As migration grows, immigrants face greater barriers.

• Author: Sarin, Radhika
• Position: Environmental Intelligence - Report by United Nations Population Division

An estimated 175 million people lived outside their country of birth in 2000, according to a new report by the United Nations Population Division. That is more than double the number who did so in 1970. Regionally, Europe hosts the largest migrant population (56 million), followed by Asia (50 million) and North America (41 million).

Among individual nations, the United States has the largest migrant population in absolute numbers, at 35 million. Russia ranks second, at 13 million. In percentage terms, the leading host nations are the United Arab Emirates, where 74 percent. of the residents are migrants, Kuwait with 58 percent, and Jordan with 40 percent.

In the developed world, 1 in 10 people is a migrant, compared to 1 in 70 in developing countries. Still, migrant populations are large in several developing countries, particularly in India (6 million), Saudi Arabia (5 million), and Pakistan (4 million).

Migrants sent home $62 billion in remittances in 2000. In countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, El Salvador, Jamaica, Jordan, Nicaragua, and Yemen, remittances accounted for more than 10 percent of GDP.

Between 1995 and 2000, 12 million people migrated from less-developed to more-developed regions. With the overall populations of developed countries projected to decline as a result of below-replacement fertility levels, the report notes that the European Union could prevent its total population from declining by maintaining the immigration...