International Organization for Migration (IOM)
IOM-Office in Greece
“The Global status on migration”
1
International Organization
for
Migration (IOM)
IOM MISSION…
IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits
migrants and society
As the leading international organization for migration, IOM is committed to the
principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrant s and society and acts
with its partners in the international community to:
•Assist in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management
•Advance understanding of migration issues
•Encourage social and economic development through migration
•Uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants
IOM MISSION…
•International Organization with 146 member states
and 17 observer states
•Offices in over 100 Countries and 440 field
locations
Service Areas
Policy, Research &
Forum Activities
Migration &
Development
Claims
Programs
Regulating
Migration
Facilitating
Migration
Migration Health
Resettlement, Movement,
Emergency & Post- Crisis
IOM Evolution
1. Post World War II (1951 – 1964)
Mass migration of Europeans displaced by WWII.
High unemployment in Western Europe
2. Regional & Intra-State Conflicts (1965 – 1989)
Refugee resettlement programmes (Africa, Southeast
Asia, Central America)
3. Globalization Phase (1990 – Present)
Resettlement; emergencies, migration and development,
labour migration, counter trafficking, return and
reintegration, Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration
(DDR) , migration health, etc.
Global
Migration Trends
Global Migration Trends
“Era of greatest human mobility”
• 1 Billion Migrants Worldwide
- 215 million international migrants (World Bank;
UNDESA)
- 740 million internal migrants (UNDP)
• Urbanization
+50% of world’s pop. in urban areas (1st time in
history)
• Feminization:
ca. 50% of migrants women
• Forecast
405 million international migrants in 2050* (at current rate)
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
1-AFRICA ROUTE
ROUTES
2-AFRICA ROUTE
3-RUSSIA-POLAND
4-TURKEY
5- CAUCASUSUKRAINE
6-SYRIA-LEBANON
7-GREECE-ITALY
8-AUSTRALIA
9-SUEZ CHANNEL
10-W.AFRICA
ROUTE
11-CENTRAL ASIAMOROCCO-LIBYAITALY
12-CENTRAL ASIAMOROCCO-SPAIN
International migrants are concentrated in
relatively few destination countries
Countries with the highest percentage of
international migrants, 2010
Countries with the largest number of
international migrants, 2010 (millions)
* Occupied Palestinean Territory
United States of America
42.8
Russian Federation
Germany
12.3
10.8
Saudi Arabia
7.3
Canada
7.2
France
6.7
United Kingdom
Qatar
87%
United Arab Emirates
70%
Kuwait
69%
Jordan
46%
OPT*
44%
Singapore
41%
6.5
Israel
40%
Spain
6.4
China, Hong Kong SAR
39%
India
5.4
Oman
28%
Ukraine
5.3
Saudi Arabia
28%
Europe and Northern America are main net
receivers, while Asia and Latin America and the
Caribbean are main net senders
Net international migration
1990 - 2010
Millions
Africa
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
-2.0
-4.0
-6.0
-8.0
-10.0
Asia
Europe
Latin America and
the Caribbean
Northern America
Oceania
19901995
19952000
20002005
20052010
Migration from less developed regions
is on the rise in developed countries
Inflow of foreign migrants from less developed regions
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1980s
Australia
USA
Canada
Germany
1990s
Spain
2000s
United
Kingdom
The impact of international migration on the working
age population is significant in more developed regions
Change in projected working-age population, 2010-2050:
Medium (M) and Zero-migration variant (Z) compared
120%
124%
19%
22%
-13%
LDCs (M)
LDCs (Z)
Less
developed,
excl. LDCs
(M)
Less
developed,
excl. LDCs
(Z)
More
developed
(M)
-25%
More
developed (Z)
Characteristics of Migrants

Majority – young, able bodied men, most not victims of trafficking

Numbers of women small but growing, with strong suspicion of trafficking

Movement: both solo and organized

Facilitated by stretches of desert

Absence of state institutions

Hugh potential to suffer violence
Who benefits from irregular migration?


Migrants (?)
Employers – exploit IMs, benefit from flexibility and lack of protection
types of employers:
-individuals/families who cannot afford legal contracts
-small companies that exist on margins of economy
-organized crime that controls recruitment, abuse of legal channels,
job-matching in loco, etc.

Consumers (cheap products)
Who looses out with irregular migration?

Migrants – no protection, risk of exploitaion, no social security, health
services, pension rights

Employers who follow the law and loose competitiveness

Law enforcement – criminal networks do not focus on IM alone
BUT
Majority of irregular migrants arrives by plane, train, bus
– with papers, visa (fake or valid) that expire
- or migrants make unauthorized change of status (i.e. from student to
worker)
Important pull factor: even during economic crisis, labour markets
offer opportunities
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Thank You
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