Introduction to A Research Agenda for Migration and Health

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the number of immigrants and migrants has grown, with the proportion of people living outside of their country of birth rising from 2.8 per cent in 2000 to 3.3 per cent in 2015 (UN DESA, 2016). Major sending regions include North Africa, Asia and Latin America, while both the developing world and developed world are important destinations. This growth in the number of migrants can be explained by a number of factors, including the neoliberal globalization of trade, finance, production and culture; the emergence of new transportation and communication technologies that have eased communication and reduced the cost of travel; the existence of inequalities in people’s lives and opportunities; and local or regional conflicts that have resulted in massive forced population displacement, with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimating some 68.5 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, including 25.4 million refugees, 40 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 3.1 million asylum seekers as of 2017. South Sudan, Afghanistan and Syria were the top three sources for refugees during the same period.