India’s Diaspora population is the highest in the world with 16 million people from India living outside their country in 2015, according to a recent UN survey on international migrant trends.
The survey organised by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said the number of international migrants – persons living in a country other than where they were born, increased to 244 million in year 2015 for the world as a whole, a 41 percent increase compared to year 2000. Mexico’s Diaspora population stood second at 12 million. Other countries with large Diasporas included Russia, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Ukraine.
The survey further said that in 2015, two thirds of all international migrants were living in only 20 countries, starting with the US, which hosted 19 per cent of all migrants at 46.6 million, followed by Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. India ranked 12th out of these 20 countries, hosting 5.2 million migrants in 2015, a drop from 7.5 million in 1990.
Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs said that the increase in the number of international migrants reflects the increasing importance of international migration, which has become an integral aspect of the economies and societies.
