International Migration and Development

1
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA-NA) Expert
Group Meeting on International Migration and
Development in North Africa Rabat, 19-20 March
2007
International Migration and Development in the
Arab Region Financial and Social
Transfers François Farah Chief, Social
Development Division ESCWA
2
Levels and trends of International Migration in
the Arab Region

• Arab countries have experienced a significant
  rise in international migration in recent years.
  The region is characterized by important south to
  south migration flows too.

Source UN Population Division, 2006. Paper
submitted to the EGM on International Migration
and development in the Arab Region, Beirut 15-17
May 2006 (UN//POP/EGM/2006)
3
Trends in international migrant stock
Source UN Population Division, 2006. Trends in
total migrant stock, 2005
4
Migration stock and flows in the Arab region

• Migration flows in the Arab region are mainly
  dominated by the large volume of labour migration
  to the GCC
• The GCC countries are major receivers of
  migration Six of every 10 migrants in the Arab
  region live in the Member states of the GCC
• Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Jordan
  are among the 20 countries in the World with the
  largest number of migrants
• All Arab countries had become sending and
  receiving countries to different degrees
• Due to geographical proximity and restrictive
  work policies, Transit migration (North Africa to
  Europe) and Irregular migration (GCC) are on the
  rise
• Undocumented migration often occurs over short
  distances, while skilled migration increases with
  the increase in distance, impediments and cost
• Since 1980, the proportion of migrant workers in
  the GCC countries originating is Asia increased
  while those originating in other Arab countries
  has decreased

5
According to the place of birth, there were about
8.3 million Arab emigrant worldwide in 2000. The
main countries of origin were Morocco, Egypt and
Algeria
Source UN Population Division, 2006. Paper
submitted to the EGM on International Migration
and development in the Arab Region, Beirut 15-17
May 2006 (UN//POP/EGM/2006)
6
Where Do Arabs Migrate?

• Europe is the most favorable destination of
  first-generation Arab emigrants, hosting 59 of
  emigrants worldwide. The oil-rich countries of
  the GCC rank second followed by USA.
• Data on foreign-born population in OECD countries
  show that in 2000, 4.9 million Arab lived in OECD
  states, constituting 11.8 of the total migrants
  in these states, predominantly France, Spain,
  Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Italy.
• Skilled migration is underpinned by large student
  flows. France attracts 50 of the Arab students
• The largest number of emigrants to Europe
  originate in Maghreb countries while migrants
  from Mashreq are mainly destined for oil-rich
  countries

7
Emigrants from the Mediterranean Arab countries
according to most recent data of destination
countries
Source Census data on foreign residents by
country of nationality, most recent data
(Philippe Fargues, paper submitted to the EGM on
international migration and development, Beirut
15-17 May 2006 UN/POP/EGM/9)
8
Emigrants from Arab Countries by major countries
of residence, 2000 Absolute numbers and as
percentage of the total foreign-born population
Source OECD database on foreign-born and
expatriates (J.C.Dumont, paper submitted to the
EGM on international migration and development,
Beirut 15-17 May 2006 UN/POP/EGM/2006/11)
9
Characteristics of Arab Immigrants

• Emigration from Gulf States to OECD countries is
  relatively young due to large inflows of student
  migration (50 are lt25years)
• With the exception of Morocco, Emigration from
  North African countries is much older and dates
  back to the 60s and 70s
• Emigration from Lebanon and Jordan is more
  balanced in terms of age structure

Source OECD database on foreign-born and
expatriates (J.C.Dumont, paper submitted to the
EGM on international migration and development,
Beirut 15-17 May 2006 UN/POP/EGM/2006/11)
10
The gender dimension of international migration
Current estimates show that only 36 of
international migrants in the region are females.
Source UN Population Division, 2006. Trends in
Total Migrant Stock, the 2005 revision
11

• Today, Women account for 34.5 of the foreign
  workforce in
• Oman, 19 and 22 in Bahrain and Kuwait and less
  that 15
• in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
• Domestic work is the most important occupation
  among women migrants in the GCC countries, Jordan
  and Lebanon.
• Indonesia, Philippines and Sri Lanka are the
  major source of female migrant outflows to each
  of SA, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon.
• The demand for female migrant workers is less
  likely to respond to policies of
  nationalization of the labour force in the
  future, as demand for domestic workers and care
  givers will increase due to the increase of
  labour force participation among national women.
• Despite the increase in educational attainment of
  Arab women and the importance of family
  reunification, as well as the growing demand for
  women-focussed labour such as health care, 45 of
  Arab emigrants are women compared to 47
  worldwide.

