International Migration Outlook 2024

1. Recent developments in international migration movements and labour market inclusion of immigrants

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of recent developments in international migration movements and labour market inclusion of immigrants in OECD countries.

The first section analyses international migration flows over the last decade, up to 2023. Both permanent and temporary migration flows by category of migration are covered. The chapter then examines international student mobility and recent trends in asylum and resettlement in OECD countries.

It then looks at demographics (gender and origin) of total flows of foreigners and the foreign-born population, and trends in acquisition of nationality in OECD countries.

The second section of the chapter examines recent trends in the labour market outcomes of immigrants, with a detailed analysis by sociodemographic characteristics and region of origin.

In Brief

Key findings

Migration trends

• Up by 10% compared to 2022, permanent-type migration to OECD countries set a new record in 2023 with 6.5 million new permanent immigrants, 28% above 2019 levels. Most of the 2023 increase was driven by family migration (including family accompanying workers), but humanitarian migration was also on the rise. By contrast, labour migration within free mobility areas was stable in 2023.

• About a third of OECD countries experienced record immigration levels in 2023, including Canada, France, Japan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Another third recorded a drop in inflows, including Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Italy, Lithuania and New Zealand.

• Family migration, at 43% of total permanent flows, remained the leading migration category in 2023, by a record margin. Growth in this category was driven by accompanying family of workers going to the United Kingdom and family of US citizens.

• After an unprecedented increase in 2022, temporary labour migration to OECD countries continued to grow. More than 2.4 million work permits and authorisations were granted in OECD countries (excluding Poland) representing a 16% year-on-year increase (28% above pre‑COVID levels).

• In Poland, excluding “entrusting work” declarations for Ukrainians, the total number of new work authorisations (including renewals) decreased by 39% in 2023, to 835 000.

• Flows of seasonal workers increased by 5% in 2023, with significant increases in the United States and Korea.

• After a four‑fold increase in 2022, the number of Working Holidaymakers (WHMs) increased by 23% in 2023 and levels are now back at their pre‑COVID levels. This upward trend was observed in most receiving countries, bar Norway and New Zealand.

• Inflows of Intra-company Transferees (ICTs) decreased by 11% in 2023 due to lower flows to main receiving countries (‑12% to the United States; ‑25% to the United Kingdom and ‑19% to Canada).

• In 2023, international student flows continued to rise. With a 6.7% year-on-year increase, OECD countries welcomed over 2.1 million new international students, a level 33% higher than in 2019.

• With comparable numbers of new visas issued in 2023, the United Kingdom and the United States remained the top OECD destination countries for international students. Adding Canada, Australia and Japan, the top five destination countries welcomed 80% of all new international students moving to the OECD.

• In 2023, India was the top origin country of international students moving to the three main OECD destinations (the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada) while China has been the top nationality of new international students admitted to Japan and Australia over the past decade. The composition of student inflows by nationality to EU/EFTA countries was overall more diverse than for the top five destination countries.

• In 2022, more than 3 million postings to a single country (+37%) were registered in Europe. Another 1.4 million postings, covering around 1.3 million workers, were issued to workers active in two or more countries (+6.6% in 2022).

• The number of new asylum seekers to OECD countries broke a new record once again, with 2.7 million new applications registered across OECD countries in 2023 (+30%). The surge was driven by the United States, which alone registered over 1 million asylum applications in 2023, for the first time surpassing European OECD countries taken together. Top origin countries of applicants included Venezuela, Colombia, Syria, Afghanistan and Haiti.

• OECD countries granted international protection (including asylum provision and resettlement) to 676 000 refugees in 2023 (+15%) – the highest level since 2017. The top hosts remained the United States and Germany, but most of the year-on-year increase was driven by the United Kingdom and Spain.

• Refugee resettlement in the OECD reached the highest levels since 2016, with a total 160 000 new arrivals in 2023 (+35%). In absolute terms, the United States overtook Canada as a host, but Canada resettled the most refugees per capita (1 300 per million inhabitants) in 2023. If every OECD country followed Canada’s rate of resettlement, the OECD would meet 91% of the global need for resettlement identified by the UNHCR in 2023.

• In 2023, more than 150 million people living in OECD countries were foreign-born. The United States alone hosted nearly a third of them. In the ten years leading up to 2023, the share of foreign-born in OECD countries rose from 9% to 11%.

• Acquisitions of citizenship in OECD countries remained at high levels in 2023, 2.8 million according to partial data. The United Kingdom and Germany each granted citizenship to 200 000 foreign residents.

Labour market integration

• The post-pandemic upward trend in immigrant employment continued into 2023, with the OECD overall seeing both historically high levels of employment and low levels of unemployment, at 71.6% and 7.4%, respectively.

• 10 OECD countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the EU27 overall, had the highest immigrant employment rates on record.

• Long-term unemployment among immigrants also declined virtually everywhere in the OECD. Immigrants are now only slightly more likely to be in long-term unemployment than their native‑born counterparts.

• While gender gaps in employment continued to decline for the native‑born virtually everywhere, the trend has been more uneven for immigrants, with increases in gender gaps in both Canada and the United Kingdom.

• The extent to which Ukrainian refugees have been able to integrate into local labour markets has varied greatly between countries. Ukrainian refugees in certain Central and Eastern European countries, such as Poland, Lithuania and Estonia, fare particularly well on the labour market, exhibiting employment rates of over 50% in late 2023, while less than one in four are in employment in countries such as Germany, Austria and Belgium.

• In all countries for which data is available, migrants from the Middle East had higher employment rates in 2023 than the year before, whereas the results were more mixed for other migrant groups, notably those from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Recent trends in international migration

Permanent-type migration to the OECD

Permanent-type migration to OECD countries reached a total inflow of over 6.5 million people in 2023 (Figure 1.1). This represents a 10% increase compared to 2022, already a record year, and a 28% increase compared to 2019.1 Note these figures exclude Ukrainians under temporary protection, who are covered separately in this section due to the temporary nature of the international protection they receive (Box 1.1).

The United States remained the top destination country with 1.2 million new lawful permanent residents, the highest level since 2006 (Table 1.1). Following an unprecedented increase in 2023, the United Kingdom rose to second place with a record 750 000 new migrants (250 000 more than in 2022, +52%). Germany, which had been the second OECD destination since 2012, fell to third place despite an increase of 4% and nearly 700 000 new permanent-type entries. Canada followed with 470 000 new permanent migrants (+7.8%), and Spain recorded a 12% increase to 360 000.

Many OECD countries registered record levels of immigration in 2023. In addition to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Finland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg and Switzerland all registered record immigration levels. National (non-standardised) data suggests that migration flows to Poland and Hungary have increased significantly, also reaching the highest levels on record in 2023.

Another third of OECD countries received fewer new permanent‑type immigrants in 2023 than in 2022. The most significant declines in immigration were recorded in Estonia (‑36%), Lithuania (‑32%), New Zealand (‑23%) and Israel (‑38%). In the latter two countries, however, absolute levels of immigration remained high (119 000 and 46 000, respectively). In New Zealand, large inflows were driven by the processing of the 2021 Residence Visa – an exceptional pathway to permanent residence for temporary labour migrants in 2021. Israel received large inflows of immigrants from Ukraine and Russia.

The Netherlands also saw immigration decrease in 2023, by 5% to 195 000, as did three of the Nordic countries, Denmark (‑9%, 60 000 new migrants), Norway (‑5%, 42 000) and Sweden (‑3%, 87 000). In several OECD European countries, including Ireland, Luxembourg, the Slovak Republic and Latvia, migration flows remained stable in 2023.

Figure 1.1. Permanent-type migration to the OECD, 2013‑23

Note: Sum of standardised and unstandardised figures (refer to Table 1.1, excluding Türkiye, Colombia and Costa Rica), including status changes and migration within free‑circulation areas. 2023 data are partly estimated based on growth rates published in official national statistics, and assuming that for Chile and Iceland the 2023 inflow remained at 2022 levels.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Table 1.1. Permanent-type migration to selected OECD countries, 2015‑23

