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The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched the World Migration Report in Dhaka for the first time, showing significant shifts in global migration patterns driven by a record number of displaced people and a major increase in international remittances.
IOM Director General Amy Pope formally released the World Migration Report 2024 at an event in the city on Tuesday.
According to the report, more than 40 per cent of all international migrants worldwide in 2020 (115 million) were born in Asia, with nearly 20 per cent primarily originating from six Asian countries, including India (the largest country of origin), China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, and Afghanistan.
Mexico was the second-largest country of origin, and the Russian Federation was third.
Several other European countries have sizable populations of emigrants, including Ukraine, Poland, the United Kingdom, Romania, and Germany.
"The World Migration Report 2024 helps demystify the complexity of human mobility through evidence-based data and analysis," IOM Director General Amy Pope said.
The report highlights that international migration remains a driver of human development and economic growth, highlighted by a more than 650 per cent increase in international remittances from 2000 to 2022, rising from $128 billion to $831 billion.
The growth continued despite predictions from many analysts that remittances would decrease substantially because of Covid-19.
Of that $831 billion in remittances, $647 billion were sent by migrants to low-and middle-income countries.
With an estimated 281 million international migrants worldwide, the number of displaced individuals due to conflict, violence, disaster, and other reasons has surged to the highest levels in modern-day records, reaching 117 million, underscoring the urgency of addressing displacement crises.
By choosing Dhaka as the report's launch site, IOM not only highlights the country's efforts in supporting vulnerable migrants and fostering pathways for regular migration but also recognizes Bangladesh's important role in shaping global migration discourse and policy.
"As one of the GCM champion countries, Bangladesh will not only continue to act upon the pledges it has made for its domestic context but would also take up emerging issues and challenges about migration and development for informed deliberations at the international level," said Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud.
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