Global migration: trends, flows and links to globalisation

Trends and types

• About 281 million international migrants, roughly 3.6% of the world's population (IOM World Migration Report 2024).
• 117 million people are displaced, the highest level recorded.
• Remittances reached US$831 billion in 2022, up from US$128 billion in 2000; US$647 billion went to low- and middle-income countries.

Types: internal (often rural-urban) and international; voluntary (economic migrants, students, family) and forced (refugees, internally displaced people); legal and irregular (illegal). A refugee has fled their country because of persecution, conflict or violence; an asylum seeker has applied for protection and awaits a decision.

Why globalisation increases migration

• Better transport and cheaper travel.
• Information through the internet and social networks about jobs and life elsewhere; diaspora networks help new migrants.
• TNCs and global hubs (London, Singapore, Dubai) recruit high-skill elites in finance, technology and medicine.
• Construction, care, cleaning and farming attract low-skill workers, for example to Gulf states and megacities.
• Rural-urban migration to megacities follows jobs created by FDI and manufacturing (as in China).

Flows and remittances; Skill (9)

World Bank data for 2023: India received the most remittances (US$125 billion), followed by Mexico (about 67 billion), China (about 50 billion), the Philippines (40 billion) and Egypt (24 billion); flows to low- and middle-income countries totalled US$669 billion (reported December 2023).

On a proportional flow map of migration, arrow width shows the number of migrants; describe the largest corridors (for example South Asia to the Gulf) and the direction of flows.

Worked example

Calculate the percentage increase in global remittances from US$128 billion (2000) to US$831 billion (2022).

1. Increase = 831 - 128 = 703
2. 703 / 128 x 100

Answer: About 549% (note: the UN article's own figure of 'more than 650%' does not match these numbers).

Check yourself

1. Remittances rose from US$128 billion (2000) to US$831 billion (2022). Calculate the percentage increase to the nearest whole number.
   Show answer

   549 %. 703 / 128 x 100 = 549%.

2. 281 million international migrants are 3.6% of world population. Use this to estimate world population in billions, to 1 decimal place.
   Show answer

   7.8 billion. 281 / 0.036 = 7806 million = 7.8 billion.

3. In 2023 India received US$125 billion of the US$669 billion of remittances to low- and middle-income countries. What percentage is that, to 1 decimal place?
   Show answer

   18.7 %. 125 / 669 x 100 = 18.7%.

4. A person who has fled their country because of persecution or conflict and has been granted protection is
   • an economic migrant
   • an internal migrant
   • a refugee
   • a tourist
   Show answer

   a refugee. Refugees are forced migrants who cross a border.

5. An asylum seeker is someone who
   • has applied for protection as a refugee and is awaiting a decision
   • has moved within their own country
   • moves for a job contract
   • returns home after working abroad
   Show answer

   has applied for protection as a refugee and is awaiting a decision. The claim has not yet been decided.

6. Why do global hubs such as Singapore attract high-skill migrants?
   • They have the lowest wages
   • They have no immigration rules
   • TNC headquarters and financial firms offer high-paid skilled jobs
   • They are switched off from globalisation
   Show answer

   TNC headquarters and financial firms offer high-paid skilled jobs. Concentrated high-value jobs pull skilled workers.

7. Explain how globalisation has increased international migration.
   Show answer

   Cheaper, faster transport and the internet make it easier to learn about and reach jobs abroad, and TNCs and global cities recruit workers from many countries.. Transport and information links connect people to jobs abroad.

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Sources

• Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced Level in Geography specification (Issue 3, September 2025)
• UN News: World Migration Report 2024 (7 May 2024)
• World Bank press release: Remittance flows grow in 2023 albeit at slower pace, Migration and Development Brief (18 December 2023)

Last updated 8 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.