Millions of Indians have migrated over the years and some countries have become increasingly popular in recent times
When you hear an Indian say that they love to travel, you ought to take them seriously. We’re not saying this but the data is. Indians form the largest migrant population in the world and the remittance that they send home is also the highest. This immigrant population offers a good source of funds that can be tapped in a period of external account crises. Analysis of the UN Migrant Stock Database shows that the population of Indians living abroad has grown steadily since 1990 to reach 1.80 crore by 2020. The average annual increase in the immigrant population in the three decades between 1990 to 2020 is 3.4 per cent but there have been periods when the exodus was faster.
For instance, the number of Indians living outside increased sharply since the beginning of this century. The fastest growth was witnessed between 2005 to 2010, which was also a period of economic prosperity for India. Improving wealth seems to have emboldened more Indians to seek residence abroad. According to the UN World Migration Report (WMR) 2022, Mexico has the second-largest emigrant population in the world, but that is approximately 70 lakh people less than the Indian emigrants. Emigrants from China and the Syrian Arab Republic are next on the list.
The great Indian journey So, where did these Indian go? The UAE appears to have been the most welcoming and had the maximum number of Indians in 2020 (34 lakh). The oil-rich nation presented a good opportunity for both skilled as well as semi-skilled workers to earn a living.
UAE became the third-largest host of Indian emigrants in 2005, after US and Pakistan. But between 1990 and 2020, its share of the Indian population grew by 657 per cent. It has been hosting the largest proportion of Indian emigrants since 2010.
Currently, India-UAE is the world’s third-largest international migration country-to-country corridor, after Mexico-US and the Syria-Turkey corridor. It is also interesting to note that India does not share a border with UAE, unlike the other two corridors.
The US was the next most attractive for Indians heading overseas. The rapid growth in technology and digital services in the US since the turn of the century needed plenty of educated and English-speaking manpower and Indians were more than ready to step in. Around 27 lakh Indians lived in the US in 2020. Saudi Arabia was next on the list as an emigrant destination in 2020, accounting for 25 lakh Indian emigrants.
But the most favoured destination for Indians between 1990 and 2005 was Pakistan. Around 28 lakh Indians lived in the neighbouring country in 1990. But the number has been declining steadily over the years to 16 lakh by 2020. On the other hand, Indians living in UAE, the US, and Saudi Arabia have shown a steady increase over the last three decades.
Apart from these four countries, places, where more than a lakh Indians resided in 2020, including Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, the UK, Canada, Australia and Nepal.
Read More at https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/data-stories/deep-dive/the-great-indian-migration-story-the-drivers-and-the-destinations/article65567037.ece
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