Indian Diaspora is World’s Largest UN World Migration Report – 2018

Context:

  • According to UN World Migration Report (2018) Indian diaspora is world’s largest, with slightly more than 15.6 million people from India living overseas.
  • The report was released by International Organisation for Migration.
  • The Indian diaspora constitutes 6% of the total number of international migrants (people living outside the country of their birth), which was estimated at 243 million in 2015.

About the report:

  • Mexico has the second largest diaspora after India followed by Russia (3rd), China (4th), Bangladesh (5th) and Pakistan (6th).
  • The Gulf nations house biggest share of the Indian diaspora — nearly 3.5 million or 22% of total Indian diaspora.
  • The global migrants figure has risen by 10% over that recorded in 2010.
  • Out of global population of 7.3 billion, one of every 30 people was migrant in 2015.
  • However, if computed as percentage of world’s population, the growth of diaspora has been largely static, from 3.2% in 2010 to 3.3% in 2015.
  • Notably, people in working age group, between 20 to 64 years, account for nearly 72% i.e. significant chunk of international migrant population.
  • Nearly half of all the international migrants worldwide in 2015 were born in Asia, primarily originating from India, China and other South Asian countries
  • The US has been the main destination for international migrants.
  • The number of foreign-born people residing in US has almost quadrupled from fewer than 12 million in 1970 to 46.6 million in 2015 of which nearly 2 million are of Indian origin

About International Organisation for Migration:

  • IOM is an intergovernmental organization that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including refugees, internally displaced persons and migrant workers.
  • IOM was established in 1951 as Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM) to help resettle people displaced by World War II.
  • It was granted Permanent Observer status to UN General Assembly in 1992.
  • Cooperation agreement between IOM and the UN was signed in 1996.
  • IOM works in four broad areas of migration management: Migration and development, Facilitating migration, Regulating migration and Forced migration.
  • It has 166 member states, a further 8 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, It has more than 9,500 staff and 450 offices worldwide.

Source:TH & Wiki

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