Dubai Telegraph - Legal migration to OECD reaches new record in 2023

EUR -
AED 3.864558
AFN 70.494102
ALL 97.271059
AMD 407.155517
ANG 1.896104
AOA 960.613091
ARS 1056.248038
AUD 1.631278
AWG 1.8965
AZN 1.791206
BAM 1.954184
BBD 2.124143
BDT 125.716025
BGN 1.949289
BHD 0.396502
BIF 3048.60406
BMD 1.05215
BND 1.415816
BOB 7.269126
BRL 6.090159
BSD 1.05203
BTN 88.793862
BWP 14.440919
BYN 3.442853
BYR 20622.13618
BZD 2.120586
CAD 1.47947
CDF 3015.461382
CHF 0.937518
CLF 0.037193
CLP 1026.277825
CNY 7.607358
CNH 7.633568
COP 4716.787576
CRC 537.355573
CUC 1.05215
CUP 27.88197
CVE 110.363712
CZK 25.291264
DJF 186.988154
DKK 7.458676
DOP 63.602651
DZD 140.588561
EGP 52.233238
ERN 15.782247
ETB 128.283337
FJD 2.393671
FKP 0.83048
GBP 0.831162
GEL 2.867092
GGP 0.83048
GHS 16.887178
GIP 0.83048
GMD 74.702778
GNF 9081.104686
GTQ 8.124589
GYD 220.093785
HKD 8.187341
HNL 26.387556
HRK 7.505257
HTG 138.234358
HUF 406.601144
IDR 16790.574842
ILS 3.937918
IMP 0.83048
INR 88.885401
IQD 1378.84232
IRR 44300.767226
ISK 145.690973
JEP 0.83048
JMD 166.542259
JOD 0.746077
JPY 164.475189
KES 136.255597
KGS 90.881018
KHR 4262.25889
KMF 490.83124
KPW 946.934426
KRW 1480.916654
KWD 0.323452
KYD 0.876658
KZT 521.56863
LAK 23089.427195
LBP 94272.622526
LKR 307.355797
LRD 193.70505
LSL 19.147959
LTL 3.106725
LVL 0.636435
LYD 5.134208
MAD 10.492567
MDL 19.056877
MGA 4903.018084
MKD 61.274857
MMK 3417.341525
MNT 3575.204981
MOP 8.433465
MRU 42.049169
MUR 49.650906
MVR 16.266333
MWK 1825.479971
MXN 21.508788
MYR 4.715726
MZN 67.179687
NAD 19.147075
NGN 1767.569779
NIO 38.677193
NOK 11.743833
NPR 142.075896
NZD 1.79987
OMR 0.4051
PAB 1.05205
PEN 4.002903
PGK 4.147838
PHP 61.975307
PKR 292.604659
PLN 4.320964
PYG 8216.204675
QAR 3.830614
RON 4.9753
RSD 116.403513
RUB 104.831166
RWF 1439.340933
SAR 3.951908
SBD 8.820576
SCR 15.513945
SDG 632.870058
SEK 11.582286
SGD 1.41671
SHP 0.83048
SLE 23.881015
SLL 22063.060321
SOS 601.301259
SRD 37.200331
STD 21777.376683
SVC 9.205387
SYP 2643.557801
SZL 19.154703
THB 36.838902
TJS 11.214312
TMT 3.682524
TND 3.316347
TOP 2.464243
TRY 36.140494
TTD 7.143092
TWD 34.320603
TZS 2798.718783
UAH 43.369431
UGX 3860.806867
USD 1.05215
UYU 44.693036
UZS 13467.517223
VES 47.823448
VND 26724.605049
VUV 124.913339
WST 2.937172
XAF 655.402482
XAG 0.034478
XAU 0.00041
XCD 2.843488
XDR 0.792537
XOF 652.851937
XPF 119.331742
YER 262.879515
ZAR 19.237481
ZMK 9470.611478
ZMW 28.851686
ZWL 338.791808
  • RBGPF

    -0.9400

    59.25

    -1.59%

  • CMSC

    -0.0600

    24.55

    -0.24%

  • BCC

    -2.2000

    140.35

    -1.57%

  • SCS

    -0.1000

    13.27

    -0.75%

  • GSK

    -0.7200

    34.39

    -2.09%

  • RELX

    -0.1700

    45.95

    -0.37%

  • NGG

    0.2500

    62.37

    +0.4%

  • RYCEF

    -0.3200

    6.79

    -4.71%

  • CMSD

    -0.0050

    24.725

    -0.02%

  • BTI

    0.0700

    35.49

    +0.2%

  • RIO

    -0.1900

    60.43

    -0.31%

  • JRI

    -0.0300

    13.21

    -0.23%

  • VOD

    -0.0700

    8.68

    -0.81%

  • BCE

    -0.3700

    26.84

    -1.38%

  • BP

    0.4800

    29.05

    +1.65%

  • AZN

    -0.2500

    65.04

    -0.38%

Legal migration to OECD reaches new record in 2023
Legal migration to OECD reaches new record in 2023 / Photo: ERIC PIERMONT - AFP/File

Legal migration to OECD reaches new record in 2023

Migration to richer countries reached a record level for the second year running in 2023, the OECD said on Thursday, reflecting demand for foreign labour and gaps in the workforce left by ageing populations.

Text size:

A total 6.5 million permanent migrants settled last year in the 38 countries making up the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, up 10 percent on 2022, the organisation said in its International Migration Outlook 2024.

There was also a boom in temporary migrants and people seeking asylum –- many from conflict, persecution or poverty.

"These high flows have fuelled widespread concern about migrants' impact on receiving countries' economies and societies... But they also point to major opportunities," the OECD's employment director Stefano Scarpetta said.

"In many OECD countries facing widespread labour shortages and looming demographic changes, growing numbers of labour migrants have contributed to sustained economic growth."

He pointed out that host countries had "virtually full control" over who they allowed to enter legally, so by increasing possibilities for "regular, orderly, and safe migration", they could be able to better manage irregular flows of people.

The United States -- whose president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport migrants en masse -- remains the top destination for foreign workers.

It recorded 1.2 million new legal permanent incomers in 2023, the highest figure since 2006.

About a third of OECD countries witnessed record legal migration last year, including Britain (747,000 arrivals), Canada (472,000), France (298,000), Japan (155,000) and Switzerland (144,500).

Migrant numbers dropped in another third -- namely in Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Italy, Lithuania and New Zealand.

- Gig economy jobs -

Much of the increase was due to people arriving to join families already legally established in OECD countries (43 percent) -- possibly an aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic which delayed family reunifications, closed borders and led to stricter entrance requirements.

There was also a 20-percent increase in 2023 in foreigners afforded rights of residence for legitimate humanitarian reasons, the report said.

Of the 650,000 refugees officially given protection in OECD states, many were fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Migration for work remained stable last year.

The OECD said migrants were increasingly finding salaried jobs.

But this was not the case for all of them and many migrants set up their own businesses in order to earn a stable income.

In 2022, for example, 17 percent of all self-employed workers in the OECD were legal migrants, up from 11 percent in 2006.

That said, business enterprises created by migrants –- particularly via digital platforms that are relatively cheap to set up and make it relatively easy to access customers -- led to nearly four million new jobs between 2011 and 2021, it said.

However, it added, migrant workers were more likely than locally born people to be in insecure jobs, such as in the gig economy, or to be classed as "self-employed" by the companies for whom they work.

That meant that in many cases they did jobs similar to those of salaried employees but enjoyed none of the benefits afforded to the latter.

G.Gopinath--DT