Migration to OECD countries at a record-high rate

Last year, some 6.1 million people moved to the group’s 38 member countries, a 26% increase from 2021, according to the OECD’s latest report. 

More than one in three member countries recorded immigration figures that were “unprecedented for at least 15 years”, including France (301,000 people), Spain (471,000) and Belgium (122,000). 

The United Kingdom (521,000) and Canada (437,000) say their highest-ever levels, according to data compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Those figures did not include the some 4.7 million Ukrainian refugees registered in June 2023 in the OECD member states. 

The number of asylum applications also reached a record high level, with 2 million registered in 2022. 

The United States alone – where 730,000 of these refugee requests were lodged last year – welcomed 1.05 million new immigrants.

This global dynamic is “linked to the fact that many OECD countries are experiencing labour shortages”, the organisation wrote in its report.

The report points out that “regulated immigration of foreign workers” accounts for 21% of total flows, and now represents the same proportion as immigrants on humanitarian grounds. 

The document points out that “regulated immigration of foreign workers” accounts for 21% of total flows, and now represents the same proportion as people immigrating for humanitarian reasons.