12
Demographic transition, employment and
international migration
The Arab region is undergoing a major
demographic change. The decline in total
fertility and infant mortality coupled with the
increase in longevity, caused an imbalance in the
population age structure and boosted the
population in the working age group (1564)
60.0
Working Population
51.3
50.0
44.3
40.0
Children
32.8
30.0
22.0
Youth Population
20.0
19.5
14.8
12.0
Elderly
10.0
3.4
0.0
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
Source Batool Shakoori, 2006. Paper submitted to
the International Symposium on International
Migration. Turin-28-30 June 2006
13
Demographic transition, employment and
international migration

• Arab countries have the highest unemployment rate
  in the world. Unemployment rate ranges between
  13.2 and 20.Youth unemployment constitutes 53
  of total unemployment.
• As a result of the demographic changes, labour
  markets in the region have to absorb the gains in
  the first time job seekers on top of those
  already unemployed and seeking work
• Unless effective policies are undertaken to make
  employment rates grow faster than the working-age
  population, open unemployment will further
  escalate causing more people in the working age
  group to migrate in search for employment
  opportunities and better income
• The major challenges Arab countries are expected
  to face is the political and social pressures
  resulting from the unemployment rate on one hand,
  and the unmet growing demand by people to
  emigrate (demographic pressure of migration)

Source Batool Shakoori, 2006. Ibid.
14

• Labour migration in the GCC States
• Migration flows in the Arab region are mainly
  dominated by the large volume of expatriate
  labour to the GCC countries
• In 2005, the total migrants in GCC States were
  estimated at 12.8 million. In 1975, Intra Arab
  migration represented 74 of the total migration
  in the region. It declined to 28 in 2005, partly
  due to changes in political alignments after the
  Gulf war.
• Other major sources of migrants for the GCC and
  Mashreq include the Philippines, Sri Lanka,
  Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Pakistan
• The use of the concept migrant workers for
  contractual expatriate workers in GCC countries
  continues to be contentious and problematic. The
  temporary concept does not imply the actual
  demand and supply of foreign labour in these
  countries

15
Percentage of nationals and expatriates in the
population and labor force of GCC countries, 2000
Source Nasra Shah, 2006. Paper submitted to the
EGM on International Migration and development in
the Arab Region, Beirut 15-17 May 2006
(UN//POP/EGM/2006/3)
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Challenges imposed by international migration in
the GCC states

• Imbalance of the population structure large
  proportion of foreigners which sometimes exceeds
  national population (UAE 71, Kuwait 62)
• Rising unemployment of non-nationals
• Abuse of the practice of sponsoring
• Indirect negative impact of remittances of
  foreign workers on investment and payment balance
  in the GCC states

17
Impact of international migration on countries of
origin and destination

• Macro Level
• 1. Impact on sending countries Diasporas and
  Return Migration
• Improving the links between migrants abroad and
  their communities of origin could have positive
  impact for the transfer of knowledge, ideas and
  funds between countries of origin and
  destination.
• Return migration programs have not been
  successful, despite the support provided by some
  receiving and sending countries.
• Return is encouraged when conditions in home
  countries improved, including the role of law,
  democratization, political stability, and a
  responsive investment climate

18
Information about Diaspora is challenged by
inadequate information on

• Number of emigrants in each country of
  destination
• Number of emigrants by village or town of origin
  
• Total number of emigrants by year.
• Economic, social, political, cultural, emigrants
  activity abroad
• Actual data on remittances per year
• Actual data of capital transfers per year
• The type of economic activity and investment of
  returnees
• The contribution of emigrants to public
  infrastructure, housing, education, health,
  social welfare, transfer of knowledge, political
  life

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• 2. Impact on sending countries Remittances
• Migrant remittances have become the largest, fast
  growing and most stable capital flow to the
  region.
• Remittances in Arab region are higher than
  Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and ahead of
  Overseas Development Assistance (ODA)
• Remittances are significant contributors to the
  GDP in many countries of the region and believed
  to have made major contributions to poverty
  reduction, health improvement and educational
  attainment of many households
• Among the countries receiving large remittances
  from their migrant workers are Morocco (US 4.3
  billion), Egypt (US 2.9 billion), Lebanon (US
  2.3 billion), and Jordan (US 2.2. billion) in
  2003 .
• Jordanian expatriate remittances, which rose from
  19.5 percent of GDP in 1998 to 22.6 percent of
  GDP in 2003, are the highest in the Arab region,
  followed by Yemen, 16.1 percent of the countrys
  GDP, Lebanon 13.8 percent, and Morocco 9.7
  percent.
• Remittances may trigger additional migration
  flows
• Remittances can have a negative impact including
  inflation, effect on balance of payments and
  increase in real estates prices

20
Saudi Arabia is the most important source of
workers remittances, accounting for 15 of the
world total in 2004
Source UN Population Division, 2006. Paper
submitted to the EGM on International Migration
and development in the Arab Region, Beirut 15-17
May 2006 (UN//POP/EGM/2006)
21
Lebanese workers remittances and their
contribution to GDP at current prices
Source Boutros Labaki, 2006. Paper submitted to
the EGM on International Migration and
development in the Arab Region, Beirut 15-17 May
2006 (E/ESCWA/SDD/2006/W.G.1/7)
22
Impact of international migration on countries of
origin and destination (contd)

