International Organization for Migration: APAC 2025

The IOM released an APAC-specific report a few weeks back. I'll be diving more into it, specifically on migration corridors as I've done in the past for the US and Europe. But for now here's a high-level summary of some interesting takeaways for me:

• APAC remains the world’s top migrant-origin region, now contributing one in three international migrants (90.6M in 2024, up from 81.7M in 2020).
• Record levels of conflict and climate mobility. 18.11M conflict-displaced + 23.97M disaster-displaced in 2024, solidifying the region as an epicenter of climate-driven movement.
• Women make up 41% of the region’s 27.2M migrant workers. The authors highlight a growing need for fair employment pathways, skills verification, and accessible language training for this demographic.
• South and Southeast Asia dominate global migration corridors. India, China, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the Philippines consistently rank among the top origin countries.
• Remittance inflows from immigrants back to APAC hit a record high of USD 358 billion in 2024. That's 40% of the global total. India, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Bangladesh ranked as the top five remittance recipient countries.