1 620.0
2.7
Monaco
38.7
21.3
55.0
50.9
53.8
..
..
Netherlands
17 035.9
2 056.5
12.1
52.2
42.5
1 413.4
0.2
Switzerland
8 476.0
2 506.4
29.6
51.0
43.1
2 493.6
0.4
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda
102.0
28.6
28.0
55.4
42.1
21.1
1.5
Bahamas
395.4
61.8
15.6
49.4
39.3
..
..
Barbados
285.7
34.7
12.1
55.1
37.9
108.3
2.4
Cuba
11 484.6
13.1
0.1
55.4
43.9
..
..
Dominica
73.9
6.8
9.2
47.5
25.3
23.6
4.5
International Migration Policies
31
Total
population
(thousands)
2017
International migrants, 2017
Inflows of migrant remittances, 2016
Total number
(thousands)
As a percentage
of total
population
Females among
international
migrants
(percentage)
Median age
(years)
Total amount
(millions of US$)
As a percentage
of GDP
Dominican Republic
10 767.0
425.0
3.9
39.4
29.9
5 509.0
7.7
Grenada
107.8
7.1
6.6
50.4
32.7
29.6
2.9
Haiti
10 981.2
40.5
0.4
42.4
35.3
2 358.7
29.4
Jamaica
2 890.3
23.3
0.8
49.2
32.6
2 433.4
17.3
Saint Kitts and Nevis
55.3
7.6
13.7
47.4
32.6
51.6
5.6
Saint Lucia
178.8
12.9
7.2
49.5
32.3
30.1
2.2
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
109.9
4.6
4.2
51.1
27.4
31.6
4.1
Trinidad and Tobago
1 369.1
50.2
3.7
51.2
40.0
144.4
0.7
Central America
Belize
374.7
60.0
16.0
49.7
37.8
96.7
5.5
Costa Rica
4 905.8
414.2
8.4
52.0
39.9
551.4
1.0
El Salvador
6 377.9
42.3
0.7
52.4
34.3
4 593.8
17.1
Guatemala
16 913.5
81.5
0.5
52.6
35.1
7 468.6
10.9
Honduras
9 265.1
38.7
0.4
47.5
34.8
3 863.7
18.0
Mexico
129 163.3
1 224.2
0.9
49.3
13.3
28 670.1
2.7
Nicaragua
6 217.6
41.2
0.7
48.5
26.6
1 268.1
9.6
Panama
4 098.6
190.7
4.7
48.7
37.7
505.7
0.9
South America
Argentina
44 271.0
2 164.5
4.9
54.0
42.9
541.7
0.1
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
11 051.6
148.8
1.3
47.6
28.4
1 217.2
3.6
Brazil
209 288.3
735.6
0.4
46.0
42.2
2 739.8
0.2
Chile
18 054.7
488.6
2.7
52.9
32.3
103.9
0.0
Colombia
49 065.6
142.3
0.3
46.7
28.8
4 902.7
1.7
Ecuador
16 624.9
399.1
2.4
48.3
27.0
2 612.0
2.7
Guyana
777.9
15.5
2.0
46.5
32.1
293.5
8.5
Paraguay
6 811.3
160.5
2.4
48.0
37.0
656.9
2.4
Peru
32 165.5
93.8
0.3
49.9
35.4
2 883.9
1.5
Suriname
563.4
47.7
8.5
45.4
28.8
1.5
0.0
Uruguay
3 456.8
79.6
2.3
54.8
40.5
116.0
0.2
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
31 977.1
1 426.3
4.5
49.9
40.1
279.0
..
NORTHERN AMERICA
Canada
36 624.2
7 861.2
21.5
52.1
44.6
1 343.3
0.1
United States of America
324 459.5
49 777.0
15.3
51.4
44.7
6 547.0
0.0
OCEANIA
Australia/New Zealand
International Migration Policies
32
Total
population
(thousands)
2017
International migrants, 2017
Inflows of migrant remittances, 2016
Total number
(thousands)
As a percentage
of total
population
Females among
international
migrants
(percentage)
Median age
(years)
Total amount
(millions of US$)
As a percentage
of GDP
Australia
24 450.6
7 035.6
28.8
51.1
44.4
2 050.9
0.2
New Zealand
4 705.8
1 067.4
22.7
51.6
42.8
420.1
0.2
Melanesia
Fiji
905.5
13.9
1.5
46.0
35.8
80.4
1.7
Papua New Guinea
8 251.2
32.4
0.4
36.5
31.6
7.1
0.0
Solomon Islands
611.3
2.5
0.4
43.9
38.5
20.3
1.7
Vanuatu
276.2
3.2
1.2
50.3
35.2
18.9
2.4
Micronesia
Kiribati
116.4
3.0
2.6
47.3
30.9
17.5
10.5
Marshall Islands
53.1
3.3
6.2
38.8
33.2
26.1
14.3
Micronesia (Federated States of)
105.5
2.8
2.7
46.5
37.3
23.3
7.2
Nauru
11.4
3.7
32.6
37.5
35.1
..
..
Palau
21.7
5.0
23.0
43.2
38.7
2.3
0.8
Polynesia
Cook Islands
17.4
4.2
24.2
49.9
28.3
..
..
Niue
1.6
0.6
37.1
45.8
..
..
..
Samoa
196.4
4.9
2.5
49.9
22.5
38.3
4.9
Tonga
108.0
5.0
4.6
45.7
31.6
80.2
20.3
Tuvalu
11.2
0.1
0.9
44.8
..
4.1
11.9
Notes:
A full stop is used to indicate decimals.
Two dots (..) indicate that data are not available.
he Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs is an important centre of demographic research that supports
intergovernmental processes at the UN in the area of population and development.
The Division was created in 1947 following the establishment of the Population
Commission by UN Member States, with the mandate of implementing proposals and
decisions made by the Commission. The work of the Division focuses on strengthening the
capacity of the international community to address current and emerging population
issues, and to integrate population dimensions into the development agenda at the
national and international levels, including in the post-2015 development agenda.
The Division provides timely and accessible population data and analysis for all countries
and areas of the world, for use by UN Member States, the UN system, civil society and
academia. It also assists countries to develop their capacity to collect, disseminate and
analyse demographic data and information, and organizes technical and coordination
meetings on various aspects of population and development.
As the substantive Secretariat for the Commission on Population and Development, the
Division is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Programme of Action of
the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. The Division also
supports other intergovernmental processes and services various interagency coordination
mechanisms of the UN system.
T
ISBN 978-92-1-151552-7
