Migration from, to and within Asia and the Pacific is a complex and dynamic phenomenon that is governed not only by economic factors, but political as well. Streams of temporary labour migrants flow between countries, changes in national borders can instantly transform residents into international migrants, refugees flee political turmoil, and more efficient and affordable transportation systems makes migration across the globe increasingly feasible.

In 2010, Asian and Pacific countries collectively hosted a foreign population of 53 million persons. This figure is similar to the 1990 figure, two decades ago. Worldwide international migration has been steadily increasing over the last two decades, thus the Asia-Pacific share of the global foreign population has proportionally decreased over time – from roughly 34% of the world’s foreign population in 1990 to 25% in 2010. Considering that 61% of the world’s population live in the Asia-Pacific region, these figures are relatively low.

In Asia and the Pacific, 1 in 3 of the foreign population live in North and Central Asia. At almost 18 million people, this is the largest foreign population among the Asia-Pacific subregions. Paradoxically, only 5% of the total population in the region lives in that subregion. The subregion hosting the second largest foreign population is South and South-West Asia, with almost 16 million. Together, the two subregions host nearly two thirds of the foreign population in Asia and the Pacific.

Although migratory movement is high within these two subregions, a large proportion of the foreign population may show up in migration statistics simply because of the redrawing of national boundaries over the past century. When country borders change, persons who had been residents of one country before the change automatically become forigners under a different national administration without having moved.

In South and South-West Asia, the separation between India and Pakistan and between Pakistan and Bangladesh are the most dramatic examples of this phenomenon. North and Central Asia experienced a similar situation in conjunction with the breakup of the Soviet Union. For example, many of the foreign population in such countries as Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan are ethnic Russians or Ukrainians who had moved to other Soviet republics within the borders of the former Soviet Union. Following the independence of the Central Asian republics, many became classified as foreign without crossing international borders. Likewise, after independence and the reestablishment of the republics, many ethnic minorities moved from their country of birth to their countries of origin, such as ethnic Russians who returned to the Russian Federation and ethnic Uzbeks to Uzbekistan, adding to the foreign population.

The countries in the region hosting the largest foreign population are the Russian Federation (12.3 million), India (5.4 million), Australia (4.7 million) and Pakistan (4.2 million). Although the majority of migrants in the Russian Federation are actually returnees of Russian ethnicity, the Russian Federation is also an important destination for labour migrants, mainly from Central Asia. Given economic as well as demographic imbalances in the North and Central Asian subregion, migration from Central Asia to the Russian Federation is likely to continue to rise in the foreseeable future.

The share of the foreign population is often seen as an indicator of the openness of a country or region to migration. In small countries or territories of the region, the share of the foreign population compared to the overall population tends to be higher than in large countries. The countries or territories with the largest shares of foreign population to total population are all small, open economies, often with a political status that allies them to another, larger country. The five with the largest share are: Northern Mariana Islands; Macao, China; Nauru; Guam; and American Samoa. For example, many residents of Macao, China, were born in mainland China. Similarly, many residents in American Samoa were born in the United States of America. Macao, China; Hong Kong, China; and Singapore are all important destinations for labour migrants in the Asia-Pacific region and have particularly open immigration policies towards skilled immigrants; this is reflected in the large foreign population proportion in 2010, 55%, 39% and 39%, respectively.

Figure I.8 – Foreign population, selected Asian and Pacific countries and areas, 1990 and 2010

The share of foreign population in most countries of the region has changed little in terms of percentage points in the past two decades, with some notable exceptions. The shares of foreign population in Singapore and Brunei Darussalam increased significantly between 1990 and 2011 – in Singapore from 24% to 39% and in Brunei Darussalam from 29% to 37%. In absolute terms, the foreign population more than doubled in both cases. In Kyrgyzstan, the share of foreign population dropped from 14% in 1990 to 4.2% in 2010 and in Armenia from 19% to 10%. In small countries, a change of several thousand migrants can significantly change the overall share, as has been the case in some Pacific islands. Another significant change happened in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where the foreign population decreased from 7.8% in 1990 to 2.9% in 2010, a decrease of approximately 2 million migrants, primarily due to repatriation of refugees from Afghanistan.

Another important indicator of migratory movements is the net migration rate – the number of international immigrants minus the number of emigrants over a period, divided by the average population of the receiving country over that period. Countries with a positive net migration rate are net countries of immigration, while those with a negative net migration rate are countries of emigration. Net migration rates in the Asia-Pacific region show clearly that low income countries are generally countries with emigration, while high income countries are countries of immigration. Countries or territories with the largest average annual net migration rate (per 1,000 population) between 2005 and 2010 were Singapore (31), Macao, China (20), and Australia (11). Countries with the lowest net migration (emigration countries) rates were Samoa (-17), Tonga (-16) and the Federated States of Micronesia (-16). Notably all are Pacific island developing economies.

Figure I.9 – Net migration rates, highest and lowest of Asian and Pacific countries and areas, annual average 2005-2010

The complexity and dynamism of migration is illustrated in several countries that are net countries of emigration, while they also have a large foreign population. For example, India, Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran host large numbers of migrants but experienced net emigration between 2005 and 2010. Net emigration does not imply that immigration is low, only that emigration is higher than immigration. Note that the foreign population may reflect migratory history while net migration rates reflect current trends in migration.