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World Migration Report 2024
Since 2000 IOM has been producing its flagship world migration reports every two years. The World Migration Report 2024 the twelfth in the world migration report series has been produced to contribute to increased understanding of migration and mobility throughout the world. The last two years saw major migration and displacement events that have caused great hardship and trauma as well as loss of life. In addition to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza millions of people have been displaced due to other conflicts such as within and/or from the Syrian Arab Republic Yemen the Central African Republic the Democratic Republic of the Congo the Sudan Ethiopia and Myanmar. There have also been large scale displacements triggered by climate- and weather-related disasters in many parts of the world in 2022 and 2023 including in Pakistan the Philippines China India Bangladesh Brazil and Colombia. Further in February 2023 south-east Türkiye and northern Syrian Arab Republic experienced powerful earthquakes resulting in more than 50000 deaths. By March an estimated 2.7 million people had been displaced in Türkiye and many had been left homeless in the Syrian Arab Republic. This new edition presents key data and information on migration as well as thematic chapters on highly topical migration issues and is structured to focus on two key contributions for readers. Part I includes key information on migration and migrants (including migration-related statistics); and part II includes balanced evidence-based analysis of complex and emerging migration issues.
Growing migration inequality: What do the global data actually show?
International migration is strongly associated with opportunity for positive advancement most typically in economic terms. A long-standing influential international migration narrative is deeply intertwined with the notion of betterment whether this relates to individual attainment household income or community resilience and coping strategies. People migrate for better lives.
A post-pandemic rebound? Migration and mobility globally after COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19 on human populations cannot be overstated. The pandemic caused 12 per cent of worldwide deaths in 2020/2021. In Western Europe the 2020 mortality increase was the highest since the Second World War and in Eastern Europe it was the highest since the break-up of the Soviet Union. COVID-19 vaccines were able to prevent approximately 19.8 million excess deaths. But this did not prevent COVID-19 from altering overall life expectancy in many countries: life expectancy at birth declined for males in the United States of America by 2.2 years in Lithuania by 1.7 years and comparable declines were recorded in 11 countries for males and 8 countries for females.
Migration and migrants: A global overview
The significant variation and diversity in migration and displacement around the world make capturing global trends a challenge. We know from the increasing amount of information at our disposal that migration is often a highly politicized topic making it increasingly prone to misinformation and disinformation by interest groups with political or commercial gains in mind. Straightforward accurate accounts of migration assist in enabling us to question migration myths and critically engage with mis- and disinformation materials. Against this backdrop describing and analysing how migration around the world is changing from a range of different perspectives including those entailing economic social and security dimensions (and associated legal policy frameworks) must start with an understanding of fundamental metrics. Human migration may well be an age-old activity touching almost every society around the world; however it is changing in important ways. Examining the shifts in scale direction demography and frequency can illuminate how migration is evolving while also pointing to long-term trends that have been shaped by historical events as well as more recent developments.
Acknowledgements
The editors are particularly grateful to the authors of the thematic chapters and to all of the IOM and academic reviewers who provided constructive feedback on the draft chapters. We are especially grateful to IOM’s Director General Amy E. Pope and members of IOM’s senior leadership team who supported this edition including Ugochi Daniels Eva Åkerman Börje Mohammed Abdiker Kristin Dadey Maryline Py Michele Klein Solomon Othman Belbeisi Diego Beltrand Marcelo Pisani Ashraf El Nour Sara Lou Arriola Ola Henrikson Manfred Profazi Pär Liljert Alejandro Guidi Aissata Kane and Dejan Keserovic.
Climate change, food insecurity and human mobility: Interlinkages, evidence and action
Climate change is widely considered an “existential threat to humanity” in the words of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Its impacts are being increasingly felt albeit unevenly by communities and countries worldwide. In recent years different editions of the World Migration Report have explored the linkages between human mobility the environment and climate change accompanying the growth in scientific literature devoted to this topic with specific focuses on migration as adaptation and on the links between slow-onset climate change and migration.
