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HEALTH-VIRUS-UN-MIGRATION
World migration down 30 percent due to pandemic: UN
UNITED NATIONS, United States, Jan 16, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The coronavirus
pandemic has slowed global migration by nearly 30 percent, with around two
million fewer migrants between 2019 and 2020, according to a UN report
released on Friday.
Some 281 million people were living outside their country of origin in
2020.
The report, entitled “International Migration 2020,” showed that two-thirds
of registered migrants lived in just 20 countries, with the United States at
the top of the list, with 51 million international migrants in 2020.
Next came Germany with 16 million, Saudi Arabia with 13 million, Russia
with 12 million and Britain with nine million.
India topped the list of countries with the largest diasporas in 2020, with
18 million Indians living outside their country of birth.
Other countries with a large transnational community include Mexico and
Russia, each with 11 million, China with 10 million and Syria with eight
million.
In 2020, the largest number of international migrants resided in Europe,
with a total of 87 million.
Nearly half of international migrants resided in the region they came from,
with Europe accounting for the largest share of intra-regional migration.
Seventy percent of migrants born in Europe live in another European country.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0929 hrs