Least developed countries: UN classification | Net migration
Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens. Development relevance: Movement of people, most often through migration, is a significant part of global integration. Migrants contribute to the economies of both their host country and their country of origin. Yet reliable statistics on migration are difficult to collect and are often incomplete, making international comparisons a challenge. Global migration patterns have become increasingly complex in modern times, involving not just refugees, but also millions of economic migrants. In most developed countries, refugees are admitted for resettlement and are routinely included in population counts by censuses or population registers. But refugees and migrants, even if they often travel in the same way, are fundamentally different, and for that reason are treated very differently under modern international law. Migrants, especially economic migrants, choose to move in order to improve the future prospects of themselves and their families. Refugees have to move if they are to save their lives or preserve their freedom. Limitations and exceptions: International migration is the component of population change most difficult to measure and estimate reliably. Thus, the quality and quantity of the data used in the estimation and projection of net migration varies considerably by country. Furthermore, the movement of people across international boundaries, which is very often a response to changing socio-economic, political and environmental forces, is subject to a great deal of volatility. Refugee movements, for instance, may involve large numbers of people moving across boundaries in a short time. For these reasons, projections of future international migration levels are the least robust part of current population projections and reflect mainly a continuation of recent levels and trends in net migration. Statistical concept and methodology: The United Nations Population Division provides data on net migration and migrant stock. Because data on migrant stock is difficult for countries to collect, the United Nations Population Division takes into account the past migration history of a country or area, the migration policy of a country, and the influx of refugees in recent periods when deriving estimates of net migration. The data to calculate these estimates come from a variety of sources, including border statistics, administrative records, surveys, and censuses. When there is insufficient data, net migration is derived through the difference between the overall population growth rate and the rate of natural increase (the difference between the birth rate and the death rate) during the same period. Such calculations are usually made for intercensal periods. The estimates are also derived from the data on foreign-born population - people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population - that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside - are used as estimates.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Least developed countries: UN classification
Records
63
Source
Least developed countries: UN classification | Net migration
1960 -166554
1961 -91295
1962 -123991
1963 -123966
1964 -79174
1965 -58390
1966 -118928
1967 -61063
1968 -91024
1969 -251978
1970 -445488
1971 -557498
1972 -595742
1973 -508280
1974 -439339
1975 -691554
1976 -958726
1977 -1166290
1978 -246200
1979 -961832
1980 -2876124
1981 -2203895
1982 -623941
1983 -321322
1984 -100806
1985 -599206
1986 -897722
1987 -994179
1988 -1162873
1989 -921643
1990 -1706161
1991 -978562
1992 1064477
1993 672870
1994 -129193
1995 -684906
1996 -1147501
1997 -1359542
1998 -1039633
1999 -1077135
2000 -2262999
2001 -1307432
2002 22654
2003 -1040422
2004 -1609554
2005 -1249137
2006 -1994614
2007 -2646320
2008 -2159896
2009 -1935416
2010 -1589896
2011 -1132353
2012 -1251611
2013 -970114
2014 -1135712
2015 -1333824
2016 -476043
2017 -891458
2018 -1047507
2019 -926233
2020 96673
2021 -521774
2022
Least developed countries: UN classification | Net migration
Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens. Development relevance: Movement of people, most often through migration, is a significant part of global integration. Migrants contribute to the economies of both their host country and their country of origin. Yet reliable statistics on migration are difficult to collect and are often incomplete, making international comparisons a challenge. Global migration patterns have become increasingly complex in modern times, involving not just refugees, but also millions of economic migrants. In most developed countries, refugees are admitted for resettlement and are routinely included in population counts by censuses or population registers. But refugees and migrants, even if they often travel in the same way, are fundamentally different, and for that reason are treated very differently under modern international law. Migrants, especially economic migrants, choose to move in order to improve the future prospects of themselves and their families. Refugees have to move if they are to save their lives or preserve their freedom. Limitations and exceptions: International migration is the component of population change most difficult to measure and estimate reliably. Thus, the quality and quantity of the data used in the estimation and projection of net migration varies considerably by country. Furthermore, the movement of people across international boundaries, which is very often a response to changing socio-economic, political and environmental forces, is subject to a great deal of volatility. Refugee movements, for instance, may involve large numbers of people moving across boundaries in a short time. For these reasons, projections of future international migration levels are the least robust part of current population projections and reflect mainly a continuation of recent levels and trends in net migration. Statistical concept and methodology: The United Nations Population Division provides data on net migration and migrant stock. Because data on migrant stock is difficult for countries to collect, the United Nations Population Division takes into account the past migration history of a country or area, the migration policy of a country, and the influx of refugees in recent periods when deriving estimates of net migration. The data to calculate these estimates come from a variety of sources, including border statistics, administrative records, surveys, and censuses. When there is insufficient data, net migration is derived through the difference between the overall population growth rate and the rate of natural increase (the difference between the birth rate and the death rate) during the same period. Such calculations are usually made for intercensal periods. The estimates are also derived from the data on foreign-born population - people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population - that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside - are used as estimates.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Least developed countries: UN classification
Records
63
Source