As of 20
15, approximately 247 million people lived in a country other than the country of their birth. According to a recent report, People on the move: Global migration’s impact and opportunity compiled by McKinsey Global Institute, this number has almost tripled in the past 50 years.
Over the past 15 years alone, the number of migrants worldwide has increased by 74 million and as the report highlights, “most of them gravitate to places where they believe they will find jobs and opportunity.” India has been named as the top migrant origin country, whereas the United States tops the list of migrant destinations (see figure).
In addition to driving population growth, migrants then make up a considerable proportion of the labour force in destination countries. In the years from 2000 to 2014, migrants provided approximately 48% of labour force growth in the United Kingdom, 45% in Spain, 42% in Canada, and 37% in the United States to name a few.
Findings from the report by McKinsey also suggest that as the labour market has become more global, many countries are dependent on foreign workers to fill in skills gaps across key sectors of the economy, such as healthcare and construction.
In Saudi Arabia, for example, approximately eight million foreign workers account for almost a third of the country’s population and 85% of its labour force. Foreign workers fill in skills gaps across both sectors that demand a high degree of education and professional training as well as sectors requiring a lower or no qualification.