Nearly half a million Indians have migrated to OECD countries in 2021
India has seen the highest migration flows to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2021 and 2022, according to the International Migration Outlook 2023 released on Oct 23.
Nearly half a million Indians have migrated to OECD countries in 2021. As per the partial data, India has replaced China as the main country of origin for migrants to OECD countries in 2020. It was the top country of origin in 2021 and 2022.
OECD is an association of 38 member countries. Most of them are rich developed nations that attract migrant workers and students. India has been the main country of origin for new citizens in OECD countries, despite a recent drop of 15 per cent, compared to 2019.
The report pointed out that few OECD countries have introduced explicit policies to respond to climate-induced displacement. It further added that displacements that have been directly and indirectly impacted by climate change are gaining interest from policy makers and international communities in recent years.
Meanwhile, in terms of nationalities, 0.13 million Indian citizens have acquired the nationality of an OECD country in 2021. In previous years, these acquisitions mostly took place in the United States (56,000), Australia (24,000) and Canada (21,000).
In 2021, 0.19 million Mexicans were granted nationalities of other OECD countries, virtually all of them becoming US citizens. Ukraine has reached the highest level of outflows of refugees due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
More than 10 million people have been either internally displaced or become refugees in OECD regions. In terms of workers, migration flows from India (+172 per cent), Uzbekistan (+122 per cent) and Turkey (+240 per cent) rose sharply, making them primary countries of origin after Ukraine.
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