Report overview: Migration continues to be part of the solution in a rapidly changing world, but key challenges remain
It has been more than two years since the release of the World Migration Report 2022 which provided an overview of the global transformations intensely affecting migration and displacement around the world. While acknowledging ongoing changes related to demographic transitions as well as economic and social transformations the 2022 report outlined the major geopolitical environmental and technological transformations that shape migration and mobility sometimes profoundly. The impacts of these systemic global shifts have only intensified further in the last two-year period. For example hardening geopolitics has seen us witness previously unthinkable conflict in terms of both scale and nature. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in early 2022 signalled a pivotal shift for the world with some arguing that it “marked an abrupt end to 30 years of globalization and all the international cooperation that made that possible”. The immediate impacts on Ukraine and Europe continue to be felt by millions of people while the global impacts have touched many times more as the consequences of the war ripple through global food security energy security international law multilateralism military strategy and alliances.
Foreword
Migration is as old as humanity itself. Throughout history people have migrated in search of better lives to flee conflict or seek safety or simply to find new opportunities. It may surprise people that most migration is regular safe and orderly – regionally focused and often directly connected to work. What captures attention in headlines is just part of the story. Migration is an issue that has been deeply affected by misinformation and politicization and dominant narratives have strayed far away from balanced accurate accounts of migration – both its simple truths and its complex situation-specific realities.
Migration and human security: Unpacking myths and examining new realities and responses
The recent events in Ukraine have highlighted in stark terms the links between national security energy security food security and the catastrophic effects on the human security of Ukrainians but also for many other societies around the world. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected conflict and violence in one country or region is more likely than ever to have ripple effects in other parts of the world. At a time when food crop supply chains are the most globalized in history the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has highlighted the devastating impacts on food and human security for many parts of the developing world.
Asia-Pacific Countries with Special Needs Development Report 2024
Leveraging Digitalization for Productivity and Decent Employment
The Asia-Pacific Countries with Special Needs Development Report is a recurrent ESCAP annual publication that discusses issues of interest for Asia-Pacific least developed countries (LDCs) landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS) collectively referred to as countries with special needs (CSN). The 2024 edition will explore the nexus between digitalization and automation and the two important parameters of productivity and decent employment in countries in special situations. This report examines the transformative role of digitalization and automation in enhancing the productive capacities of these countries. It zeroes in on the services sector and the digitalization of agricultural and industrial activities which has the potential to enhance productivity and job creation. However it also cautions against potential risks including job displacement and cybersecurity threats. To navigate these challenges the report discusses policy options for enhanced connectivity and infrastructure education and training tailored to the digital economy and regional cooperation to foster a conducive environment for digital trade and investment.
Executive summary
The Asia-Pacific Countries with Special Needs Development Report 2024: Leveraging Digitalization for Productivity and Decent Employment explores the transformative potential of digitalization for enhancing productivity and employment in countries in special situations comprising the region’s least developed countries (LDCs) landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS).
Policy considerations and regional cooperation to harness digitalization
This chapter contains a summary of the key opportunities challenges and risks of digitalization as previously discussed focusing on how Asia-Pacific LDCs LLDCs and SIDS can leverage them. By reviewing the experiences of these countries the discussion in this chapter includes several policy considerations and underscores the importance of regional cooperation in maximizing the benefits of digitalization while mitigating its potential drawbacks.
Acknowledgements
This report was prepared under the direction of the Executive Secretary and the Deputy Executive Secretaries of ESCAP and its Editorial Board.
Digitalization, productivity and employment
The impact of digitalization on productivity and employment are dynamic and multi-faceted. While digitalization can significantly boost productivity its impact on employment depends on such factors as the nature of the workforce and the adaptive capacity of economies. Nuanced policy and regulatory responses are therefore required so that the digitalization and productivity gains translate into inclusive employment growth.
Foreword
In the vibrant and diverse Asia-Pacific region the transformative role of digitalization in shaping the future of countries in special situations − least developed countries (LDCs) landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS) — cannot be overstated. This report delves into the ways digital advancements can catalyse productivity and employment and includes discussions on policy options to overcome traditional development challenges such as limited productivity capacities lack of economies of scale and challenging geographic features.