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2023/22 change	2023/19 change
	Thousands									%
Standardised statistics
United States	1 051.0	1 186.9	1 103.7	1 089.6	1 031.0	581.5	835.4	1 048.7	1 189.8	+13.4	+15.4
United Kingdom	366.5	351.0	317.7	317.7	356.1	199.9	369.0	488.4	746.9	+52.9	+109.7
Germany	708.1	1 077.9	883.1	656.5	643.3	521.1	533.1	669.0	692.7	+3.5	+7.7
Canada	275.8	296.7	286.5	321.0	341.2	184.5	406.0	437.6	471.7	+7.8	+38.3
Spain	269.6	189.9	212.0	228.0	246.0	198.9	255.6	324.0	364.1	+12.3	+48.0
France	262.3	259.9	260.8	282.6	275.6	219.9	267.4	294.4	297.6	+1.1	+8.0
Australia	227.9	229.4	220.5	195.2	195.7	165.5	170.4	170.9	238.7	+39.7	+22.0
Italy	223.1	214.0	220.1	206.6	167.1	112.0	204.4	235.4	208.2	‑11.6	+24.6
Netherlands	126.8	138.5	148.0	147.7	163.1	132.8	170.8	204.1	194.7	‑4.6	+19.4
Japan	85.4	97.6	102.1	118.0	139.0	85.0	56.7	144.2	154.8	+7.3	+11.3
Switzerland	112.7	108.2	103.5	105.6	106.5	102.3	109.1	130.0	144.5	+11.2	+35.6
Portugal	33.6	39.2	51.3	78.7	106.7	84.7	93.7	121.0	132.4	+9.4	+24.1
Belgium	103.7	105.5	108.1	109.9	114.0	92.3	112.2	120.4	120.8	+0.3	+5.9
New Zealand	54.3	55.3	46.9	44.7	38.1	35.7	35.4	154.3	119.3	‑22.7	+213.4
Austria	105.6	105.8	102.0	89.7	84.4	65.6	76.5	93.3	105.4	+13.0	+24.8
Korea	65.6	72.9	71.1	76.0	72.5	53.0	48.2	57.8	87.1	+50.9	+20.1
Sweden	120.5	154.4	132.3	123.1	100.1	80.3	76.0	89.8	87.1	‑3.0	‑13.0
Mexico	34.4	35.9	32.6	37.0	40.5	58.4	67.7	75.6	69.9	‑7.6	+72.4
Ireland	36.2	41.9	41.0	43.0	48.6	42.7	38.4	66.9	65.2	‑2.6	+34.3
Denmark	60.7	54.9	49.6	48.6	45.8	37.8	48.9	66.3	60.6	‑8.7	+32.3
Israel	27.9	26.0	26.4	28.1	33.2	19.7	25.5	74.7	46.0	‑38.5	+38.3
Finland	25.0	30.3	26.2	25.6	28.2	24.2	30.8	40.4	42.8	+6.0	+51.9
Norway	61.1	64.9	55.0	46.0	46.1	32.8	38.1	44.0	41.8	‑5.0	‑9.4
Czechia	27.8	29.2	40.2	55.4	62.3	55.6	63.9	45.6	37.5	‑17.8	‑39.8
Slovenia	12.2	14.7	20.9	31.3	32.8	20.8	28.8	31.8	31.1	‑2.0	‑5.0
Luxembourg	20.8	21.0	23.0	23.3	24.5	20.1	24.3	27.2	27.4	+0.8	+12.2
Slovak Republic	9.3	10.1	13.2	19.9	26.8	17.1	26.8	24.3	24.6	+1.4	‑8.3
Estonia	5.5	6.2	8.2	9.2	10.4	9.1	11.8	13.5	8.6	‑36.2	‑16.9
Lithuania	2.6	3.7	3.2	3.0	3.1	2.9	5.9	10.6	7.2	‑32.4	+134.3
All countries	4 516.2	5 022.2	4 709.4	4 561.1	4 582.7	3 256.4	4 231.0	5 304.4	5 818.5	+9.7	+27.0
EU countries included above	2 153.5	2 497.3	2 343.3	2 182.1	2 182.6	1 738.0	2069.4	2 478.2	2 508.0	+1.2	+14.9
Of which free mobility	1 060.4	1 098.2	1 080.2	1 075.4	1 068.1	842.3	893.4	960.8	944.9	‑1.7	‑11.5
National statistics (unstandardised)
Türkiye	..	273.9	364.6	466.9	578.5	242.5	615.1	399.6	214.8	‑46.3	‑62.9
Poland	86.1	107.0	128.0	137.6	163.5	163.5	224.2	335.3	374.1	+11.6	+128.8
Chile	101.9	135.5	207.2	339.4	254.1	154.6	76.5	198.4	..	..	..
Hungary	25.8	23.8	36.5	49.3	55.3	43.8	49.1	55.6	61.4	+10.4	+10.9
Latvia	4.5	3.4	5.1	6.5	6.6	4.6	6.5	7.3	7.2	‑2.4	+8.4
Colombia	..	..	104.5	217.9	225.8	74.8	40.7	..	..	..	..
Costa Rica	15.7	6.6	8.6	9.2	7.8	..	..	..	..	..	..
Iceland	5.0	7.9	11.8	11.5	9.5	7.6	8.5	13.2	..	..	..
Greece	53.1	59.8	46.3	51.5	55.3	26.8	50.3	62.8	72.5	+15.5	+31.2
Total (except Türkiye, Colombia and Costa Rica)	276.3	337.4	434.9	595.8	544.3	400.8	415.2	672.6	..	..	..

Note: Includes only foreign nationals. Data refer to the fiscal year ending in the year of reference for Australia (Jul-Jun) and Ireland (Apr-Mar). For the United States, data refer to fiscal years (Oct-Sep) in 2015 and calendar years from 2016 on. The inflows include status changes, namely persons in the country on a temporary status who obtained the right to stay on a longer-term basis, and migration within free circulation areas. Series for some countries have been significantly revised. EU averages cover countries stated in the table, excluding the United Kingdom.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Permanent-type migration by main categories

More family migration both in absolute terms and relative to other migration categories

Family migration has long been the primary driver of international migration flows to OECD countries. Its weight increased further in 2023, when 43% of all new permanent immigrants were family migrants, up from 40% in 2022 (Figure 1.2). After continuous growth between 2016 and 2022, the share of labour migration in permanent-type migration fell to 20% in 2023, still nearly double its mid‑2010s levels.

Migration movements within free circulation areas, which accounted for approximately 30% of the total until 2020, experienced a relative decrease, falling to 19% in 2023.

Figure 1.2. Permanent-type migration to the OECD area, by category of entry, 2014‑23

Note: Includes only countries for which data on standardised permanent-type migration are available (refer to Table 1.1).

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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From 2016 to 2019, OECD countries received around 2 million family migrants each year. In 2022 and 2023, annual flows have been significantly higher, with 2.1 million in 2022 and 2.5 million in 2023, a 18% year-on-year increase. This could be a residual aftermath of the COVID‑19 pandemic as family reunification has been delayed for many people due to border closures and increasing difficulties to meet required criteria.

In the United States, approximately 870 000 migrants were granted lawful permanent resident status for family reasons in 2023, 20% more than in 2022 (and just under the 2006 level, the previous record). The increase was driven by immediate relatives of US citizens, whose numbers increased by 47% in 2023. In particular, parents of US citizens increased by 63% (+87 000). The number of family migrants admitted under family-sponsored preferences (family of lawful permanent residents or family of US citizens other than spouse, minor child or parent) increased by 8% in 2023 compared to 2022. Conversely, as a consequence of the sharp decline in labour migration (see below), the number of family members accompanying workers fell in 2023.

The United Kingdom is the other country where family migration soared, with 373 000 new family migrants in 2023, a 60% increase compared to 2022. Seventy percent of family migrants in the United Kingdom were accompanying family members of labour migrants. The Health and Care visa for accompanying family members accounted for the bulk of the increase. Indeed, more than half of family migrants who settled in the United Kingdom in 2023 benefited from this visa (203 000, against 81 000 in 2022). Starting March 2024, new care workers under the Health and Care visa are no longer eligible to sponsor accompanying dependents. The top three nationalities for the Health and Care visa were Indians (58 000, +75% compared to 2022), Nigerians (51 000, +204%) and Zimbabweans (25 100, +153%).

Canada was the third main OECD destination country for family migrants in 2023, receiving 238 000 new family migrants in 2023, a 9% increase compared to 2022. Nearly 50 000 were admitted as spouses and dependents under the Provincial Nominee Programs in 2023, twice as many as in 2022.

In relative terms, family migration increased sharply in Finland, with 21 000 entries in 2023 representing a 29% increase compared to 2022 and double the level of 2021. These two consecutive jumps are almost entirely attributable to permits issued to spouses and children of foreign residents, particularly Russians and Sri Lankans. Korea also recorded a sharp increase in family migration in 2023 (+47%, 18 000 entries) due to the rise in F‑6 Marriage Migrant visa holders (+45% to 14 400 in 2023), mainly granted to Korean citizens’ spouses and partners, and allowing holders to live and work in Korea.

Contrasting trends in permanent-type labour migration across OECD countries

Permanent labour migration to OECD countries remained at a high level in 2023 with just under 1.2 million workers, as in 2022. Almost a quarter of these migrant workers went to the United Kingdom (282 000, 48% more than in 2022) of which more than half were health professionals issued a “Skilled worker visa – Health and care” (Annex Table 1.A.1). In 2023, Canada admitted 145 000 workers as permanent residents (+7%), including 52 000 through Provincial Nominee Programs (+37%). A record number of approximately 93 000 migrant workers settled in Germany in 2023. Several other countries registered record figures for permanent labour migration in 2023, including Japan and France (90 000 and 59 000, respectively), and Korea and Greece, although at lower levels (13 000 and 12 000, respectively).

Labour migration to the United States (excluding accompanying family) fell quite sharply in 2023 compared to 2022 (by ‑43%, to 82 000). However, the overall level remained relatively high, and higher than pre‑2021 levels. Labour migration decreased from 2022 to 2023 in half of the observed countries, including New Zealand (‑46%), Ireland (‑23%), the Netherlands (‑15%), Estonia (‑37%) and Lithuania (‑55%), all of which had received record worker inflows in 2022.

Humanitarian migration on the rise for three consecutive years

Similar to family and labour migration, humanitarian migration2 to OECD countries increased in 2023 for the third consecutive year. Indeed, 650 000 refugees benefited from international protection in OECD countries, a 20% increase compared to 2022.

Germany hosted more than a quarter of all humanitarian migrants (170 000), and remained the main country of destination, ahead of the United States (126 000). Sizeable increases were recorded (+14% for Germany and +37% for the United States) but levels remained lower than in the mid‑2010s. Canada, with 75 000 humanitarian migrants, the United Kingdom (65 000) and France (34 000) experienced record levels of humanitarian migration in 2023, as did Ireland although at a much lower level (2 900). In Australia and Austria, the number of humanitarian migrants increased by more than a third in 2023, to 18 000 and 22 000. Only a few countries experienced a decline in humanitarian migration, including Mexico (‑23%), the Netherlands (‑8%) and Norway (‑14%).

Box 1.1. The Ukrainian displacement crisis is in its third year and shows no signs of abating

Russia’s large‑scale war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022 triggered the largest and fastest displacement crisis in Europe since the Second World War. While the bulk of outflows from Ukraine occurred in the first two quarters of 2022, the total number of forced migrants from Ukraine in the OECD region continues to grow. As of June 2024, there were around 5 million displaced persons from Ukraine in the OECD, which is about 300 000 more than at the same time in 2023 (OECD, 2023[1]).

Germany, Poland, the United States, Czechia and Canada host the highest numbers of displaced persons from Ukraine, with more than 60% of all arrivals to the OECD (Figure 1.3). Meanwhile, proportionally more arrivals continue to be in Central and Eastern European countries, with Czechia, Latvia, Estonia and Poland having received the highest number of forced migrants as a share of their population.

Figure 1.3. Number of displaced persons from Ukraine in OECD countries, June 2024

Absolute numbers and per thousand of total population

Source: UNHCR, https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/ukraine-measures/key-figures.html.

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The Ukrainian displacement crisis has unfolded differently across the OECD. Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, such as Poland and Czechia, were at the forefront of receiving the initial waves of refugees from Ukraine. However, these countries often served as temporary transit points from which displaced Ukrainians would either move onward or return to Ukraine. This has led to a decrease in the total number of displaced Ukrainians in these countries compared to 2022 (Figure 1.4). Meanwhile, other host destinations, such as the United States and Canada, have seen more noticeable increases in their Ukrainian populations over time. This trend possibly indicates that these moves are being made with more rigorous planning and consideration by displaced persons from Ukraine, with long-term resettlement in mind, thus making returns after the war from these countries less likely.

