Why Migration Is Bigger and More Contentious Than Ever

The world is on the move as never before. Migrants, defined as people living outside their country of birth whether for work, to follow a family member, study or escape adversity, numbered more than 250 million in 2017. That was 3.4% of the global population, an increase from 2.8% in 2000. Half were living in high-income countries, where they made up 14% of the population, up from 9.6% in 2000. The swell has produced a backlash. In the U.S. and Europe, concerns that migrants are stretching local services and disturbing order have been harnessed by nativist politicians embracing tighter controls. Advocates for migrants lament the many who die attempting to reach a new land or face exploitation once there.

Why is migration rising?

While conflicts and instability have increased the number of people forced from their homes, refugees make up only about a 10th of the migrant population. Work is the main reason people move to another country, and the falling cost of travel has made it easier to do so. So has the online boom, enabling voyagers to learn about their destinations and connect to home once they’ve arrived. Opportunities to study abroad have expanded significantly. There were more than 4.8 million international students in 2016, up from 2 million in 2000. Climate change and the water shortages, bad harvests and rise in sea level it’s causing are expected to push more people from their homes in the future.

Are migrants a burden?

Economists say that migration can benefit economies. Studies show that the social services migrants use are largely paid for by their tax contributions. By adding (mostly younger) workers, migration can raise gross domestic product and ease

pressure on pension systems. Still, large inflows sometimes stress schools, health care systems and housing markets. Some analyses have found that an increase in newcomers reduced native wages, though the effects were small. Immigration critics often highlight specific crimes committed by new arrivals, but research challenges the notion that migration leads to more lawlessness. In the U.S., a number of studies have concluded that migrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans. In Germany, crime fell 10% amid an influx of migrants.