Remittances

Remittances are among the most tangible links between migration and development. According to World Bank projections, global remittances will reach $515 billion in 2015. Developing countries receive the lion’s share of global remittances, and in 25 countries, remittances were equal to more than 10 percent of gross domestic product as of 2011. Remittances, as the research here discusses, can play an effective role in reducing poverty, and they provide a convenient angle for approaching the complex migration agenda.

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Articles April 19, 2024 Bangladesh’s Economic Vitality Owes in Part to Migration and Remittances By Khandaker Mursheda Farhana and Kazi Abdul Mannan	Articles April 11, 2024 South American Immigrants in the United States By Julian Montalvo and Jeanne Batalova
Reports March 2024 Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific By Lawrence Huang	Multimedia February 27, 2024 Moving Mountains: Climate Migration in High Altitudes
Reports February 2024 Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances By Ravenna Sohst	Articles February 22, 2024 Reliant on Labor Migration, the Global South Forges a New Social Contract with Its Citizens By Kamal Sadiq and Gerasimos Tsourapas
Articles February 15, 2024 Afghan Immigrants in the United States By Julian Montalvo and Jeanne Batalova	Articles January 26, 2024 Aging Societies Rely on Immigrant Health-Care Workers, Posing Challenges for Origin Countries By Heidi Bludau

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Reports March 2024 Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific By Lawrence Huang	Reports February 2024 Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances By Ravenna Sohst
Reports June 2023 Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas	Reports March 2023 Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review By Valerie Lacarte, Jordi Amaral, Diego Chaves-González, Ana María Sáiz and Jeremy Harris
Reports March 2022 Migración de Huehuetenango en el Altiplano Occidental de Guatemala: Respuestas de políticas públicas y desarrollo By Andrew Selee, Luis Argueta and Juan José Hurtado Paz y Paz	Reports March 2022 Migration from Huehuetenango in Guatemala’s Western Highlands: Policy and Development Responses By Andrew Selee, Luis Argueta and Juan José Hurtado Paz y Paz
Reports November 2021 Charting a New Regional Course of Action: The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Rossella Bottone, Jaret Waters, Sarah Williams, Ashley Louie and Yuehan Wang	Reports July 2021 Integración socioeconómica de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos: Los casos de Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú By Diego Chaves-González, Jordi Amaral and María Jesús Mora

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A returned migrant with his family in Bangladesh

Profile

April 19, 2024

Bangladesh’s Economic Vitality Owes in Part to Migration and Remittances

For a young country, Bangladesh has a complex migration history, with periods of forced migration during the partition of India and Pakistan as well as the 1971 war of independence. In recent years, labor emigration has proved a major economic boon to the country. This country profile reviews trends and the impact of emigration, with a particular focus on the effects of remittance sending and receipt.

Spotlight

April 11, 2024

South American Immigrants in the United States

The South American immigrant population in the United States has grown at a faster rate than that of the overall foreign-born population, amid crises in Venezuela, Colombia, and elsewhere. Yet South Americans still account for only about one in ten U.S. immigrants. While they mirror the overall U.S. immigrant population in several demographic characteristics, there are some notable differences, as this article details.

Feature

February 22, 2024

Reliant on Labor Migration, the Global South Forges a New Social Contract with Its Citizens

Countries such as Nepal and the Philippines have grown reliant on sending workers abroad to earn money, skills, and connections that help boost their economies. In these cases, emigration has become a way for governments in the Global South to offer their citizens access to social services and protections that they could not otherwise provide. This article details the emergence of this new mode of state-society relations.

A family of Afghan evacuees leaving Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

Spotlight

February 15, 2024

Afghan Immigrants in the United States

The Afghan immigrant population in the United States has grown dramatically since 2010, and particularly since the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Most Afghans who obtained a green card in recent years have done so through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, reserved for interpreters and other Afghans who worked with the U.S. government. This article offers data on the approximately 195,000 Afghan immigrants in the United States.