Figure 1.4. Changes in the total number of displaced persons from Ukraine between 2022 and 2024 in the eight main host countries

Source: UNHCR, https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/ukraine-measures/key-figures.html; OECD (2023[1]), International Migration Outlook 2023, https://doi.org/10.1787/b0f40584-en.

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Stable migration movements within free‑circulation OECD areas in 2023

Migration movements within free‑circulation areas (within the EU/EFTA and between Australia and New Zealand) remained above 1 million despite the COVID‑19 crisis and the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. Levels are stable since 2021, with an estimated 1.17 million migratory movements registered within free‑circulation areas in OECD countries.

Free‑mobility movements to European OECD countries was stable in 2023, after a rebound in 2022. Germany maintained its position as the primary destination for intra-EU/EFTA mobility, receiving 27% of EU mobile citizens (314 000 individuals, ‑4% compared to 2022). Spain was the second top destination, with an estimated 115 000 people in 2023 (+1%). Switzerland rose to third place in 2023 as inflows of EU/EEA citizens increased by 13%, counting nearly 110 000 individuals.

Free‑movement inflows to France (75 000) and Austria (62 000) increased by 5% year-on-year. In Ireland, inflows increased by 21% (31 000). In contrast, the inflows of EU mobile citizens decreased in the Netherlands (‑2%, 95 000), Italy (‑13%, 43 000), Denmark (‑11%, 37 000), Finland (‑19%, 6 000) and Estonia (‑14%, 3 000).

In Oceania, migration flows under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement between Australia and New Zealand increased by 61% in 2023. Arrivals from New Zealand to Australia jumped by 84% (26 000), while movements in the opposite direction fell by 21% (3 000). Overall, the 29 000 Trans-Tasman movements in 2023 surpassed pre‑COVID 2019 levels by 41%.

Permanent-type migration inflows per capita

On average, OECD countries received 10 new permanent-type migrants per thousand inhabitants in 2023, up from 8 in 2019 (Figure 1.2).

Luxembourg and Iceland had particularly high ratios, with 42 and 35 new permanent-type migrants per thousand inhabitants in 2023. Next was New Zealand with 23 new permanent-type migrants per thousand inhabitants, an exceptionally high ratio for the country due to large issuances of the “2021 residence visa” – an exceptional pathway to permanent residence. Switzerland comes third with a ratio of 17 per thousand.

In half of OECD countries, the number of new permanent-type immigrants was between 5 and 15 per thousand inhabitants. Mexico and Japan, highly populated countries with relatively low immigration, are at the lower end of the scale with 0.5 and 1.3 new permanent-type migrants per thousand inhabitants respectively.

Figure 1.5. Permanent-type migration to OECD countries as a percentage of the total population, 2019 and 2023

Note: Light blue columns are unstandardised data.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Temporary labour migration to the OECD

Temporary labour migration to OECD countries tends to reflect short-term changes in demand for labour and skills. Across the OECD, there is a large diversity in temporary migration channels and programmes, targeting different types of workers and sectors and offering different duration of stay and entry conditions.

The statistics presented in this section aim to be as exhaustive as possible given data availability. They cover categories of temporary workers found in most OECD countries, such as trainees, skilled workers such as intra-company transferees, researchers and post-doctoral researchers, but also seasonal workers or working holiday makers. In addition, a range of country-specific temporary foreign worker programmes are covered. The statistics presented in this section do not capture intra-EU nor Trans-Tasmanian short-term labour mobility, as this is covered in the previous section. The specific case of posted workers within the EU/EFTA free movement area is presented in a separate section.

Following the unprecedented increase in 2022 (+65%), the number of new work permits and authorisations continued to grow, but at a slower pace. In 2023, more than 2.4 million foreign workers were granted a temporary authorisation or work permit in OECD countries (excluding Poland), representing a 16% increase compared to 2022, and a 28% increase compared to 2019 (Figure 1.6 and Figure 1.7).

Data for Poland are higher than for any other OECD country but are not fully comparable with other countries. They include a number of work authorisations that may not be linked to entries and cover a large number of “notifications of entrusting work” (Law of March 2022), which are made by the employer within 14 days of hiring the employee (mostly of Ukrainian nationality). Including Poland, the total estimated inflow of temporary workers would be around 3.2 million (Box 1.2).

Figure 1.6. Total flows of new temporary foreign workers to OECD countries, 2019‑23

Note: Excluding Poland.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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The United States attracted a third of all temporary labour migrants who entered OECD countries in 2023. Another third went to the following three top receiving countries: Australia (15%), Japan and Canada (around 10% each). EU/EFTA OECD destination countries accounted for slightly more than one in ten new temporary foreign workers altogether (excluding intra-EU mobility). Among all seven countries that received more than 100 000 new temporary workers in 2023, the number of permits issued increased compared to previous years (except the United Kingdom and Poland). Compared with pre‑COVID levels, the largest increases were in Korea and Canada, with +76% each. In EU/EFTA OECD countries, temporary labour migration increased by 39% and 25%, relative to 2019 and 2022, respectively.

Figure 1.7. Inflows of new temporary foreign workers, top OECD receiving countries, 2019‑23

Thousands

Note: Exclude renewals except in Australia and France (seasonal). Data for Korea include re‑entries. EU include Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Box 1.2. Evolution of the trends in temporary workers to Poland since 2019

Types of work authorisations delivered to temporary workers

Since 2004, foreigners are authorised to work in Poland if they meet two conditions: first, they need to have a work permit or another type of authorisation to work; second, they must reside legally in Poland and the basis of their stay must allow them to work.

The “statement on entrusting work” is a simplified procedure in place for foreigners from five specific countries: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine (Russian citizens were excluded from this procedure in October 2022). This procedure applies to economic sectors not related to seasonal work. The authorised length of work has been extended from 6 to 24 months in January 2022, which has resulted in a slowdown of grants. The conditions for using the simplified procedure are that the employer declares the employment in the local register of declarations and that the foreigner has a document confirming his/her right to residence in Poland.

In March 2022, a new type of notification of “entrusting work” (employment) was introduced to support Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and those already in Poland by allowing them to work. This procedure has become the primary channel used by most Ukrainians coming to and staying in Poland.

Grants of temporary work authorisations continued to decrease in 2023

From 2022 onwards, Poland experienced a significant decline in flows of temporary workers that affected all types of work authorisations except for “entrusting work” declarations for Ukrainians. This drop followed three consecutive years of registering at least 1.5 million workers annually (including short-term work permits and renewals). In 2023, the number of “statements of entrusting work” valid for more than 90 days decreased by 49%; work permits (including renewals) decreased by 12%; and seasonal work permits decreased by 35% (Figure 1.8). This overall significant drop was not fully compensated by the sharp increase in “entrusting work” declarations for Ukrainians (+37%). Excluding these “entrusting work” declarations, the total number of new work authorisations (including renewals) decreased by 39% in 2023, to 835 000. It is noteworthy that “entrusting work” declarations for Ukrainians can be delivered to the same foreign worker changing jobs. In the end of 2023, it was estimated that 358 000 Ukrainian workers were working in Poland under such a notification.

Approximately two in five declarations of “entrusting work” were granted to Belarussians. After a sharp increase in 2022, declarations for Belarussians decreased by 6% in 2023. Meanwhile, declarations for Georgians, Moldovans and Armenians decreased by 41%, 17% and 15%, respectively.

In 2023, approximately 25% of the 320 000 new issuances of work permit were repealed, mostly due to foreigners not taking up their job three months after the starting date stipulated on the permit. The composition of these flows by the origin of new work permit holders changed dramatically from 2022 to 2023. India (+10%), Nepal (+76%) and the Philippines (+29%) accounted for more than a third of total inflows of temporary workers to Poland. Flows from Bangladesh to Poland doubled, making it the fifth place origin country after Uzbekistan, from which flows decreased by 16% in 2023.

Figure 1.8. Total grants of work authorisations in Poland, 2019‑23

Note: Grants of work authorisations (including renewals). Some of the workers have not yet obtained a residence permit or have not entered Poland.

Source: Calculations based on national sources.

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Temporary labour migration by main categories

Seasonal migration programmes constitute a major category of temporary foreign workers across the OECD. During the COVID‑19 pandemic, the recruitment of seasonal workers from abroad – crucial for harvesting activities in OECD countries – was strongly disrupted but seasonal migration flows bounced back rapidly, increasing by 53% in 2021. In 2023, recruitment of seasonal workers in the OECD (excluding Poland) increased by 6% compared to the previous year, with a total of more than 615 000 new authorisations granted (Annex Table 1.A.2 and Annex Table 1.A.3).

The overall increase in seasonal migration was driven by a few countries, including the United States (446 000 in 2023, +6%) and Korea (25 500, +212%). Korea introduced a new seasonal programme in 2021 and granted 25 500 visas in 2023 compared with 8 200 the previous year, to address labour shortages in agricultural and fishing sectors. Austria, Germany, Norway and Mexico also experienced increases in seasonal flows in 2023.

However, in most OECD countries the number of new seasonal workers actually decreased compared to 2022. Finland, Estonia and, to a lesser extent, Sweden and Spain, experienced drastic decreases in flows (between ‑20% and ‑60%). The trend in Finland is mainly driven by a drop in the grants of seasonal work certificates benefitting non-EU citizens that enter Finland without a visa (mainly from Ukraine and Moldova).

The United States received nearly 75% of all seasonal foreign workers in OECD countries, granting 311 000 new H‑2A visas in agriculture and 135 000 H‑2B visas for non-agricultural seasonal and other temporary needs (such as one‑time occurrence, peak-load or intermittent needs). The next top destinations for seasonal work were the United Kingdom and Korea (Figure 1.9).

Working Holiday Maker (WHM) programmes are exchange programmes that allow young individuals to experience life and culture in the destination country through travel, work and study. In some OECD countries, notably Australia and New Zealand, WHMs contribute significantly to specific sectors, such as agriculture or accommodation and retail trade services.

