MOSCOW, September 12 (RAPSI) - The United Nations presented data Wednesday showing that in this time of unparalleled international migration, Russia retains the second largest number of such migrants in the world, after the US.
In order, the ten countries hosting the largest quantities of international migrants according to the UN data are: the US with 45.8 million, Russia with 11 million, Germany with 9.8 million, Saudi Arabia with 9.1 million, the United Arab Emirates with 7.8 million, the United Kingdom with 7.8 million, France with 7.4 million, Canada with 7.3 million, Australia with 6.5 million, and Spain with 6.5 million.
At present, 232 million people (3.2% of the world’s population) are living abroad.
According to an accompanying statement, the new data was released in anticipation of a High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, which is set to occur in early October with the aim of making international migration more mutually beneficial for migrants and host countries alike.
The statement quotes UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo as having asserted: “Migration, when governed fairly, can make a very important contribution to social and economic development both in the countries of origin and in the countries of destination… Migration broadens the opportunities available to individuals and is a crucial means of broadening access to resources and reducing poverty.”
Migrants in Russia have been being subjected to legal checks on a mass scale in Moscow and other regions in the aftermath of a July 27 incident at an open-air market in Moscow that left a police officer with a broken skull. The workforces of Russia’s markets often host large concentrations of Central Asian migrant workers.
According to RIA Novosti, Russia’s economy is heavily dependent on immigrant labor, particularly from Central Asia, but there is widespread opposition within society to increased levels of immigration. There are about 3 million illegal immigrants in the country, according to official estimates.
During one 24-hour period in August, for instance, Russia’s Interior Ministry conducted more than 1,700 raids, registering approximately 1,000 immigration law violations as a result.
