There are about 150 million migrant workers around the world, according a UN study, which provides useful labour migration data for policy makers as they seek to make headway on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“Decision makers will now have real data on which to base their policies,” Director-General of International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guy Ryder, said in a press release.
Ryder said that the analysis would help countries to deliver on the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly targets within Goal 8 on protecting all workers, including migrant workers, and Goal 10 on the implementation of well-managed migration policies.
The report, ILO Global Estimates on Migrant Workers, found that there are 232 million international migrants, of which 206.6 million are 15 years old and up.
Of this working-age migrant population, 72.7 per cent, or 150 million, are migrant workers and 83.7 million are men and 66.6 million women.
Labour migration is a phenomenon that concerns all regions of the world, however, almost half, or 48.5 per cent, of migrant workers are concentrated in two broad regions: Northern America, and Northern, Southern and Western Europe, according to the report.
It added that the Arab States have the highest proportion of migrant workers as a share of all workers with 35.6 per cent.
The study also examined the distribution of the migrant workforce in broad industry groupings.
The vast majority of migrant workers are in the services sectors, with 106.8 million workers accounting for 71.1 per cent of the total.
This is followed by industry, including manufacturing and construction, with 26.7 million, or 17.8 per cent, and by agriculture with 16.7 million, or 11.1 per cent.
Among all migrant workers, 7.7 per cent are domestic workers, the report stated. (NAN)