After a four‑fold increase in 2022, the number of WHMs arriving to the OECD continued to increase in 2023 (+23%), to a total of 491 000. For the first time, in 2023, inflows returned to pre‑COVID levels (+9% compared to 2019). This trend was largely driven by Australia, which hosted nearly one in two WHMs in 2023 (228 400, 48% more than the previous year), and to a lesser extent by the United States and Canada, which registered a 12% and 35% increase, respectively. The United Kingdom also registered a sharp increase in inflows of their WHM equivalent Youth Mobility Scheme route in 2023 (+35%) but on a lower scale (22 700).

Figure 1.9. Inflows of temporary labour migrants to the OECD, main programmes and top receiving countries, 2019‑23

Thousands

Note: Exclude renewals except in Australia and France (seasonal). Data for Korea include re‑entries. EU include Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Trainee programmes aim to facilitate short-term skills transfers and promote familiarity with specific processes or equipment. The primary objective of these programmes is not to employ trainees as regular workers, but to enhance their knowledge and capabilities. While many countries have such programmes, Japan is by far the main destination country for foreign trainees in the OECD.

Japan received more than 75% of all foreign trainees, virtually all under its “Technical Intern Trainee” Programme (around 200 000 in 2023). Despite a 7% increase compared to 2022, flows of trainees to Japan in 2023 were still 4% below their 2019 level. Although on a much smaller scale, recruitment of trainees in the rest of OECD countries increased (+5% in 2023), most notably in Germany (+48%) and the United States (+25%).

Intra-company transferee (ICT) programmes enable multinational companies to move key staff across borders between different entities of the same company. To be eligible, migrants are generally required to have been working in the company for at least one year. They may be allowed to stay in the host country for several years (one to three years in the framework of the EU Directive; up to seven years with a L‑1 visa in the United States; unlimited time in Japan and Korea).

Mobility within multinationals was markedly reduced by the COVID‑19 pandemic. ICT permits doubled in 2022 compared to 2021. Nevertheless, levels remained 11% below those of 2019 and decreased again in 2023, notably in the main receiving countries (the United States, ‑12%, the United Kingdom, ‑25% and Canada, ‑19%). The distribution of ICTs across OECD countries became more diversified in 2023, with significant increases in Australia and Japan.

Other national temporary foreign worker programmes3 not presented in the previous sections (seasonal, WHM, trainee and ICT programmes) cover a variety of skills profiles and sectors. They include, among others, programmes for researchers (more than 15 000 in 2023), post-doctoral fellows (more than 11 000 registered in 2023) but also au pairs (around 25 000 in 2023).

Overall, in 2023, these temporary foreign worker programmes increased by 24%, with large increases in some of the main receiving countries (+84% in Canada and +88% in Japan). In the United States, the decrease was largely due to lower approvals for H‑1B visas for specialty occupations. The number of new foreign workers in the H‑1B programme is capped at 65 000, with an additional 20 000 for foreigners who have earned a US master’s degree or higher. Due to exceptions for foreigners hired by certain categories of public and non-profit employers, numbers of approvals exceed caps. Initial approvals of H‑1B visas were at 132 000 in FY2022 and 119 000 in FY2023.

Canada has two main streams for temporary foreign workers: the International Mobility Programme (IMP) and the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP), which includes a labour market test. The upward trend recorded in 2022 continued in 2023, with an 84% increase. Like in 2022, the increase was primarily driven by the easing of recruitment of high skilled migrants, notably in the health sector, and also by the 35% increase in the TFWP, notably in the agricultural sector.

Korea has registered a large increase in inflows of temporary foreign workers since 2021. The number of permits issued doubled in 2022 and increased by an additional 8% in 2023, placing flows 22% above 2019 levels. This growth was mainly driven by the increased number of permits issued under the Employment Permit System (EPS, or E‑9 visa). Under EPS, foreign workers are employed in non-professional jobs, mainly in the manufacturing sector. The number of newly entering E‑9 holders is expected to reach its highest level yet in 2024, with a record quota set at 165 000.

In Australia, the number of permits delivered to temporary foreign workers increased by 63% over the first semester of 2023 (compared with the first semester of 2022). The growth concerned most programmes, primarily those for highly skilled temporary residents, such as for researchers.

The number of participants in other national temporary foreign worker programmes increased in most other OECD countries, except Denmark and Estonia. In the United Kingdom, numbers stabilised after significant increases in 2021 (+89%) and 2022 (+43%). Increases were particularly sharp in New Zealand, Japan, Norway, Finland and Israel.

Japan admitted over 20 000 foreigners for employment under the Specified Skilled Worker Programme (SSWP) in 2022 and 44 000 in 2023. The SSWP, designed to address labour shortages in 12 eligible industries, was introduced in 2019 but border closure and slow rollout of SSW testing in origin countries due to the COVID‑19 pandemic delayed arrivals from abroad.

In New Zealand, the 78% increase from 2022 to 2023 in “other temporary programmes” is exclusively due to the Accredited Employer Work Visa Scheme (AEWV), which replaced six types of temporary work visas in July 2022 and was extended to more occupations. Accredited employers are required to pay at least the national median wage with some time‑limited exceptions, notably in the construction and care sectors.

In the EU countries covered in Figure 1.9, the number of permits issued to other temporary foreign workers in 2023 constituted a 25% increase compared to 2022 and a 58% increase compared to 2019. The largest year-on-year growth rates were registered in Spain and Sweden.

Except for seasonal workers and depending on the receiving country, several categories of temporary workers are allowed to be accompanied by their close family members, usually under strict conditions regarding accommodation and salary. Data on family members of temporary workers are rarely available, especially in Europe. For the few countries for which data is available, Figure 1.10 shows a wide range of accompanying family flows relative to main applicants of temporary work permits. Overall, however, inflows of temporary workers’ family members remain limited. The countries where family flows were the highest in relative terms (over 20% of principal applicants’ flows) in 2023 were the United States, followed by New Zealand, Canada and Australia. In Korea and Japan, most temporary foreign workers have limited (or no) rights to bring their family.

Figure 1.10. Flows of temporary workers’ family members in selected OECD countries, 2023

Number of accompanying family members as a percentage of total temporary workers

Note: Data included on the top of bars are absolute numbers (in thousands) of foreign workers’ family members.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Posted workers within the OECD-Europe area

In EU/EFTA countries, posted workers are defined as salaried or self-employed workers who carry out their activity in another member country while staying affiliated with the social security system of their country of residence. When workers are posted in one single country, the posting cannot exceed 24 months (EC No 987/2009 Article 12), whereas there is no time limit for workers posted in two or more countries (EC No 987/2009 Article 13), mostly in transportation. Flows of posted workers to and from the United Kingdom continue to be registered post-Brexit, in accordance with the Trade and Co‑operation Agreement (TCA) signed by the EU and the United Kingdom at the end of 2020. The EEA and Switzerland are not included in this agreement. The data presented in this section enumerate the portable documents A1 (PD A1) issued by EU/EFTA countries and the United Kingdom.

After a sharp decline in single‑country postings (under Article 12) during the COVID‑19 period, flows increased by 37% in 2022. They are back at their pre‑COVID level although larger flows were exceptionally recorded in 2019, partly due to efforts implemented in some countries to improve the registration of postings. In 2022, more than 3 million postings to a single country were registered in Europe, corresponding to around 1.8 million workers. Another 1.4 million postings, covering around 1.3 million workers, were issued to workers active in two or more countries (under Article 13, +6.6% in 2022). The bulk of this type of postings concern transportation and storage, information and communication (45%) and road freight transport (40%). They mainly involve Poland, the Slovak Republic, Spain and Lithuania.

Similar to previous years, the main receiving countries of posted workers to a single country remained Germany followed by France, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands (Figure 1.11). The overall increase observed in 2022 was primarily due to larger inflows to Austria (+38.5%) and Belgium (+23.5%). However, European destinations of posted workers have been rapidly diversifying. In 2022, among countries that received more than 50 000 postings, flows soared in Estonia (from 2 500 to 59 000) and quadrupled in the Slovak Republic to reach 60 000 postings (Table 1.2). Most postings to these two countries were issued from Germany and were of relatively short duration. Flows to the United Kingdom nearly tripled to more than 110 000 postings. Again, the bulk of these flows came from Germany.

Figure 1.11. Posting of workers active in a single country under Article 12 in top receiving European OECD countries, 2010‑22

Source: De Wispelaere, F., L. De Smedt and J. Pacolet (2023[2]), “Posting of workers – report on A1 portable documents issued in 2022”, Facts and figures on intra-EU labour mobility and EU social security co‑ordination, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1154&langId=en.

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Table 1.2. Postings of workers active under Article 12 in selected European OECD countries, by destination country, 2010‑22

Destination	2010‑14 annual average	2015‑19 annual average	2020	2021	2022	2022/10	2022/21
	Thousands					Change in percentages
European OECD countries
Germany	337.0	444	411	430	489	95.6	13.8
France	170.4	267	308	308	337	109.7	9.3
Austria	80.4	162	232	221	305	412.2	38.5
Belgium	127.0	175	169	174	215	137.6	23.5
Netherlands	97.0	127	390	153	173	89.4	13.2
Switzerland	69.0	134	177	153	166	218.6	8.3
Spain	49.7	82	82	88	150	136.7	69.6
Italy	54.7	87	91	108	133	119.6	23.1
United Kingdom	41.3	73	62	38	111	222.1	188.3
Poland	14.8	35	59	58	92	614.0	58.4
Czechia	17.3	40	60	54	73	359.9	34.6
Sweden	26.5	52	61	58	71	263.5	22.1
Slovak Republic	7.4	16	18	14	60	591.3	315.9
Estonia	2.3	3	3	3	59	4 683.2	2 205.7
Portugal	12.1	27	29	36	57	366.9	57.2
Luxembourg	22.8	34	47	44	48	72.7	9.1
Ireland	5.1	8	8	6	45	794.5	631.4
Norway	21.1	27	25	21	44	136.9	107.8
Denmark	10.7	22	35	31	43	350.0	39.1
Hungary	9.2	21	29	38	42	396.9	9.6
Finland	20.3	23	25	24	31	55.0	31.7
Slovenia	4.1	9	11	13	27	708.0	114.4
Greece	6.9	10	11	13	22	102.2	63.8
Iceland	0.4	1	1	1	19	3 344.8	1 671.3
Lithuania	2.4	4	5	4	6	248.2	46.3
Latvia	1.6	2	3	2	3	76.6	48.5
Total	1 211.4	1 886.7	2 354.2	2094.7	2 821.5	171.1	34.7
Selected non-OECD European countries
Romania	10.4	17	18	18	33	250.9	79.5
Croatia	3.2	12	12	13	16	..	26.0
Bulgaria	3.9	6	6	6	10	129.8	59.3

Source: De Wispelaere, F., L. De Smedt and J. Pacolet (2023[2]), “Posting of workers – report on A1 portable documents issued in 2022”, Facts and figures on intra-EU labour mobility and EU social security co‑ordination, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1154&langId=en.

