UN Report on International Migrant Stock 2024

Key Findings from the UN International Migration Stock 2024 Report

1. Global Trends:
   • In 2024, 304 million international migrants were recorded, nearly double the 1990 figure (154 million).
   • They represent only 3.7% of the global population, up slightly from 2.9% in 1990.

2. Regional Distribution:
   • Europe: Largest host region with 94 million migrants.
   • Northern America: Second with 61 million.
   • Northern Africa and Western Asia: Third with 54 million.
   • Oceania: Though small in population (46 million), it had the highest migrant share at 21% of its population.

3. Growth Patterns:
   • Europe saw the largest increase (43 million) since 1990, notably due to the Ukraine crisis post-2020.
   • Northern America’s growth has slowed significantly post-2010.
4. Migrant Shares by Region (2024):
   • Oceania: 21% of population.
   • Northern America: 16% (out of 385 million).
   • Europe: 13% (out of 745 million).
   • Asia: Less than 1% in Central, Southern, Eastern, and South-Eastern regions.
5. Top Destination Countries:
   • USA (52.4 million) hosted the most migrants.
   • Followed by Germany (16.8m), Saudi Arabia (13.7m), UK (11.8m), and others like France, Spain, Canada, UAE, Australia, Russia, Türkiye, and Italy.

6. Intra-Regional Migration:
   • 45% of migrants remained within their region of origin.
   • Europe: 74% of migrants from Europe stayed within.
   • Oceania (73%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (64%) also had high intra-regional shares.
   • Central & Southern Asia: 75% of its diaspora resided outside the region.
7. Major Inter-Regional Migration Corridors (2024):
   • Latin America → Northern America: 27 million.
   • Central & Southern Asia → Northern Africa/Western Asia: 20 million.
   • Northern Africa/Western Asia → Europe: 13 million.
   • Other major routes include flows from Eastern/South-Eastern Asia to Northern America, and Central/Southern Asia to Europe.
8. Forced Displacement:
   • 51.7 million international migrants were forcibly displaced, the highest since the 1950s.
   • Includes 38 million refugees (32m under UNHCR, 6m under UNRWA), 8m asylum seekers, and 6m others in need of protection.

9. Impact of Conflicts:
   • Crises in Afghanistan, Venezuela, Syria, Sudan, and Ukraine contributed significantly to increased migration.
   • 18 million forcibly displaced persons added between 2010–2024, accounting for 20% of the global migrant increase.
10. Gender Composition:

• Women and girls made up 48% of all migrants.
• Their share remained stable in Europe, Northern America, and Latin America.
• Globally, male migrants grew faster, particularly in Northern Africa and Western Asia due to labor migration.