KATHMANDU—Migration can serve as a force for growth and shared prosperity in all countries, according to a new report from the World Bank.
Launched in
Nepal today, the World Development Report 2023:
Migrants, Refugees, and Societies presents a powerful framework to guide policy making based on how
well migrants’ skills and related attributes match the needs of destination
countries and on the motive for their movement.
Populations
across the globe are aging at an unprecedented pace, making many countries
increasingly reliant on migration to realize their long-term growth potential.
The report identifies this trend as a unique opportunity to make migration work
better for economies and people. Wealthy countries as well as a growing number
of middle-income countries—traditionally among the main sources of
migrants—face diminishing populations, intensifying the global competition for
workers and talent. Meanwhile, most low-income countries are expected to see
rapid population growth, putting them under pressure to create more jobs for
young people.
“Moving forward, empowering and equipping youth with the skills that
will be needed in the global labor market will be crucial for both origin and
destination countries to maximize the benefits of migration,” said Joyce Antone Ibrahim, Task Team Leader for
the World Development Report, World Bank.
Beyond this
demographic shift, the forces driving migration are also changing, making
cross-border movements more diverse and complex. Today, destination and origin
countries span all income levels, with many countries such as Mexico, Nigeria,
and the U.K. both sending and receiving migrants. The number of refugees nearly
tripled over the past decade. Climate change threatens to fuel more migration.
So far, most climate-driven movements were within countries, but about 40% of
the world’s population—3.5 billion people—lives in places highly exposed to
climate impacts.
The report
underscores the urgency of managing migration better. Origin countries should
make labor migration an explicit part of their development strategy. They
should lower remittance costs, facilitate knowledge transfers from their
diaspora, build skills that are in high demand globally so that citizens can
get better jobs if they migrate, mitigate the adverse effects of “brain drain,”
protect their nationals while abroad, and support them upon return.
Destination
countries should encourage migration where the skills migrants bring are in
high demand, facilitate their inclusion, and address social impacts that raise
concerns among their citizens. They should let refugees move, get jobs, and
access national services wherever they are available.
“In Nepal, like many other low- and middle-income countries,
remittances received from migration are a lifeline for many families and help
reduce poverty,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos,
World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. “The World Bank is committed to finding
effective ways to engage with the government on how to make the best of
migration for Nepal’s development.”
International
cooperation is essential to make migration a strong force for development.
Bilateral cooperation can strengthen the match of migrants’ skills with the
needs of destination countries. Multilateral efforts are needed to share the
costs of refugee-hosting and to address distressed migration. Voices that are
underrepresented in the migration debate must be heard: this includes
developing countries, the private sector and other stakeholders, and migrants
and refugees themselves.
The launch
event included a conversation on actions for managing migration better with
panelists Joyce Antone Ibrahim; Sonia Awale, Executive Editor of Nepali Times;
and Prajwal Sharma, Head of Labor Mobility and Human Development at the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Nepal.