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Overall, in European OECD countries, posted workers have spent on average 99 days outside their country of residence in 2022 (Table 1.3). Average duration varies widely across sending countries, from less than 40 days in Luxembourg and Germany to more than 200 days in Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Norway and more than 400 days in Croatia and Iceland. While Germany issued nearly half of all PD A1 documents in 2022, most of these postings lasted a month or less. If accounting for the average posting duration, the top sending country was Poland, with more than 170 000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers sent in 2022. For workers posted from Germany, the top destinations included neighbouring countries such as Austria, Switzerland and France. France was also a top destination for postings from Poland, alongside Germany and the Netherlands.

Table 1.3. Average duration and Top 3 destination countries of postings active in a single country under Article 12, by sending European OECD countries, 2022

Numbers of postings and full-time equivalent numbers (in thousands), average duration, and top 3 destination countries

Sending country	Postings in 2022 (thousands)	Days spent on posting (per worker)	Postings in 2022 (FTE)	Top 3 destination countries in 2022
Austria	78.3	..	..	Germany, Switzerland, Italy
Belgium	79.5	73	15.9	France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg
Czechia	7.7	183	3.9	Germany, Austria, the Slovak Republic
Denmark	10.1	49	1.4	Norway, Germany, Spain
Estonia	4.2	321	3.7	Finland, Sweden, Germany
Finland	4.9	143	1.9	Sweden, Spain, Germany
France	153.8	41	17.3	Belgium, Germany, Spain
Germany	1 407.0	35	134.9	Austria, France, Switzerland
Greece	0.0	..	..	France, Belgium, Liechtenstein
Hungary	46.5	..	..	Germany, Austria, the Netherlands
Iceland	0.2	444	0.2	Norway, France, Italy
Ireland	3.0	263	2.2	Germany, Belgium, Denmark
Italy	223.3	189	115.7	France, Switzerland, Germany
Latvia	4.0	262	2.9	Germany, Sweden, Estonia
Lithuania	34.0	..	..	Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands
Luxembourg	60.4	31	5.1	Belgium, France, Germany
Netherlands	23.9	..	..	Belgium, Germany, France
Norway	1.9	203	1.1	Sweden, Denmark, France
Poland	242.3	257	170.6	Germany, France, the Netherlands
Portugal	59.4	98	16.0	France, Belgium, Spain
Slovak Republic	87.0	213	50.8	Germany, Austria, Czechia
Slovenia	98.4	193	52.1	Germany, Austria, Belgium
Spain	155.7	..	..	France, Germany, Portugal
Sweden	1.8	146	0.7	Norway, Finland, France
Switzerland	105.2	..	..	United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Lithuania
United Kingdom	22.6	172	10.6	France, Germany, Spain
Total	3 013.8	99	817.5	Germany, France, Austria
Bulgaria	12.2	..	..	Germany, Belgium, France
Croatia	49.7	483	65.8	Germany, Slovenia, Austria
Romania	35.1	..	..	Germany, France, Italy

Source: De Wispelaere, F., L. De Smedt and J. Pacolet (2023[2]), “Posting of workers – report on A1 portable documents issued in 2022”, Facts and figures on intra-EU labour mobility and EU social security co‑ordination, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1154&langId=en.

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In 2022, 60% of single‑country postings were issued to provide services in industry, with 22% in construction alone, and 39% in services (half of which in the financial and insurance sectors, and half in the education, health and social sectors). Agriculture accounted for less than 1% of Article 12 postings. More than 40% of posted workers to Germany and Luxembourg worked in the construction sector. In France and the Netherlands, around a quarter were in the financial and insurance sectors and more than one in ten were employed by a temporary employment agency.

Although its share in total employment is modest (0.3% in full-time equivalent in 2022), postings have a significant impact on some national labour markets. In 2022, Luxembourg sent 3.9% of its employed population abroad through posted work. This share is also high in Slovenia (3.2%), the Slovak Republic (2.3%), Croatia, Poland and Portugal (between 1.2 and 1.9% each).

A significant and increasing part of intra-EU/EFTA posted workers consists of third-country nationals. They usually hold a work and residence permit in an EU country before being posted to another EU/EFTA country. Among countries for which estimates are available (Figure 1.12), France, Austria and the Netherlands received the highest numbers of postings of third-country nationals.

In the Netherlands, more than a third of postings are by third-country nationals, mostly Ukrainians and Belarusians posted from Poland and Lithuania to work in the transportation, agriculture, and road freight transport. In Austria, Belgium and France, more than 20% of posted workers were also third-country nationals. While Ukraine was again among the top origin countries, other nationalities were also well represented such as Bosnians and Herzegovinians posted from Slovenia to work in road freight transport and construction in Austria, or Moroccans posted from Spain to France to work in agriculture (De Wispelaere, De Smedt and Pacolet, 2022[3]).

Figure 1.12. Estimated numbers of postings from third-country nationals by receiving country, 2022

Thousands and percentage of total postings active in a single country under Article 12

Note: These numbers for 2022 (for postings to one single country) are extrapolated from percentages of third-country nationals for all postings (including based on Article 13) in 2019 (Austria, Italy), 2020 (France, Germany, Spain) and 2021 (Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland).

Source: KU Leuven, POSTING.STAT – Enhancing the collection and analysis of national data on intra-EU posting, https://hiva.kuleuven.be/en/news/newsitems/posting-stat-enhancing-collection-and-analysis-national-data-on-intra-eu-posting.

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International students

After a strong decline in permits issued to international students in 2020 due to partial or full border closures across all OECD countries, international student flows quickly recovered. In 2023, student flows continued to rise for the third consecutive year. With a 6.7% year-on-year increase, OECD countries welcomed over 2.1 million new international students, 33.3% higher than in 2019 (Table 1.4).

Table 1.4. Inflows of international tertiary-level students in OECD countries, 2013 and 2019‑23

Number of first residence permits issued in thousands

	2013	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2023/22	2023/19
	Thousands						Change (%)
Australia	94.6	155.6	73.5	59.2	189.0	234.6	24.1	50.8
Austria	4.6	3.6	2.2	4.0	4.1	5.5	35.2	53.2
Belgium	5.5	8.0	5.5	9.0	9.0	9.1	0.9	13.5
Canada	77.1	171.2	50.7	214.9	275.4	351.7	27.7	105.4
Czechia	3.6	4.1	6.1	5.0	7.4	5.9	‑20.5	43.2
Denmark	7.0	7.5	4.5	4.7	8.9	10.1	13.4	34.0
Estonia	0.7	1.5	0.7	1.2	0.6	0.5	‑17.7	‑65.2
Finland	..	5.2	3.2	5.8	8.4	12.8	52.6	143.9
France	61.0	86.4	70.9	86.6	98.3	103.3	5.1	19.6
Germany	36.9	49.2	12.4	53.6	64.6	57.0	‑11.7	16.0
Greece	1.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	‑9.8	1.7
Hungary	5.4	10.0	9.0	9.6	10.1	11.3	11.4	12.7
Iceland	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.5	17.8	43.3
Ireland	9.3	16.9	8.8	11.1	17.6	19.0	7.9	12.5
Italy	16.2	20.3	8.5	17.5	25.1	27.6	10.1	36.0
Japan	70.0	121.6	49.7	11.7	167.1	139.6	‑16.5	14.7
Korea	19.2	35.3	28.3	38.6	57.2	47.7	‑16.6	35.1
Latvia	0.8	2.4	1.2	1.3	1.8	1.9	5.3	‑22.1
Lithuania	0.5	1.6	1.8	2.5	2.7	4.7	73.6	191.1
Luxembourg	..	0.4	0.2	0.4	0.4	0.5	26.5	19.6
Mexico	7.4	5.8	2.9	4.6	7.1	5.6	‑21.5	‑2.6
Netherlands	12.9	20.2	11.6	19.6	21.9	22.9	4.8	13.6
New Zealand	18.3	23.7	5.7	0.8	10.3	20.7	101.3	‑12.7
Norway	3.4	3.8	2.0	3.4	4.2	2.9	‑31.2	‑24.3
Poland	16.9	6.1	16.3	27.1	23.8	21.3	‑10.3	248.9
Portugal	4.0	13.3	12.3	10.9	9.7	10.2	5.3	‑23.4
Slovak Republic	..	2.9	2.3	2.7	3.4	4.2	24.1	45.3
Slovenia	0.3	2.6	2.0	1.7	2.7	2.7	0.0	4.7
Spain	25.9	43.4	20.9	41.9	49.2	64.2	30.4	47.8
Sweden	7.6	10.8	6.6	8.5	9.9	10.4	5.6	‑2.9
Switzerland	6.3	6.0	5.4	6.1	6.3	6.7	7.3	12.0
United Kingdom	264.9	376.1	221.9	367.5	476.1	447.6	‑6.0	19.0
United States	534.3	363.6	102.9	399.0	409.2	442.4	8.1	21.7
Total OECD	1 315.7	1 580.1	750.4	1 431.3	1 982.4	2 105.8	6.2	33.3
Total EU/EFTA	229.8	327.1	214.8	335.0	390.9	415.8	6.4	27.1

Note: Data refer to international tertiary-level students, including students enrolled in language courses (excluding intra-EU/EFTA international students). The data do not include professional training courses. 2023 totals are estimated for Latvia and Portugal, based on the average 2023/22 percentage change registered for EU/EFTA countries for which 2023 data are available.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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With a comparable number of new visas issued during the year, the United Kingdom (around 450 000 visas issued) and the United States (442 000) remained the top OECD destination countries for international students. While flows to the United Kingdom dropped by 6% in 2023, they increased by 8% to the United States, after a steep drop in 2020.

