Asia and the Pacific is home to over 42 million international migrants
Source: DESA
Regional standing in global migration
Origin
Where migrants come from
Destination
Where migrants go to
Country-to-country corridors (Asia-Pacific v/s rest of the world)
Demographics
What percentage of the population are international migrants?
While Australia had the largest presence of migrants in the region (7 million), Macao SAR, China had the highest number of migrants – as a share of the total population (30.1%) as of mid-2020.
Source: DESA
Age and sex breakdown of international migrants in the Asia-Pacific region
The share of male (50.4%) and female (49.6%) migrants in the region was roughly balanced as of mid-2020. Migrants in the region aged 20-64 years old constituted 72.3%, while migrants aged 19 or below represented 14.7% of the total number of migrants.
Source: DESA
Remittances
By the end of 2022, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 16.6% of all annual remittance outflows worldwide, but 38.7% of annual remittance inflows worldwide.
Outflow
Inflow
Source: World Bank/KNOMAD
In 2022, remittances to the Asia-Pacific region amounted to USD 321 billion and outflow amounted to USD 72 billion.
Source: World Bank/KNOMAD
Type of migration
Who are refugees and asylum seekers?
An asylum seeker is “a person who seeks safety from persecution or serious harm in a country other than his or her own and awaits a decision on the application for refugee status under relevant international and national instruments. In case of a negative decision, the person must leave the country and may be expelled, as may any non-national in an irregular or unlawful situation, unless permission to stay is provided on humanitarian or other related grounds.”
A refugee is “a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinions, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country (Art. 1(A)(2), Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Art. 1 A(2), 1951 as modified by the 1967 Protocol).”
Source: IOM
Who are internally displaced persons (IDPs)?
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) refer to “persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border”.
Source: IOM
Total number of internally displaced people A snapshot of all people living in internal displacement at the end of the year
Total number of internal displacements The number of forced movements of people within the borders of their country recorded during a year. (Figures may include individuals who have been displaced more than once.)
Source: IDMC
Policy
Which countries have ratified the most Core International Human Rights Treaties?
What is ratification?
When a State ratifies one of the international human rights treaties, it assumes a legal obligation to implement the rights recognized in that treaty. Through ratification, States undertake to put in place domestic measures and legislation compatible with their treaty obligations.
With 17 out of 18 International Core Human Rights Treaties ratified and their associated optional protocols, Mongolia has the highest number of ratified treaties in the Asia-Pacific region.
Source: OHCHR
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.