Global Migration, By the Numbers: Who Migrates, Where They Go and Why

• There are an estimated 272 million international migrants – 3.5% of the world’s population.
• While most people leave their home countries for work, millions have been driven away due to conflict, violence
• and climate change.
• Most migrants come from India; the United States is the primary destination.

There are an estimated 272 million international migrants around the world. And while that equals just 3.5% of the world’s population, it already surpasses some projections for 2050. Since 1970, the number of people living in a country other than where they were born has tripled.

The scale and speed of migration – defined by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as the movement of persons away from their place of usual residence, either across an international border or within a state – is notoriously difficult to predict given it can go hand in hand with events such as severe instability, economic crisis or conflict.