These two main destinations were followed by Canada, Australia and Japan. Taken together, the top five destination countries welcomed 80% of all new international students moving to the OECD. The increase from 2022 to 2023 was particularly sharp in Canada and Australia (+25%). Compared to pre‑COVID (2019) levels, 2023 inflows of international students were twice as high in Canada, and 50% higher in Australia.

After a sharp increase in 2022 (+16.7%), international student flows to EU/EFTA OECD countries (excluding intra-EU/EFTA student mobility and flows to the United Kingdom) continued to increase but at a slower pace (+6.4% to 415 800) in 2023, 27% above pre‑COVID levels.

The total number of first permits issued to international students in the OECD was 60% higher in 2023 than in 2013. It more than doubled, notably in Australia and Canada. For more than half of OECD countries, international student inflows reached their highest level since 2013.

In contrast, international student inflows peaked in 2022 and slightly decreased afterwards in Japan, Korea, Norway and, to a lesser extent, the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, the number of permits granted in 2023 remained below pre‑pandemic levels.

In all but four OECD countries (Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Türkiye), partners of international tertiary-educated students can accompany them or benefit from family reunification. Among the ten OECD countries for which data on these permits are available, inflows of accompanying family members of students were the highest (relative to inflows of international students) in Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom, where the ratio of accompanying family members to principal applicants was more than 30%. In the United States, the volume of these flows was only 6% that of international students (Figure 1.13).

Figure 1.13. Family members of international tertiary-level students to selected OECD countries, 2023

Percentage of total inflows of international tertiary-level students

Note: Figures shown in the graph are absolute numbers of students’ family members (in thousands).

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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In 2023, India was the top country of origin for international students in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Forty percent of total flows of international students to Canada and more than 25% to the United Kingdom and the United States are from India (Annex Figure 1.A.1). Since 2019, the proportion of Indian students has increased in these countries. China has been the primary origin country for Japan and Australia, with around 30% of total flows in 2023, though this is a decrease from 2019.

Flows of international students from other countries have increased, such as Nigerian students to the United Kingdom, Colombians to Australia, and Nepalese to Japan. The EU/EFTA countries have a more diverse composition of flows, with Chinese students accounting for 8% of the total in 2022, and Indians, Americans, Brazilians and Moroccans each accounting for between 4 and 7%. Top nationalities vary by host country. Among the main countries of origin are Moroccans and Algerians in France, Indians and Turks in Germany and Ukrainians and Belarusians in Poland.

Box 1.3. Study as a complementary pathway for humanitarian migration

Complementary pathways for humanitarian migration encompass a set of non-humanitarian avenues for individuals in need of international protection to gain admission into safe third countries. Such regulated pathways include permits issued for purposes of family reunification, work, or study. Working alongside and in addition to the resettlement system, they play an important complementary role to the international protection system, improving the global availability of durable solutions for refugees. Across OECD countries, study permits and visas for academic scholarships are primarily issued for tertiary programmes, and occasionally for secondary programmes and apprenticeships.

Since 2017, the OECD and the UNHCR provide joint monitoring of complementary pathways. The latest edition shows that, in 2022, study permits made up 21% of the permits granted for non-humanitarian reasons to the seven populations of concern covered in the study (Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela). This is similar to the share issued for work reasons (21%) and has increased significantly since 2020, although the majority of complementary pathway permits are issued for family reasons (57%). In 2022, the 46 000 new study permits delivered to the seven populations considered amounted to 2% of the total number of study permits delivered by OECD countries that year.

Refugees continue to face significant legal and administrative hurdles to access complementary pathways. Study permits, whose eligibility is often tied to educational attainment, can be particularly difficult to access for humanitarian migrants. As such, while visas granted for educational purposes are relatively rare among the typically lower-educated and younger refugee populations from Somalia, Eritrea and Afghanistan, they constitute an important pathway for humanitarian migrants from Iran and Venezuela, who are often higher-educated.

Overall, data from 2010 to 2022 show that the number of study permits granted was relatively stable over the decade (typically between 20 000 to 30 000), but has surged in 2021 and, especially, 2022, when it reached its highest level yet. Given that numbers prior to 2020 were relatively low, the recent increase seems likely to indicate not merely a post-COVID catch-up but a longer-term positive trend in study permits issued to vulnerable migrants.

Source: OECD/UNHCR (2024), Safe Pathways for Refugees IV: OECD-UNHCR study on pathways used by refugees linked to family reunification, study programmes and labour mobility between 2010 and 2022, https://doi.org/10.1787/cdf4c629-en.

In 2022, 4.6 million international students (including students who were admitted on grounds other than study, such as family reunification or humanitarian migration as well as foreign students benefitting from a free mobility agreement) were enrolled in OECD countries, of whom 51% in a European OECD country (Table 1.5). Almost one fifth of international students in the OECD were hosted by the United States. The United Kingdom hosted 14% of all international students, followed by Germany (9%) and Australia (8%).

Table 1.5. International tertiary-level students enrolled in OECD countries, 2022

	Thousands	International students (as a percentage of all students)
		Total tertiary education	Master’s level	Doctoral level
Australia	382	23	39	35
Austria	85	19	26	40
Belgium	56	10	17	25
Canada	337	19	20	37
Chile	18	1	4	25
Colombia	5	0	1	2
Costa Rica	0	0	0	0
Czechia	53	16	18	26
Denmark	31	10	20	37
Estonia	5	11	17	32
Finland	27	8	11	28
France	263	9	14	36
Germany	403	12	18	23
Greece	27	3	1	3
Hungary	40	14	21	29
Iceland	2	10	14	45
Ireland	27	11	22	39
Israel	13	3	5	12
Italy	90	4	6	12
Japan	199	5	10	22
Korea	123	4	11	20
Latvia	10	13	28	13
Lithuania	9	9	15	10
Luxembourg	4	50	77	91
Mexico	60	1	4	8
Netherlands	164	17	27	0
New Zealand	25	10	19	44
Norway	13	4	7	23
Poland	92	7	6	3
Portugal	50	12	15	33
Slovak Republic	17	12	13	14
Slovenia	8	9	10	22
Spain	92	4	10	20
Sweden	34	7	12	36
Switzerland	65	19	31	58
Türkiye	244	3	9	10
United Kingdom	675	22	43	41
United States	874	5	12	25
OECD Europe total	2 342	12	19	28
OECD total	4 622	10	16	25

Note: Data for Canada, Colombia, Hungary, Korea, the Slovak Republic, Türkiye and the United States refer to foreign students instead of international students. Shares of all students (in percentage) are simple averages of individual country shares.

Source: OECD Education at a Glance Database, https://doi.org/10.1787/edu-data-en.

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On average, in 2022 in the OECD, one in ten tertiary students is an international student (12% in OECD European countries). The top destination countries, by the share of international students in the total student population, were Luxembourg, where international students accounted for half of all students, Australia (23%) and the United Kingdom (22%).

The share of international students increases with the level of study in most countries. International students account for at least 40% of doctoral-level students in Austria, Iceland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, compared with 25% in the OECD as a whole (Table 1.5). In more than three‑quarters of OECD countries, there are at least twice as many international students at doctoral level than at tertiary level.

Figure 1.14. Top 20 nationalities of international tertiary-level students enrolled in OECD countries, 2014 and 2022

Note: Statistics refer to stocks of international students and exclude Erasmus students in European countries.

Source: OECD Education at a Glance Database, https://doi.org/10.1787/edu-data-en.

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With 20 and 12% of total enrolled international students, respectively, tertiary-educated students from China and India continued to account for a third of all international students in OECD countries (Figure 1.14). Viet Nam, Germany and France round off the top five countries of origin. Overall, numbers of international students in the OECD doubled since 2014 while numbers of students from Syria increased ten‑fold, and those from Nepal and India three‑fold.

Asylum applications and international protection grants in the OECD

Asylum applications in the OECD reach record high in 2023, led by the United States

Asylum applications in the OECD reached record high levels in 2023. The number of new asylum seekers to OECD countries nearly doubled (+91%) from 2021 to 2022. In 2023, applications grew by a further 30%, with 2.7 million new applications registered in OECD countries. This is the highest level recorded yet, far surpassing previous records of 2.1 in 2022 and 1.7 million in 2015/16 (Figure 1.15). European OECD countries saw an increase of 20% over the year, with more than 1.1 million new applicants in 2023. This was the third highest level on record, after 2015 and 2016.

Figure 1.15. New asylum applications since 1980 in the OECD, Europe and the United States

Thousands

Source: OECD Secretariat calculations based on data from UNHCR and Eurostat.

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Similar to 2022, the overall surge in demand for asylum among OECD countries was primarily driven by the United States. In 2023, the United States alone received more than 1.17 million new asylum applications – more than the next seven top countries combined (Table 1.6). This represents a 61% increase relative to 2022, and nearly a fourfold increase relative to 2019 (Figure 1.16). The United States has been the main OECD destination country for asylum seekers since 2017. In 2023, asylum applications in the United States accounted for 43% of all asylum applications in the OECD (up from 35% in 2022). For the first time ever, there were more asylum applications recorded in the United States than in European OECD countries combined.

The largest number of applications in the United States was from citizens of Venezuela (185 000), with an increase of 34% relative to 2022. They were followed by nationals of Colombia (128 000), whose numbers tripled in 2023. Arrivals from Cuba, which were at decades-high levels in 2022, fell by 37% in 2023. Nevertheless, with over 99 000 applicants, Cubans were still the third top nationality of asylum seekers in the United States in 2023. Next were Nicaraguans, whose numbers surged by 174%, with 91 000 applications in 2023. Applications from Haitians also soared in 2023 (76 000, +81%). Some of the sudden increases in asylum applications registered in recent years led to the establishment of special humanitarian parole processes for selected nationalities, including Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans in the United States (see Box 1.4).

Figure 1.16. New asylum applications in top OECD receiving countries, 2019‑23

Thousands

Source: OECD Secretariat calculations based on data from UNHCR and Eurostat.

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Germany remained the second top OECD recipient of asylum applications, with nearly 330 000 new applications lodged in 2023 (Figure 1.16). This is the highest number since the 2016 record, following steep increases in recent years. Applications in 2023 represent an increase of 51% compared with 2022, and 131% compared with 2019. The top origin countries for asylum applicants in Germany were Syria (103 000, +45% relative to 2022) and Türkiye (61 000, +156%), whose fast-increasing applications for the second year in a row have surpassed those of Afghan nationals (51 000, +41%).

