The number of international migrants globally reached an estimated 272 million in 2019, an increase of 51 million since 2010, according to new estimates released by the United Nations on Tuesday.
The International Migrant Stock 2019, a dataset released by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), said that currently international migrants make up 3.5 percent of the global population, compared to 2.8 percent in the year 2000.
According to DESA, the dataset was based on official national statistics on the foreign-born or the foreign population obtained from population censuses, population registers or nationally representative surveys.
In 2019, regionally, Europe hosts the largest number of international migrants (82 million). At the country level, about half of all international migrants reside in just 10 countries, with the United States hosting the largest number of international migrants (51 million), equal to about 19 percent of the world's total.
Concerning their place of birth, one-third of all international migrants originate from 10 countries, with India being the lead country of origin, accounting for about 18 million persons living abroad, said the report.
Forced displacements across international borders continues to rise. Between 2010 and 2017, the global number of refugees and asylum seekers increased by about 13 million, accounting for close to a quarter of the increase in the number of all international migrants.
In terms of age, one out of every seven international migrants is below the age of 20. In 2019, the dataset showed that 38 million international migrants, equivalent to 14 percent of global migrant population, were under 20 years of age.
UN Undersecretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin said in the press release that facilitating orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people will contribute much to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
