Global stock of Asian migrants grew by 3.9%-from 83.6 million in 2015 to 86.9 million till 2017.In the same period migrants worldwide have increased by 4%. UN defines migrants as "the set of persons who have ever changed their country of usual residence, that is to say, persons who have spent at least one year of their lives in a country other than the one in which they live at the time the data are gathered". International migrant stock consists of persons crossing borders for various reasons such as employment, family reunification, studying, and fleeing due to conflicts and violence.
33.4% of the world's migrants come from Asian countries. The stock of Asian migrants grew by 79.8% from 1990 to 2017 (from 48.3 million to 86.9 million).European migrants grew by only 28% (from 48.1 million to 61.6 million), decreasing its share from 32.1% to 23.7% over the same period.
The largest numbers of outward migrants come from India, China, and Bangladesh, while the migration rate is highest in Pacific and Central Asian sub-regions.Major host countries for Asian migrants are the United States (12.3 million), Saudi Arabia (8.5 million), and the Russian Federation (6.8 million.
Intra-regional migration remains an important part of international migration in the region, with 33.4% of migrants from Asia staying within the region.Major host economies for intra-regional migration include India (5.0 million); Thailand (3.5 million); Pakistan (3.4 million); Australia (3.2 million); and Hong Kong, China (2.7 million).Intraregional migrants to India largely come from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh (3.1 million), Pakistan (1.1 million), and Nepal (0.5 million.
Since 1997, applicants from Asia received the most H1B visas (non-immigrant US visa) for professional workers with a bachelor's or master's degree for specified occupations. The share of H1B visas granted to applicants from Asia rose from 84.5% in 2013-2015 to at least 90.2% in 2017. The majority come from India (about 79.9%) and China (14.2%).
Bangladesh has witnessed increase in migration of workers whereas Nepal and Pakistan have remained stable in terms of workforce migration. However India and Sri Lanka have seen a dip of 38.6% and 19.3% in migration of unskilled workforce respectively, since 2011.
In 2017, India received close to $69 billion in remittances, followed by China $63 billion and Philippines $32 billion. Collectively they accounted for roughly 60.8% ($165.6 billion) of all remittances to Asia and 21.7% of global remittances ($613.5 billion).