Spain became the third OECD country with the most asylum applications (and the second European OECD country) in 2023, with a total 160 000 new applications. This constitutes a 38% increase compared with 2022. The increase in 2023 was led by a continued surge in applications by Venezuelans (60 000, +33% compared with 2022) and Colombians (53 000, +49% compared with 2022). Applications by Peruvian nationals also saw a strong increase (14 000, +61% compared with 2022).

Canada moved to fourth place in 2023 (from eighth in 2022), after a surge of 152% over the year, with a total of nearly 147 000 applications. Although a relatively slower pace, this increase continues a strong positive trend from 2022. Nationals of Mexico lodged the most applications in 2023 (24 000), with a 45% increase over the year. However, the largest relative increases were associated with applications from Indians (+170%, 11 000) and Nigerians (+389%, 9 000), who moved to second and third place.

France received about 145 000 asylum requests in 2023, a slight (6%) increase compared with the previous year and moving from third to fifth place among top destinations (Figure 1.16). Afghanistan remained the main country of origin (17 000), despite a 25% decrease in applications compared with 2022. Guinea, with 10 500 new applications (+70%) has suddenly risen to second top country of origin among applicants to France. It is followed closely by nationals of Türkiye (‑2%), Côte d’Ivoire (+63%) and Bangladesh (‑10%), each representing just under 10 000 applications.

Table 1.6. New asylum applications by country where the application is filed, 2019‑23

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	% change: 2023 vs		Asylum seekers per million population (2023)	Top three origin countries of asylum seekers (2023)
						2019	2022
Australia	27 405	19 220	14 155	19 305	32 550	+19	+69	1 237	Iran, Viet Nam, India
Austria	11 010	13 415	37 830	109 800	55 630	+405	‑49	6 110	Syria, Afghanistan, Türkiye
Belgium	23 140	12 930	19 605	32 140	29 305	+27	‑9	2 496	Syria, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Afghanistan
Canada	58 340	19 045	23 360	94 375	146 730	+152	+55	3 800	Mexico, India, Nigeria
Chile	770	1 675	2 500	5 055	3 625	+371	‑28	185	Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba
Colombia	10 620	11 920	15 940	5 530	5 790	‑45	+5	111	Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador
Costa Rica	59 180	21 125	108 425	129 480	34 645	‑41	‑73	6 669	Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela
Czechia	1 575	795	1 060	1 335	1 135	‑28	‑15	105	Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Ukraine
Denmark	2 645	1 435	2015	4 505	2 380	‑10	‑47	401	Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea
Estonia	100	45	75	2 940	3 980	+3 880	+35	2 914	Ukraine, Russia, Belarus
Finland	2 455	1 455	1 365	4 835	4 465	+82	‑8	802	Somalia, Syria, Russia
France	138 290	81 735	103 810	137 605	145 210	+5	+6	2 130	Afghanistan, Guinea, Türkiye
Germany	142 510	102 580	148 235	217 775	329 120	+131	+51	3 901	Syria, Türkiye, Afghanistan
Greece	74 915	37 860	22 660	29 135	57 900	‑23	+99	5 560	Syria, Afghanistan, West Bank and Gaza Strip
Hungary	470	90	40	45	30	‑94	‑33	3	Russia, Azerbaijan
Iceland	805	625	865	4 530	4 120	+412	‑9	10 625	Ukraine, Venezuela, West Bank and Gaza Strip
Ireland	4 740	1 535	2 615	13 645	13 220	+179	‑3	2 508	Nigeria, Algeria, Afghanistan
Israel	9 445	1 885	1925	3 915	6 815	‑28	+74	748	Russia, India, Belarus
Italy	35 005	21 340	45 200	77 200	130 565	+273	+69	2 213	Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan
Japan	10 375	3 935	2 415	3 770	13 825	+33	+267	112	Sri Lanka, Türkiye, Pakistan
Korea	15 430	6 665	2 330	11 540	18 825	+22	+63	363	Russia, Kazakhstan, China
Latvia	180	145	580	545	1 625	+803	+198	863	Syria, Afghanistan, Iran
Lithuania	625	260	3 905	905	510	‑18	‑44	178	Belarus, Russia, Syria
Luxembourg	2 200	1 295	1 370	2 405	2 615	+19	+9	3 957	Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan
Mexico	70 365	41 205	131 420	118 735	140 980	+100	+19	1 102	Haiti, Honduras, Cuba
Netherlands	22 540	13 720	24 755	35 530	38 370	+70	+8	2 154	Syria, Türkiye, Eritrea
New Zealand	540	435	415	335	1 720	+219	+413	330	India, China, Malaysia
Norway	2 205	1 340	1 615	4 650	5 135	+133	+10	936	Syria, Ukraine, Türkiye
Poland	2 765	1 510	6 240	7 700	7 720	+179	+0	210	Belarus, Ukraine, Russia
Portugal	1 735	900	1 350	1980	2 600	+50	+31	248	Gambia, Afghanistan, Colombia
Slovak Republic	215	265	330	505	375	+74	‑26	69	Türkiye, Bangladesh, Ukraine
Slovenia	3 615	3 465	5 220	6 645	7 185	+99	+8	3 394	Morocco, Algeria, Pakistan
Spain	115 190	86 385	62 065	116 150	160 470	+39	+38	3 337	Venezuela, Colombia, Peru
Sweden	23 150	13 630	9 055	13 210	8 960	‑61	‑32	852	Syria, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan
Switzerland	12 600	9 765	13 295	23 130	26 895	+113	+16	3 051	Türkiye, Afghanistan, Eritrea
Türkiye	56 415	31 335	29 255	33 245	19 015	‑66	‑43	223	Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran
United Kingdom	44 465	36 025	56 465	89 395	84 415	+90	‑6	1 248	Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan
United States	301 070	250 940	188 860	730 400	1 176 050	+291	+61	3 468	Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba
OECD total	1 289 100	853 930	1 092 620	2 093 925	2 724 505	+111	+30	1 969	Venezuela, Colombia, Syria
Selected non-OECD countries
Brazil	82 465	22 145	7 755	50 330	58 615	‑29	+16	272	Venezuela, Cuba, Angola
Bulgaria	2 075	3 460	10 890	20 260	22 390	+979	+11	3 473	Syria, Afghanistan, Morocco
Croatia	1 270	1 540	2 480	2 660	1 635	+29	‑39	425	Russia, Afghanistan, Türkiye
Peru	259 835	52 530	1 515	1 430	10 455	‑96	+631	306	Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia
Romania	2 455	6 025	9 065	12 065	9 875	+302	‑18	518	Bangladesh, Syria, Pakistan

Note: Number of persons applying for asylum for the first time in the destination country. Figures for the United States prior to 2021 were partially estimated from number of cases (estimating an average of 1.5 person per case).

Source: UNHCR; Eurostat; OECD International Migration Database.

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Mexico was the sixth top recipient of asylum applications in the OECD in 2023, with surging asylum applications notably from nationals of Haiti (44 000, +158% relative to 2022) and Honduras (42 000, +35%). Inflows from Cuba (18 000, +2%) were relatively stable and some flows decreased (e.g. applicants from El Salvador, Venezuela).

Italy saw a nearly 70% increase in applications in 2023 compared with 2022, becoming the fourth top destination among European OECD countries and the 7^th in the OECD. The total 130 000 new asylum applications registered in 2023 surpass Italy’s previous 2017 record (126 000). Most applicants to Italy in 2023 were from Bangladesh (23 000, +59%), Egypt (18 000, +106%), or Pakistan (16 000, +47%).

The number of asylum applications to the United Kingdom remained almost unchanged, with a total 84 000 applications in 2023 (‑6% relative to 2022). Top origin countries among applicants to the United Kingdom included Afghanistan (9 000, ‑14%), Iran (7 000, ‑19%), and Pakistan (5 000, +104%).

Notable relative increases in asylum applications were observed in Greece (58 000, +99%) and Australia (33 000, +69%). Costa Rica, which was the top fourth recipient in 2022, fell to 11^th place in 2023 (35 000, ‑73%), as applications from Nicaraguans dropped by 76% in 2023. Applications also decreased considerably in Austria (56 000, ‑49%) and Costa Rica (35 000, ‑73%). Beyond major recipients, some of the largest year-on-year increases were observed by relatively less prominent recipients, including New Zealand (1 700, +413%), Japan (14 000, +267%), Latvia (1 600, +198%), Israel (6 800, +74%), and Korea (19 000, +63%).

The OECD area as a whole received about 2 000 new asylum requests per million population in 2023, a 30% increase compared to 2022. Iceland registered by far the highest numbers of asylum seekers relative to its population (11 000 per million), followed by Costa Rica, Austria and Greece (with 6 700, 6 100 and 5 600 per million, respectively). Germany, Canada and the United States received 3 900, 3 800, and 3 500 asylum applicants per million inhabitants, respectively.

The top origin countries for asylum applicants within the OECD in 2023 were Venezuela (270 000), Colombia (203 000), Syria (171 000), and Afghanistan (150 000) (Figure 1.17). They were followed by Haiti, Cuba, Türkiye and Nicaragua, representing approximately 129 000 to 125 000 applicants each. Among top nationality groups, Colombians showed the largest surge in applications, as their number more than doubled (+131%) in 2023. Applications from Venezuelans (+23%) and Syrians (+36%) also increased significantly, as did applications from nationals of Haiti (+77%). Further increases in applications were associated with nationals of Türkiye (+76%), Russia (+100%), Mexico (+94%), Peru (+251%) and China (+196%). Among the top 20 origin countries, only Afghanistan (‑12%), Cuba (‑30%) and Nicaragua (‑25%) had lower figures in 2023 than in 2022.

Figure 1.17. Top 20 origin countries of asylum applicants in OECD countries, 2022‑23

Source: UNHCR; Eurostat.

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Grants of international protection in the OECD reach highest level since 2017

Looking at grants of international protection (including positive decisions on asylum provision as well as resettlement), 2023 figures reached 676 000 grants, continuing the positive trend from previous years with a more moderate (15%) year-on-year increase that is nevertheless the highest level observed since 2017 – far surpassing the 2019 level (+79%) (Table 1.7). In 2023, the host countries driving the increase in protection grants within the OECD shifted from the United States and Germany – whose numbers remained high but growing only moderately – to the United Kingdom and Spain, whose numbers rose sharply (Figure 1.18). Their role was particularly prominent for the increase in grants observed within the European region.

