MIGRATIONDEVELOPMENT and According to some theories of migration , the relationship between human

development and emigration from a country likely follows a curve:

First, migration out of a poor country is positively related with humandevelopment: at the same time that the country develops (country movingto the right) emigration also increases (country moving up.)However, the curve reaches a tipping point: as the country develops further, emigration decreases. Such theories link individual aspirations and capabilities for emigration to development stages of countries. .

Migration

Percentageof migrantsin othercountries

Human Development Index

Development

1

2

2

1

AfghanistanIreland

Eritrea

Mozambique ChinaNorway

Switzerland

Netherlands

Jamaica

Ethiopia

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00

100%

10%

1%

Relationship between GDP per capitaand migration (2015)

How the curve corresponds to realityThis graphic illustrates the pattern explained above.

Percentage of citizens living in other countries (logarithmic scales)

Relationship betweeneducation and migration (2015)Percentage of citizens living in other countries

REMITTANCESSocial remittances

GDP Per Capita in 2015 (thousands of 2011 US Dollars)

Lower secondary completion rate in 2014

Countries on the bottom-left quadrant have very low human development and also low levels of migration to other countries.

Countries on the right side of the graph display high development but also low levels of outward migration.

The fact that countries don't sit perfectly on the curve proves that human development isn’t the only factor to explain migration. Islands like Jamaica have high levels of migration because job opportunities are low. Conflict is another factor in countries like Afghanistan.

100%

75%

50%

25%

0%0%

1,000 10,000 100,000

25% 50% 75% 100%

Economic remittances from EU countriesto the rest of the world (2014)Remittances are a key factor that drives development in nations that send migrantsto other places. The map below represents the amount of money sent to differentcountries by their citizens living abroad. Countries with large populations, like Chinaand India, stand out, but also other smaller ones, like Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.

Several studies have highlighted the potential consequences of emigration for origin countries in non-economic areas as diverse as health practices and outcomes; gender and class stratification; political ideas and behaviours; democracy promotion; fertility rates; strengthening institutions both at the community andlocal level.

SOURCES: Emigration data from UNDESA; GDP and educational attainment and remittances data from the World Bank - World Development Indicators; Human Development Index from the United Nations Development Programme.

For more details on development and migration theories see ‘Migration transitions: A theoretical and empirical inquiry into the developmental drivers of international migration’ by Hein de Haas (2010).

For social remittances see‘It's Not Just About the Economy, Stupid - Social Remittances Revisited’ by Peggy Levitt and Deepak Lamba-Nieves (2010).

Top 20 countries (2010-2015)Remittances as a percentage of each country’s GDP

Figures in millions of euros

TajikistanKyrgyzstan

NepalMoldova

TongaLesotho

HaitiLiberia

BermudaSamoa

ComorosArmenia

HondurasLebanon

KosovoEl Salvador

GambiaJamaica

JordanWest Bank/Gaza

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

In relative terms,remittances make up

for a higherpercentage of GDP

in countries that havesmaller populations

and economies

China5,711

India5,551

Nigeria7,274

Morocco6,105

UnitedStates1,515

Russia1,351

Each dot represents one country, and the red line is the trend line. In this case, the relationship between the variables is positive.

Each dot representsone country