[colombiamigra] Fw: The Top Destinations for Global Migrants: The United States and Qatar – MPI Data Hub – June 28, 2013
- From: william mejia <wmejia8a@xxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 07:23:58 -0700 (PDT)
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From: "Jeanne Batalova, MPI Data Hub" <data@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: WMEJIA8A@xxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2013 9:52 AM
Subject: The Top Destinations for Global Migrants: The United States and Qatar
– MPI Data Hub – June 28, 2013
The Top Destinations for Global Migrants: The United States and Qatar
Plus, Unemployment of Foreign Workers in Spain and Germany and Overseas
Americans
The United States receives a large number of immigrants – about 1 million
annually who hail from all over the world – and because of its historic draw is
often described as traditional country of immigration. In fact, today the
country is the world's top destination for global migrants who come to increase
economic, educational, and social opportunities for themselves and their
families. According to the latest United Nations estimates, more than 42
million international migrants live in the United States. The number of
international migrants in the United States is larger than the next four top
destinations – Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Canada – combined.
To put it in context, the US population accounts for about 5 percent of the
world's total population, but it is home to 20 percent of the world's 214
million migrants (based on the United Nation's 2010 estimates).
Proportion-wise, however, the story is quite different. The share that migrants
represent in the total population in many other immigrant host countries
exceeds that of the United States (which was about 13 percent in 2010). In
another traditional country of immigration, New Zealand, more than 22 percent
of the population was born abroad. In Israel, a country that has experienced
several successive waves of immigration since its formation in 1948, more than
40 percent of the total population is comprised of international migrants.
(Both New Zealand and Israel are among the top ten destinations with the
highest share that migrants represent in their populations.) The country that
claims the top spot on this list is Qatar – international migrants represent
nearly 87 percent (or 1.3 million) of the 1.5 million residents in this small
Gulf nation.
The two top global destinations numerically and by population share – the
United States and Qatar, respectively – are vastly different not only in
migration scale but also in terms of the main goals of their migration
policies. Here's a brief comparative overview:
Qatar: Similar to other Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates and
Saudi Arabia, Qatar admits migrants to meet labor shortages mostly in
construction, manufacturing, service, and other low-skilled – and generally
low-paid – jobs. The overwhelming majority of migrants in Qatar are young men
from South and East Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, and the
Philippines. These migrants are admitted as temporary, contract-based workers
with little prospects for permanent settlement and citizenship. Female migrant
workers (e.g., from the Philippines and Indonesia) are typically employed in
the domestic sector as well as in education and health care (though on a
smaller scale). While the majority of migrant workers are brought to fill
low-skilled positions, some are professionals and specialists in private
companies and education.
United States: Similar to other traditional immigration countries such as
Canada and Australia, the United States has both permanent and temporary
migration routes. The lion's share of all US immigrants (about two-thirds)
who arrive for permanent settlement comes as spouses, children, parents, and
siblings of relatives already in the United States, whether citizen or lawful
permanent resident. More than half of all immigrants in the United States are
from Latin America (Mexico, Central America, and South America) and more than
one-quarter are from Asia (mostly from China, India, the Philippines, and
Vietnam). The United States has numerous low- and high-skill temporary visa
programs, and hosts close to 900,000 international students and scholars.
The age and gender composition of migrant populations in the United States and
Qatar are also different.
Check out our new chart that shows that while the shares of working-age
migrant populations are large and similar in both countries (around 80
percent), 11 percent of US migrants are elderly (65 and older) compared to only
1 percent in Qatar. On the other hand, the share of children and young adults
among international migrants in Qatar is twice as high compared to the United
States (18 percent versus 9 percent).
There are also marked gender differences among the working-age populations of
international migrants in the United States and Qatar. While women make up
roughly half of the migrant population in each of the three age groups (under
20, 20 to 64, and 65 and older) in the United States, they account for only 20
percent among working-age migrants in Qatar, highlighting the desire for
low-skilled male labor in Qatar as well as the cultural norms that discourage
participation of women in the labor force.
GRAPH OF THE MONTH
A recently released report tracking migration and employment trends in
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member states
paints a mixed picture of employment opportunities faced by immigrants.
The rates of unemployment of foreign-born workers remain stubbornly high
following the 2007-09 economic crisis in Spain and Greece (more than 30 percent
were unemployed in 2012), Portugal (close to 20 percent), and in Ireland,
Denmark, Italy, France, and Sweden (about 14-17 percent). The data show that
about one in two unemployed immigrants in the European Union is unable to find
jobs within 12 months, raising the risk of their long-term unemployment. In
addition, in many OECD countries, such as Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and
Sweden, foreign-born workers are substantially more likely to be unemployed
than their native counterparts (in contrast, this gap was either small or close
to zero in Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the
United States).
As the figure below depicts, native and foreign-born workers in Spain
experienced different economic opportunities and misfortunes during the 2001-12
period compared to those in Germany.
Unemployment Rates (%) by Nativity in Spain and Germany, 2001 to 2012
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International
Migration Outlook 2013. Available here.
Before the onset of the recession in late 2007, foreign-born workers in Spain
had lower rates of unemployment (10 percent in 2007) than in Germany (more than
14 percent). The crisis hit Spain hard and swiftly, leading to rapidly rising
unemployment among both native and foreign-born workers, though faster for the
latter group. Between 2007 and 2009, the rates of unemployment doubled (from 8
percent to 16 percent) among native workers and nearly tripled (from 10 percent
to 27 percent) among the foreign-born ones.
These trends were nearly the opposite in Germany. The rates of unemployment,
which rose in the first half of the 2000s, began a gradual decline after 2005.
In 2008, only 7 percent of native-born and 12 percent of foreign-born workers
in Germany experienced unemployment. The small increase in unemployment for the
foreign born in 2009 was short-lived. Since 2009, unemployment rates have gone
down even further for both native and foreign-born workers in Germany. In 2012,
only 5 percent of native-born and less than 9 percent of foreign-born workers
were out of jobs.
Learn more about labor force participation and unemployment trends of foreign-
and native-born workers in other EU and OECD countries here. And read more
about migration patterns, opportunities, and dilemmas in Spain and Germany in
the Migration Information Source, MPI's online journal.
DATA HUB QUIZ
With July 4 right around the corner, there will be many Americans celebrating
Independence Day not only at home, but also abroad with BBQ, cherry pies, and
red, white, and blue decorations. According to a recent study, anywhere from
2.2 million to 6.8 million Americans reside abroad, dispersed among more than
100 countries. Can you guess which country has the largest number of the
overseas Americans? Is it Mexico, Thailand, or France? Check your guess here.
(Photo courtesy of Flick user katieharbath)
HAVE YOU READ...
Shaping Our Futures: The Educational and Career Success of Washington State's
Immigrant Youth
By Sarah Hooker, Margie McHugh, Michael Fix, and Randy Capps
Young adults (ages 16 to 26) who are immigrants or the children of immigrants
have a mixed record of success in Washington State, with the performance of
many English language learners lagging behind state averages even as the
state's immigrant youth have a relatively high level of college-degree
attainment compared to other immigrants nationwide. This report provides one of
the first cross-system analyses of the educational experiences of
first-generation and second-generation youth in the state.
Download Report | Press Release
On behalf of the MPI Data Hub team, thank you for your interest in and support
of the Data Hub.
Data Manager and Senior Policy Analyst
Migration Policy Institute
data@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
________________________________
The MPI Data Hub is a project of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). Find
out more about MPI at http://www.migrationpolicy.org/.
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