The United Nations estimates that in 2005 globally there were 190 million people living outside of their country of birth – 2.9 per cent of the world’s population.

In 2005, the countries in the Asia-Pacific region were home to almost 50 million migrants – around 1.2 per cent of their total population. Generally these migrants come from other countries in the region. However there is also migration into and out of the region; as a whole, Asia and the Pacific is experiencing net out-migration, primarily to high-income economies.

There is no single standard definition of who is an international migrant. The United Nations Population Division bases its estimates on the number of people living in a country other than that of their birth. This has the advantage that the data on these “foreign-born” people are available in most population censuses. However, censuses using this definition will include as migrants people who may have arrived decades previously and subsequently become citizens of the host country. On the other hand, people who return to their country of birth after a long period abroad would not be counted as migrants since they are not foreign born.

Generally, migrant numbers in censuses are likely to be underestimates. By focussing on permanent or long-term residents, they miss many short-term arrivals. These and other official sources of information are also likely to miss most irregular migrants.

Those who are counted as migrants will also change when there are alterations in international borders. This was evident following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Thus, many of the international migrants in the Russian Federation, for example, are ethnic Russians who were born in other republics
within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and would previously have been classified as “internal” migrants. As a result, one-quarter of the region’s migrants are now found in the Russian Federation. Similarly, many of the international migrants in Kazakhstan are ethnic Kazakhs who moved to the
country, primarily from Mongolia, when it became independent.

A corresponding situation arose in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The large numbers of international migrants are a consequence partly of the population exchanges when India and Pakistan were partitioned in 1947 and when Bangladesh became independent in 1972. However, as these migrants are now at least 60 years of age and many are now dying, the number of migrants in India and Pakistan has been declining. In Pakistan, the number of international migrants declined by one million persons between 2000 and 2005, though this also reflected the return of former refugees to Afghanistan.

Other countries or areas with more than one million foreign-born people in 2005 were Australia; Hong Kong, China; the Islamic Republic of Iran; Japan; Malaysia; Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

Figure 3.1 – Stock of international migrants, selected Asia-Pacific countries or areas, 1990 and 2005

The highest proportions of migrants tend to be in the richer countries. While the proportion of the foreign-born population in low-income economies in 2005 was only 0.8 per cent (and these countries include Bangladesh, India and Pakistan), it was 1.1 per cent in middle-income economies, and 6.0 per cent in high-income economies.

International migrants can have a greater proportional impact on areas with small populations. Countries or areas of less than a half million people but which also have high proportions of foreign born include: Guam; Macao, China; Nauru; Brunei Darussalam; American Samoa; New Caledonia and Cook Islands. Larger countries or areas that in 2005 had at least 15 per cent of their populations foreign born included Australia, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, China; New Zealand and Singapore.

Figure 3.2 – Foreign population as a share of the total population, Asia-Pacific countries or areas, 1990 and 2005

Among the subregions the highest proportion of people foreign born was in the Pacific at 15 per cent, while the proportion in Central Asia was only 8 per cent. Of the countries or areas in the region, the highest proportion foreign born – two thirds – was in Guam. The only other area with more than half of its population born elsewhere was Macao, China, at 56 per cent. Both Singapore and Hong Kong, China, however, also had high proportions, at 43 per cent.

Globally, most migrants travel from less developed to more developed regions. Thus, in each of the three five-year periods since 1990, Asia and the Pacific, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean have all experienced net out-migration, while Northern America, Europe and countries in the Middle East have experienced net in-migration. Unlike the stock figures, which are based on place of birth, flows of migrants count all people moving in and out, regardless of place of birth or nationality.

Within the Asia-Pacific region, net migration rates were negative – i.e. more people were leaving than arriving – though for the high-income economies the rates were positive. During the period 2000-2005, net out-migration from Asia and the Pacific, mostly from the low-income and middle-income economies, was 0.3 per 1,000 population per annum, or an average of 1.3 million people a year.

Nevertheless, some parts of the region, in addition to the traditional countries of immigration such as Australia, have experience significant immigration. The highest rate, 21 per 1,000, was recorded for Timor-Leste, because many Timorese who were exiles or refugees prior to independence returned home. Afghanistan also experienced a high rate of net in-migration (9.7 per 1,000) owing to the return of former refugees. High rates of net in-migration were also achieved by Macao, China (10.9 per 1,000), Singapore (9.6) and Hong Kong, China (8.7).

During the period 2000-2005 there was also significant out-migration from the Pacific. Countries with high negative migration rates include Fiji (-10.3 per 1,000), the Federated States of Micronesia (-17.9), Samoa (-16.6) and Tonga (-16.1). For Central Asia as a whole, the net migration rate was -3.8; in both Georgia and Tajikistan the rate was -10.8.