Feature

January 26, 2024

Aging Societies Rely on Immigrant Health-Care Workers, Posing Challenges for Origin Countries

Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are increasingly relying on immigrant health-care workers to fill gaps in their workforce and care for aging populations. That has created opportunities for many foreign-born doctors and nurses, but could harm their origin countries. This article examines the dynamics of global health-care worker migration, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Image of Central American migrant caravan passing through Chiapas, Mexico

Commentaries

April 2022

Beyond the Border: Opportunities for Managing Regional Migration between Central and North America

By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee

Commentaries

March 2020

A Race Against the Clock: Meeting Seasonal Labor Needs in the Age of COVID-19

By Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz

Commentaries

October 2013

The Lampedusa Tragedy Prompts the Question: Does the UN Have Any Impact on the World’s Migrants?

By Kathleen Newland

Expert Q&A, Audio

February 27, 2024

Moving Mountains: Climate Migration in High Altitudes

This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration speaks with Amina Maharjan from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development about the unique climate migration issues that are witnessed in mountain regions.

Expert Q&A, Audio

August 24, 2023

Managing Changing Migration Dynamics and Policies in West Africa for Regional Gain

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses migration dynamics in West Africa and and how African leaders are responding to these trends with Leander Kandilige, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana.

Video, Audio

March 9, 2023

Migration in the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities for a Changing Region

This expert conversation reviews migration in nine Caribbean countries, outlining challenges and opportunities for the integration of the migrant population and a successful engagement with diasporas to advance development, along with recommendations to strengthen the region’s capacity to accommodate changing patterns of migration.

Video, Audio

March 9, 2023

Migración en el Caribe: Desafíos y oportunidades para una región en transformación

En este webinar, expertos del Banco Interamericano (BID) y el Migration Policy Institute (MPI) presentaron las principales conclusiones de su nueva publicación sobre la realidad migratoria de la región y compartieron algunos de los desafíos y oportunidades para la integración de la población migrante y para capitalizar el potencial de sus diásporas como un impulso para el desarrollo.

Expert Q&A, Audio

November 17, 2022

Climate Change in the World’s Fastest Growing Economy

Guyana is a small country in South America that will be greatly transformed by the recent discovery of massive offshore oil reserves. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration discusses how the world’s fastest growing economy is confronting environmental change, particularly with economic growth and proximity to troubled Venezuela likely to drive significant immigration.

Recent Activity

Reports

June 2023

Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have long histories of emigration, but are seeing increasing transit and return migration as well. This report explores the stories told within these three countries about migration in all its forms, how these narratives intersect with (and at times, contradict) each other, and how they influence policy decisions and public opinion.

Articles

June 2, 2023

Inmigrantes centroamericanos en los Estados Unidos

Los centroamericanos representan menos de una décima parte de la población de inmigrantes en Estados Unidos. Pero su número se ha multiplicado por diez desde 1980. Este artículo proporciona una mirada integral a esta población.

Articles

May 18, 2023

Tense Neighbors, Algeria and Morocco Have Divergent Migration Histories

Algeria and Morocco sit along a crucial migration corridor between Africa and Europe and have often been defined by their rivalry. Although both have been reluctant to welcome large numbers of sub-Saharan African migrants, their motivations have been different. And historically, their approaches to emigration have been a study in contrasts. This article explores the factors driving migration policy in these two countries.

Articles

May 10, 2023

Central American Immigrants in the United States

Central Americans comprise less than one-tenth of the overall U.S. foreign-born population, but their numbers have grown tenfold since 1980, amid economic challenges, political crises, and natural disasters in their region. This article provides a comprehensive look at this population.

Video, Audio, Webinars

March 9, 2023

Migration in the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities for a Changing Region

Video, Audio, Webinars

March 9, 2023

Migración en el Caribe: Desafíos y oportunidades para una región en transformación

Reports

March 2023

Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review

Although Caribbean migration is often discussed in terms of movement to North America and Europe, migration within the region has increased notably in recent years. With people on the move for work or study, to join family, and to seek safety from natural disasters or persecution, this mobility takes many forms. This report explores Caribbean migration trends and the policies and institutions put in place at national and regional levels to manage them.

Articles

February 15, 2023

Venezuelan Immigrants in the United States

Venezuelans comprise one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States, nearly tripling in size from 2010 to 2021. Much of this migration has been fueled by crisis in Venezuela, where political unrest and economic strife have caused millions to flee since 2015, most remaining in Latin America. Venezuelan immigrants are far more likely than the overall foreign- and U.S.-born populations to have a college degree. Take an in-depth look at this immigrant population.

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