OECD report on migration

Around 5.3 million migrants left their homes in 2018 to settle in a developed country, according to a report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Corina Cristea, 19.09.2019, 13:50

A report made public on Wednesday by the OECD, shows that migration flows to OECD countries rose slightly in 2018, with around 5.3 million new, permanent migrants, a 2% increase over 2017. Family and labor migration increased, while the number of asylum applications fell sharply, according to the report. The reasons for migration differ, but the purpose is the same, namely, living in one of the developed countries of the world. The United States was, last year, the migrants’ favorite destination, followed by Germany. Most migrants came from China, Romania, India, Poland, Vietnam, Mexico and Syria.

The OECD International Migration Outlook 2019 says that asylum applications decreased to 1.09 million in 2018, 35% fewer than the record high of 1.65 million requests registered in both 2015 and 2016. Most asylum seekers came from Afghanistan, followed by Syria, Iraq and Venezuela. Temporary labor migration increased significantly in 2017, reaching 4.9 million, compared to 4.4 million in 2016. This is the highest level since the OECD started reporting these numbers more than a decade ago. Poland is the top temporary labor migration destination, surpassing the United States. In the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) area, workers “posted” by their employers to work in other EU/EFTA member states represented the largest single group for temporary workers, with almost 2.7 million postings. Another category of temporary migrants to developed countries is represented by foreign students, accounting for more than 7%, up to 3.5 million, with the United States being the top destination.

Centralized data shows that almost 500 thousand people left Romania in 2018. Most Romanians migrateda to Germany, 54%, the UK, 12% and Italy, 10%. In terms of migration to Romania, most migrants came from Moldova, China and France.

On September 18, when the OECD report was made public, the topic of migration was discussed in Rome, where French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian PM Giuseppe Conte met and agreed that all EU countries must take in the migrants reaching Italy. For that to happen, Macron said, an automatic European mechanism is needed for the reception of migrants.

(Translated by Elena Enache)