• Migration is on the rise: in 2010 the stock of international migrants will be at 214 million international migrants worldwide – almost 20 million more than in 2005. One in four, or 53 million, of these migrants are in Asia and the Pacific.
• Most migrants temporarily work abroad, mainly to the oil-producing countries in the Middle East and the newly industrialized economies of East and South-East Asia. The Russian Federation and recently Kazakhstan are the main destinations for labour migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus.
• Due to slow growth of the workforce and shortage in low-skilled labour in many economies of East and South-East Asia and small populations in the oil-producing countries of the Middle East, in-migration of workers has become an important element of these economies.
• Migration systems in Asia-Pacific are becoming more complex. Some countries have turned from countries of net out-migration to countries of net in-migration. Thailand is both a country of origin and a country of destination but overall it is now the latter. Brunei Darussalam; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Malaysia; the Republic of Korea; Russian Federation; Singapore; and Taiwan Province of China are major host countries for migrants.

Countries in the Asia-Pacific with largest net in- and largest net out-migration rate (2010), per 1,000 population

Data source: United Nations Population Division

• Some governments in Asia, including Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, are actively promoting the overseas deployment of their workforce. The emergence of private agencies dedicated to recruitment of migrant workers has also entrenched international migration.
• Pacific Island countries and territories continue to experience high levels of out-migration. Migrants from the Pacific usually migrate to live permanently in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
• In many countries of the Asia-Pacific region, remittances have become an important contribution to the economy. In 2008, the Asia-Pacific region received over 172 billion dollars in remittances. In many countries, remittances constituted a significant proportion of GDP.
• Migration has a social cost. Separation of family due to migration could be detrimental to family cohesion, marital stability and the children left behind. It is estimated that in South-East Asia alone, some 4 to 7 million children have been left behind by parents working overseas.
• Women’s migration has increased over time. From Indonesia and Sri Lanka more women than men migrate to work abroad. Migration of women from the Philippines, however, has been reduced in recent years. Migrant women mainly work as domestic helpers and in the health, production and entertainment industries.
• Irregular migration, unauthorized entry or overstaying, is prevalent in many areas of Asia.
• Human trafficking has been a fast growing transnational crime and a major issue of concern for many governments in the region. New routes of human trafficking have evolved, such as trafficking from Central Asia to East Asia and the Middle East.
• Difficult working conditions for migrants, especially for women as well as access to healthcare facilities remain an area of concern.
• Over the past decade, several regional consultative processes have emerged in Asia and the Pacific for better management of international migration. These include the Manila Process, primarily focused on reducing irregular migration and trafficking; the Inter-Governmental Asia-Pacific Consultation on Refugees and Displaced Persons (APC); the Bali Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime – known as the Bali Process; the Colombo Process, a ministerial consultation on labour migration for countries of origin in Asia; and Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT), an initiative focusing on human trafficking.

1. comprising current transfers by migrant workers and wages and salaries earned by nonresident workers.