BANGKOK, March 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Of the estimated 232 million migrants in the world in 2013, more than 95 million are from the Asia-Pacific region, according to the United Nations' Asia-Pacific Migration Report 2015.
Most of the region's migrants go to nearby or neighbouring countries - with Asia-Pacific hosting about 59 million migrants - while others go further afield to work in places such as the Middle East and North America.
Here are some numbers from the report launched this week.
Top countries of origin in Asia-Pacific in 2013:
1. India - 14.2 million migrants leaving the country
2. Russia - 10.8 million
3. China - 9.3 million
4. Bangladesh - 7.8 million
5. Pakistan - 5.7 million
6. Philippines - 5.5 million
7. Afghanistan - 5.1 million
8. Kazakhstan - 3.8 million
9. Turkey - 3.1 million
10. Indonesia - 3.0 million
Asia Pacific's top destination countries in 2013:
1. Russia - 11.0 million migrant arrivals
2. Australia - 6.5 million
3. India - 5.3 million
4. Pakistan - 4.1 million
5. Thailand - 3.7 million
6. Kazakhstan - 3.5 million
7. China - 2.8 million
8. Iran - 2.6 million
9. Malaysia - 2.5 million
10. Japan - 2.4 million
Most of the region's international migrants take temporary, low-skill or low-status jobs - the "3D" jobs that are dirty, dangerous or demeaning, such as construction work for men and domestic work for women.
Top recipients of remittances in 2014:
1. India - $70.4 billion
2. China - $64.1 billion
3. Philippines - $28.4 billion
4. Mexico - $24.9 billion
5. France - $24.8 billion
6. Nigeria - $20.9 billion
7. Egypt - $19.6 billion
8. Pakistan - $17.1 billion
9. Germany - $15.8 billion
10. Bangladesh - $15.0 billion
The World Bank estimated remittances to developing countries at $435 billion in 2015, with Asia-Pacific countries receiving the highest amounts. Remittances make up a significant part of the economy in smaller economies, including about a third of GDP in Nepal.
(Source: United Nations' Asia-Pacific Migration Report 2015)
(Reporting by Alisa Tang, editing by Katie Nguyen and Ellen Wulfhorst. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)
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