As per a recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), named ‘’World report on the health of refugees and migrants’’, India tops the global remittance receipt level with USD 87 billion in 2021. Remittance denotes the sum transferred to another party, typically a relative back in the home country, by an immigrant. These remittances are significant for low-income and developing nations, often surpassing direct investment and official development assistance. For India, being the world’s largest recipient of remittances, it aids in strengthening foreign exchange reserves and funding its current account deficit.
Examining Global Migration: Facts and Figures
According to the WHO report, there has been a substantial increase in international migrants from 1990 to 2020, rising from 153 million to 281 million. The report revealed that globally, approximately one in eight people are migrants, totalling to 1 billion. The demographic of international migrants comprises about 48% of women and 36 million children. A geographical analysis shows that as of 2020, most international migrants resided in Europe and North America, followed by northern Africa and western Asia. Over half of the newly recognized refugees in the first half of 2021 came from five principal countries: Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, and Nigeria.
Remittances: A Closer Look at the Top Recipients
The report highlighted the top five remittance recipients among low- and middle-income countries in 2021, with India leading at USD 83 billion, marking a rise of 4.8% in comparison to 2020. Following India were China and Mexico at USD 53 billion each, Philippines at USD 36 billion, and Egypt at USD 33 billion. Assessing remittances as a share of GDP, smaller economies emerged as the top recipients in 2021, with Tonga at 44%, Lebanon at 35%, Kyrgyzstan at 30%, Tajikistan at 28%, and Honduras at 27%.
The Significance of Remittances
Remittances play a crucial part in stimulating or maintaining consumer spending, offering a buffer against economic adversities such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite initial predictions of a downfall due to the pandemic, remittances exhibited resilience. The report earmarks them as an “”important and positive”” outcome of migration for migrants and their families back home. Currently, remittances have tripled official development assistance and are over 50% higher than foreign direct investment, excluding China.
Impact of Migration: The Negative Side
Migration also has its downsides, including the brain drain phenomenon, where skilled laborers move from lower-income to higher-income countries, leading to a shortage of essential services such as healthcare in their home countries. Migration also affects those left behind, with an estimated 193 million family members of migrant workers worldwide. Migrants moving to high-income countries for care jobs often leave a care deficit for their own families, particularly children and older adults.
Migration also gives rise to discrimination and xenophobia in host countries, exposing refugees and migrants to mistreatment or violence. Moreover, a portion of migrants falls prey to criminal networks and faces exploitation through people smuggling and human trafficking. Although different legally, these two phenomena share similarities and are often challenging to differentiate.