As we have ended the challenging year of 2020, we look back at the evolution of the migration during these past months and how it affected not only our sector, but also our lives and daily routines.
Every couple of years the International Organization for Migration releases a complete report on various areas related to Migration. The remittance industry highly relies on this key data, consequently we have summed up the most important information in this article.
The current number of international migrants is estimated to be almost 272 million globally; 3.5% of the world´s population compared to 153 million in 1990
As well as the unfortunate common causes for migration and displacements such as conflicts, economic and political instability and extreme violence, the reality is that there have been major additional migration events during the last two years. There has been growing recognition of the impacts of environmental and climate change on human mobility.
In relation to information research and medias, interestingly, we´ve read that in the past year there has been an increase of interest and research in migration. In addition to digital newspaper articles, blogs also seems to have had a greater reach. The fact are that blog articles reach large audiences and, because of this are likely to be influential in informing discussions on migration. There are also accessible from anywhere and provides a sense of community as well as key information for migrants.
It is inevitable to notice that the image of migrants is evolving through the years. When talking about migration´s data we often think about international migrants as primarily a source of labour. The fact is that they are much more than this and they contribution is essential for the destination countries.
Migrant as….
…Sociocultural contributor
They influence and enriche our lives by bringing their customs and traditions. Their socialcultural contribution is shown on a daily basis and all around us; the food we eat, the places of worship we visit, the musical show we attend…We can only thank migration to have access to all these cultural diversity.
…Economy contributor
On the economic level they highly contribute thanks to sending their remittance to families and friends back home. The report highlights the growth of international remittance from an estimated 126 billion in 2000 to 689 billion in 2020.
The migrants help their loved ones to alleviate poverty though transactions. It impacts the health, education and general lifestyle of their people. As the report states “The introduction and expansion of mobile money apps over the last decade has allowed for migrants’ contributions in the form of remittances to better support their families and friends”.
The researchers subsequently recommended that “efforts should be geared towards the provision of mobile phones (and other ICTs) to women to help them to be financially included to achieve development.
Additionally, let´s not forget that they not only send remittance to their country of origin, but also contribute indirectly through bank systems to fostering investments in their host countries.
As entrepreneur and investors they create job opportunities and promote innovation. They are risk takers due to the challenges they face in life. Immigrants tend to have higher entrepreneurial activity compared to natives. In countries such as the United States, migrants have disproportionately contributed to innovation.
Understandably their contributions toward innovation, particularly in destination countries, have received much attention in recent years.
This is how Moneytrans was the first ever remittance company to ever think about creating The Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards, honouring the courage of the hardworking individuals who have launched a business from practically nothing.
As a matter of fact, the winner of the first edition; Neyvi Tolentino has been featured in the top 100 most influential business women of 2020. Find out more about her success story in this interview.
In respect to destination countries benefiting from migrants choosing their country as their home, India and Israel are perhaps the most successful examples of countries raising billions of dollars over the decades. Reports shows that India has been offering differential and tax-free interest rates on fixed deposits in Indian banks made by non-resident Indians. Since 1951, Israel has raised more than USD 40 billion through this financing mechanism.
…Civic-political contributor
In terms of their contribution to the civic-political side, migrants can be involved in governance and politics at different levels such as community/local areas, undertake volunteer work, and support fellow migrants (especially those who are newly arrived) as they integrate into new communities.
Moreover we know that most immigrants are interested in voting (often as much as nationals are). And interestingly around 3 out of 4 immigrants are or want to become citizens as citizenship helps them feel more settled, get better jobs, and even get more educated and involved.
It has been more than 20 years that Moneytrans is in this industry and we are thrilled to witness the progress of migrant´s image globally.
Although the diaspora community still faces challenges when arriving in certain countries such as job security, language barrier or documents application and powers of authorities. They have shown that they contribute to various side of the destination and origin’s country growth. We are hopeful that as we progress through times, their willingness to succeed will continue to thrive and be rewarded.
Source: International Organization for Migration - World Migration Report 2020
