According to the United Nations, despite the economic difficulty of the past seven years, global migration has continued to rise, despite a slowing down since 2007.
In collaboration with John Mason International Movers, we’ve taken a look to see where people are moving to around the world.
So if you are from Britain, where are you most likely to live in the world if you are a migrant?
According to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), there are:
1,207,837 British migrants living in Australia
701,093 British migrants living in the United States
674,746 British migrants living in Canada
411,074 British migrants living in Spain
397,465 British migrants living in Ireland
Other popular countries include New Zealand, France, Germany the Philippines and the Netherlands.
Alternatively, there are also a high number of international migrants living in the UK including:
657,792 migrants from India
521,446 migrants from Poland
451,712 migrants from Pakistan
422,569 migrants from Ireland
299,753 migrants from Germany
It is quite interesting to see therefore, that migration is not always reciprocal between two countries, as although there are over a million British migrants living in Australia, there are only around 120,000 Australian migrants living in the UK.
If there are more Indians living in the UK than any other international migrant, is it therefore the number one country of choice for that country?
Interestingly, the UK is not the number one choice, in fact far from it, as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Nepal are far more popular for migrants originating from India.
But is inbound migration good for the UK?
Though it is often thought that immigration causes unemployment in the UK, this is simply not the case, especially it seems, if those immigrants are coming from other EU countries.
According to Jonathan Portes, director of the National Institute for Social and Economic Research:
“The period of high immigration that began in the late 1990s actually coincided with historically very high employment rates for British-born workers,”
“The mid-2000s saw the highest sustained employment rates in recorded history, and in late 2007, the chances that a Briton of working age was in employment was considerably higher than 10 years earlier.”
He goes on to state that the fall of unemployment during the recession had nothing to do with immigration, but was purely a result of the financial crisis.
“The government’s figures show that from 2005 to 2008 the numbers of Britons in jobs actually rose – by 116,000. This was a period of near full employment in Britain with demand for workers often outstripping supply so it’s no surprise that employers turned to migrants to fill the gap. As a result the numbers of migrants in work rose by 660,000.”
So it seems, that if you are a Brit heading out into the world, or happen to be a part of that world and wish to head to the UK, there could well be no better time to do it than now.
I am a traveler. I have seen lots of places – from exotic Asia to sophisticated Europe! What makes me appreciate every place the most are the warm people who welcome me – and their willingness to show their culture and tradition! Most of the events I really love, involve feasts and celebrations – each country, each ethnic group has a unique way of celebrating nature, and each has unique tradition – which is such a magnificent scene to watch. Truly, there is a lot to learn in the world – a lot of things to explore, and the journey never ends, well, at least for me ☺
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