International Migration
International migration is becoming a more visible and important issue in international relations and in national self-concepts.
Globally, the number of international migrants increased from 75 million to 120 million between 1965 and 1990, keeping pace with population growth. As a result, the proportion of migrants worldwide has remained around 2% of the total population. In 1990, international migrants were 4.5% of the population in developed countries and 1.6% in developing countries.
Virtually all countries have been the destination of some migration in this century of rapid universal transportation. Recipient countries for migrants have become more diverse since 1965, both in terms of the number of migrants they receive and their share of total population. The number of countries with a migrant population of 300,000 or greater increased by more than 50% between 1965 and 1990.
The percentage of women migrants has increased in recent decades, to 48% of all international migrants in 1990. Most women who migrate for employment tend to be concentrated in low-status jobs, and many are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and harassment.
Increased immigration has been recommended by a number of demographers and economists as a means of balancing the effects of fertility decline and the resultant ageing of the population. For instance, a labour shortage in Japan has been met by expanding the number of foreigners (including descendants of former Japanese emigrants) who can be admitted to the country. Between 1985 and 1995, the legally resident foreign population in Japan increased by 60%, and the number of undocumented foreign residents also grew.
The economic effects of migration run both ways. Throughout the world, remittances by migrants from more- to less-developed countries remain an important mechanism through which international migration influences development.
These global estimates mask important difficulties in measuring migration. Only a handful of countries regularly count inflows of foreigners and returning citizens, so it is virtually impossible to make estimates of foreign-born migrants except via periodic censuses. Migrants sometimes avoid or are neglected by census-takers, and they are counted or classified in different ways by different countries. Migration is often the result of conflict, persecution or weather-related hardship, and as a result it fluctuates greatly from year to year and may be accompanied by chaos, making precise counts difficult.