• 3. Impact on sending countries Brain drain
• The question of brain drain arise when people who
  migrate are more educated than the native
  population. On the other hand, when both native
  population and migrants are highly educated then
  the economic impact of migration is not likely to
  be negative on sending countries.
• Large expatriates states, poor states and
  politically unstable countries suffer most from
  brain drain in the Middle East and North Africa.
  In contrast, brain drain is not problematic in
  GCC countries. The majority of students return to
  their home countries after studying abroad, due
  to the high demand for highly educated nationals
  in the labor market.
• Migrants who contribute to brain drain are mainly
  educated adults (gt22 years) who migrate to USA,
  Canada and Australia after completing their
  college degrees in their home towns (87
  Algerians, 68 Moroccans and 73 Egyptians).
• The pattern is different in Europe, particularly
  France where 60 of maghrebian migrants arrived
  before 18 which indicate they are descendents of
  older migrant communities and thus do not
  contribute to brain drain in their original
  countries

23
Brain Drain Distribution of highly educated
immigrants to OECD by country of origin
Source Caglar Ozden, 2006. Paper submitted to
the EGM on international migration and
development, Beirut 15-17 May 2006
UN/POP/EGM/2006/10)
24
Impact of international migration on countries of
origin and destination (contd)

• B. Impact on receiving countries
• Increasing productivity
• Bridging knowledge and values gaps
• Creating economic and social tension due to
  increased unemployment among non-nationals
• C. Micro Level Impact on individuals and
  households
• Decompressing unemployment and attracting foreign
  currency in sending countries (safety valve)
• Acquiring new skills
• Reduction of poverty and improving situation of
  families Improving health status and educational
  attainment
• buying real estate, getting married, paying
  debts, including costs of emigration, saving,
  investing in income generating activities
• Changing in life styles and practices

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Skilled Migration in the Arab Region

• There exists large migration flows of skilled
  workers within and to outside the region however
  it is generally lower than in some other
  developing regions. Around one million highly
  skilled Arab emigrants live in OECD area.
• France receives 40.2 of highly skilled Arab
  migrants while USA and Canada receive 23 and
  10.2, respectively
• Migration from Maghreb countries is relatively
  low-skilled. 15 to 18 of Maghrebian emigrants
  living in the OECD countries had tertiary
  education, while the proportion of highly
  educated emigrants from the Mashreq ranged
  between 21 and 51 of total emigrants (highest
  originate in Egypt)
• Highly skilled migration from the region is
  underpinned by large student flows that do not
  return to the sending countries. Around 135,000
  students or 7 of foreign-born students in OECD
  states originate in the Arab region. Morocco
  account for 40 of these students
• Integration of low-skilled migrants in
  destination countries remains difficult. One of
  the main factors for successful integration in
  the host countries' labour market is to be
  educated in the country of destination rather
  than home countries

26
Distribution of Arab emigrants to OECD countries
by educational level, 2000
Source OECD database on foreign-born and
expatriates (J.C.Dumont, paper submitted to the
EGM on international migration and development,
Beirut 15-17 May 2006 UN/POP/EGM/2006/11)
27
Government policies on international migration

• Most if not all GCC countries want to lower
  immigration and dependency on foreign labour. The
  reason for these restricted migration policies
  are the rising unemployment of nationals and the
  large proportion of foreigners in the total
  population
• There are marked deficiencies in policies,
  programs and institutions to help settle and
  integrate migrants in the host countries in the
  region.
• The Maghreb countries have a well defined policy
  that encourages emigration in order to manage
  unemployment levels and acquire hard currency

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Immigration Policies in the Arab Region
29
Conclusion

• Evidence-based research and producing reliable
  and comprehensive data on international migration
  is imperative
• The demographic transition in the region is
  leading to a rise in the economically active
  population. Employment and appropriate
  policy-responses are and will therefore be major
  concerns for many countries in the region.
• There is a need to develop international
  migration policies in both sending and receiving
  countries and integrate these policies with the
  overall social and economic goals taking into
  account the needs of the labour market, the
  outputs of the education system and the rights of
  the migrants to be integrated in the host
  countries and to return to their home countries
• Labour migration policies in the Arab region are
  in need of reform in the light of rising
  unemployment among nationals, demand and supply
  of skills, demand for the respect of human rights
  of migrants, globalization, and the demographic
  transition that the region is undergoing.
• Improving the overall investment environment and
  increasing access to formal sector transfer
  services will enhance the development aspects of
  remittances
• Investments by migrants in their home countries
  should be promoted by building bridges between
  migrant communities and countries of origin.
  Remittances are not only financial, but also
  include values, knowledge and ideas.