Net migration - Country Ranking - Asia

Definition: Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the total number of immigrants less the annual number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens. Data are five-year estimates.

Source: United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Turkey 1,419,610.00 2017
2 Russia 912,279.00 2017
3 Saudi Arabia 674,895.00 2017
4 Oman 437,000.00 2017
5 Japan 357,800.00 2017
6 Malaysia 249,999.00 2017
7 Bahrain 239,000.00 2017
8 Nepal 208,549.00 2017
9 United Arab Emirates 200,000.00 2017
9 Qatar 200,000.00 2017
11 Kuwait 197,600.00 2017
12 Hong Kong SAR, China 146,542.00 2017
13 Singapore 135,142.00 2017
14 Thailand 97,222.00 2017
15 Korea 58,657.00 2017
16 Jordan 51,099.00 2017
17 Israel 50,002.00 2017
18 Iraq 39,171.00 2017
19 Macao SAR, China 25,000.00 2017
20 Azerbaijan 6,002.00 2017
21 Bhutan 1,600.00 2017
22 Brunei 0.00 2017
23 Mongolia -4,262.00 2017
24 Kyrgyz Republic -20,000.00 2017
25 Armenia -24,989.00 2017
26 Turkmenistan -25,001.00 2017
27 Timor-Leste -26,924.00 2017
28 Dem. People's Rep. Korea -27,013.00 2017
29 Uzbekistan -44,314.00 2017
30 Georgia -50,000.00 2017
31 Lao PDR -73,518.00 2017
32 Kazakhstan -90,000.00 2017
33 Tajikistan -99,999.00 2017
34 Cambodia -149,999.00 2017
35 Yemen -150,000.00 2017
36 Lebanon -150,060.00 2017
37 Iran -274,998.00 2017
38 Afghanistan -314,602.00 2017
39 Philippines -335,758.00 2017
40 Vietnam -399,999.00 2017
41 Sri Lanka -489,932.00 2017
42 Indonesia -494,777.00 2017
43 Myanmar -816,564.00 2017
44 Pakistan -1,166,895.00 2017
45 China -1,741,996.00 2017
46 Bangladesh -1,847,503.00 2017
47 Syrian Arab Republic -2,136,954.00 2017
48 India -2,663,434.00 2017

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Development Relevance: Movement of people, most often through migration, is a significant part of global integration. Migrants contribute to the economies of both their host country and their country of origin. Yet reliable statistics on migration are difficult to collect and are often incomplete, making international comparisons a challenge. Global migration patterns have become increasingly complex in modern times, involving not just refugees, but also millions of economic migrants. In most developed countries, refugees are admitted for resettlement and are routinely included in population counts by censuses or population registers. But refugees and migrants, even if they often travel in the same way, are fundamentally different, and for that reason are treated very differently under modern international law. Migrants, especially economic migrants, choose to move in order to improve the future prospects of themselves and their families. Refugees have to move if they are to save their lives or preserve their freedom.

Limitations and Exceptions: International migration is the component of population change most difficult to measure and estimate reliably. Thus, the quality and quantity of the data used in the estimation and projection of net migration varies considerably by country. Furthermore, the movement of people across international boundaries, which is very often a response to changing socio-economic, political and environmental forces, is subject to a great deal of volatility. Refugee movements, for instance, may involve large numbers of people moving across boundaries in a short time. For these reasons, projections of future international migration levels are the least robust part of current population projections and reflect mainly a continuation of recent levels and trends in net migration.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The United Nations Population Division provides data on net migration and migrant stock. Because data on migrant stock is difficult for countries to collect, the United Nations Population Division takes into account the past migration history of a country or area, the migration policy of a country, and the influx of refugees in recent periods when deriving estimates of net migration. The data to calculate these estimates come from a variety of sources, including border statistics, administrative records, surveys, and censuses. When there is insufficient data, net migration is derived through the difference between the overall population growth rate and the rate of natural increase (the difference between the birth rate and the death rate) during the same period. Such calculations are usually made for intercensal periods. The estimates are also derived from the data on foreign-born population - people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population - that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside - are used as estimates.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual