One in Seven Global Citizen is a Migrant

From KNOMAD:

"Migration has become a defining issue for development, and there is substantial scope for strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration and knowledge sharing on this growing agenda. With over 200 million international migrants and over 700 million internal migrants within countries, nearly 1 out of every 7 persons in the world is a migrant. South-South migration is currently larger than South-North migration, and is likely to continue growing rapidly. In the coming decades, demographic changes, persistent income disparities, declining communication and transportation costs, and increasing access to information, will strengthen the impetus towards migration. Climate change also has the potential to displace large sections of the population in some parts of the world.

Migrant remittances provide a lifeline to the poor in many developing countries. Estimated to have reached about $400 billion in 2012, remittances have exceeded the volume of official aid flows to developing countries. In many countries, remittances are equivalent to more than 10 percent of GDP and constitute the largest source of foreign exchange. A country’s diaspora can be a major source of investment, technology, business contacts, and development assistance. At the same time, the loss of skills associated with migration can affect the delivery of basic services in the countries of origin, especially small countries. In destination countries, migrants can be an important economic resource, but they may also compete with native workers and affect cultural and national identity. Along the way, migrants need to be protected against fraud, abuse and exploitation."