Figure 1.18. Grants of international protection (positive decisions and resettlement) in the OECD, 2017‑23

Source: OECD Secretariat calculations based on data from UNHCR, Eurostat and OECD International Migration Database.

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In 2023, Germany remained the OECD country hosting the highest number of new refugees (140 000, +5% compared with 2022), followed by the United States (101 000, +10%). Canada, the third top host, welcomed 75 000 new refugees (+1%). The United Kingdom exhibited the largest year-on-year increase (+172%) of protection grants in the OECD, welcoming 65 000 new refugees in 2023 and becoming the fourth top host country. Spain granted protection to 54 000 new refugees in a notable 48% year-on-year increase, placing it fifth among OECD countries. In doing so it surpassed France, which provided 44 000 (+14%) new grants in 2023.

Beyond major destinations, several receiving countries showed notable increases in the number of protection grants issued in 2023 (Table 1.7). For many of these, this increase continues a longer-term positive trend compared to 2019 figures; this is the case, for example, for Austria (23 200), but also for smaller destinations such as New Zealand (5 700), Estonia (3 900), Denmark (1 100), Lithuania (400) and Chile (200). Meanwhile, some countries showed notable decreases in grants both relative to 2022 and 2019, including Mexico (16 000, ‑24% and ‑19%, respectively) Sweden (5 800, ‑41% and ‑28%), Costa Rica (2 900, ‑27% and ‑16%) and Iceland (330, ‑65% and ‑14%).

Table 1.7. Humanitarian admissions, including positive decisions on applications for international protection and resettlement arrivals 2014‑23

	2014‑18 average	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	% change 2019/23	% change 2022/23
Australia	16 660	18 762	13 171	5 947	13 307	17 875	+36	+34
Austria	18 909	7 425	6 835	12 105	16 560	23 195	+239	+40
Belgium	11 759	6 770	5 885	10 120	11 005	12 740	+116	+16
Canada	40 413	48 533	25 485	60 235	74 345	75 050	+194	+1
Chile	91	20	5	15	60	202	+3 940	+237
Colombia	24	337	351	550	131	59	‑83	‑55
Costa Rica	318	1 330	3 425	624	3 951	2 889	‑16	‑27
Czechia	318	135	105	260	325	335	+219	+3
Denmark	5 483	1 575	450	830	665	1 140	+153	+71
Estonia	81	50	25	50	2 100	3 880	+15 420	+85
Finland	4 118	2 555	1 815	1955	2 335	2 605	+44	+12
France	27 869	33 740	20 470	35 810	38 875	44 440	+117	+14
Germany	192 240	75 210	63 865	65 245	133 240	140 250	+120	+5
Greece	6 876	17 350	34 325	16 575	19 245	24 950	‑27	+30
Hungary	607	60	130	40	30	25	‑81	‑17
Iceland	105	380	385	290	950	330	‑14	‑65
Ireland	844	1 760	1 140	1 930	3 955	3 330	+192	‑16
Israel	268	130	68	15	20	25	‑63	+25
Italy	30 380	19 730	11 935	28 370	26 965	23 535	+97	‑13
Japan	122	101	91	654	1 997	1 342	+1 375	‑33
Korea	464	295	221	114	67	214	‑3	+219
Latvia	104	35	25	90	230	120	+380	‑48
Lithuania	176	90	80	435	305	405	+406	+33
Luxembourg	702	705	765	860	1 040	910	+19	‑13
Mexico	2 336	8 228	19 997	20 403	21 220	16 174	‑19	‑24
Netherlands	13 333	6 720	9 045	12 535	16 585	15 315	+69	‑8
New Zealand	3 635	3 333	2 277	1 554	3 552	5 727	+152	+61
Norway	8 483	4 590	2 670	4 755	4 225	4 425	+66	+5
Poland	508	265	370	2 155	3 870	4 635	+1 153	+20
Portugal	404	545	315	320	675	310	‑2	‑54
Slovak Republic	113	35	40	45	70	75	+88	+7
Slovenia	109	85	85	15	205	155	+82	‑24
Spain	3 853	39 230	51 420	20 940	36 235	53 690	+4	+48
Sweden	36 287	11 070	8 030	10 315	9 840	5 795	‑28	‑41
Switzerland	15 084	11 795	10 800	10 075	10 500	13 660	+26	+30
Türkiye	15 279	5 445	8 753	13 227	12 857	9 966	+14	‑22
United Kingdom	13 314	19 408	9 339	30 582	24 018	65 291	+599	+172
United States	154 665	88 915	63 487	48 332	91 999	101 404	+60	+10
OECD total	626 333	436 742	377 680	418 372	587 554	676 468	+79	+15
European OECD countries	392 059	261 313	240 349	266 702	364 048	445 541	+85	+22

Note: Some data presented may differ from statistics published previously due to retroactive changes or the inclusion of previously unavailable data.

Source: International Migration Database (AUS, CAN, GBR, JPN, MEX, NZL, USA); Eurostat (EU/EFTA countries); UNHCR (CHL, COL, CRI, ISR, KOR, TUR).

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OECD countries resettled the highest number of refugees since 2016

Resettlement programmes for refugees aim to serve as a durable solution and a responsibility-sharing mechanism among the international community. They are designed to transfer the most vulnerable refugees from a country of first asylum to another country that grants them long-term protection. On average, since 1982, 107 000 refugees per year have been resettled to OECD countries. During the COVID‑19 pandemic, transfers could not take place, so these programmes came to a halt, and resumed in 2021. Following a fast rebound in 2021 (68 000, +97% relative to 2020) and 2022 (118 000, +74% relative to 2021), resettlement arrivals surpassed pre‑pandemic levels and the pace of increase slowed, with a total of 160 000 arrivals to OECD countries in 2023, a 35% increase relative to 2022, and the highest level since 2016.

Figure 1.19. Refugees admitted to OECD countries under resettlement programmes, 1981‑2023

Thousands

Note: Some data presented may differ from statistics published previously due to data revisions or the inclusion of previously unavailable data.

Source: OECD Secretariat calculations based on data from UNHCR and Eurostat.

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The United States overtook Canada as the top OECD resettlement country in 2023, with 75 000 (an increase of 159% compared to 2022) and 51 000 (+7%) refugees admitted through resettlement programmes, respectively. Together, the two countries accounted for nearly 80% of new resettlement arrivals to OECD countries in 2023. They are followed by Australia, which resettled 15 000 refugees in 2023. Among European OECD countries, the resettlement pathway was most significant in Germany (5 000, +4% relative to 2022), followed by France (2 800, ‑12%), Norway (2 200, ‑28%), Italy (1 600, +28%) and Finland (1 300, +21%).

Looking at resettlement arrivals in per capita terms, Canada was by far the top host in 2023, with 1 300 resettled individuals per million inhabitants, followed by Australia (600 per million) and Norway (400 per million). If every OECD country resettled as many individuals per capita as Canada, the OECD altogether would be resettling a total 1.8 million individuals in need of protection (11 times the observed figure for 2023). This would meet 91% of the global resettlement needs identified by UNHCR for 2023, or 76% of the needs identified for 2024 (UNHCR, 2024[4]).

Box 1.4. Humanitarian parole processes in the United States

Since 2021, the current US administration has relied on the measure of humanitarian parole to increase the offer for legal pathways for selected groups of migrants who may otherwise use irregular routes to enter the United States and lodge an asylum application. Immigration parole is a long-standing legal mechanism within the United States that allows certain non-citizens to enter the country temporarily without fear of deportation (USCIS, 2023[5]). Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of Homeland Security (and its sub-agencies) can grant parole status for urgent humanitarian reasons or reasons pertaining to public interest, terms that leave the US Government with a broad discretionary power for determining eligibility (USCIS, 2023[5]).

In general, humanitarian parole is granted for a period of one to two years. Parole is not equivalent to a visa nor an immigration status, and it does not provide the recipient with a designated pathway to a long-term residence permit (green card) – it merely provides temporary protection from deportation and eligibility for work authorisation. Once in the United States, parolees may apply for asylum, another visa (e.g. work), or for permanent residence on family grounds if they have an independent basis for seeking adjustment of status in the United States. However, the current large backlog in immigration applications – including an estimated five‑year wait time for asylum cases – means that parolees may have to remain in this status for a long time before obtaining another status or an asylum court decision.

Humanitarian parole for Afghans

In August 2021, the United States turned to the parole authorisation as a special measure to provide emergency safe passage for Afghan evacuees in the midst of the Taliban takeover. Operation Allies Welcome, active from August 2021 to September 2022, evacuated and provided parole to over 76 000 Afghans (DHS, 2023[6]). Most were granted parole at entry for two years and could apply for work authorisation. Afghans who did not manage to reach the United States during the evacuation could still apply for humanitarian parole from Afghanistan – as over 45 000 did – but due to a combination of a large administrational backlog and very high rejection rates, the American Immigration Council (2023[7]) reported that grants for them were only in the hundreds. Since late 2022, the use of parole for Afghans has mostly ended, as the focus has instead shifted to direct Afghans to refugee resettlement programmes (Moriarty, 2023[8]). In March 2022, the DHS designated Afghanistan for Temporary Protection Status, allowing Afghans present in the United States to legally remain and work for the following 18 months. In September 2023, this designation was extended through May 2025 (Wilson, 2024[9]; DHS, 2023[10]). A re‑parole process also became available as of May 2023 (DHS, 2023[11]).

Uniting for Ukraine

In April 2022, the US administration announced a special sponsorship process for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) allows eligible individuals to enter the United States to join their sponsors, private US citizens who volunteered to provide financial and social assistance to newly arrived Ukrainian nationals fleeing the war. Ukrainians paroled under U4U are allowed to stay in the United States for up to two years, during which they have authorisation to work (USCIS, 2024[12]).

Between March 2022 and late June 2023, nearly 139 000 Ukrainians were paroled into the United States via the U4U program, surpassing the original goal of 100 000 U4U arrivals. The programme garnered widespread offers of support, with USCIS receiving over 250 000 applications from potential sponsors by late June 2023. The programme has been credited with dramatically reducing the number of irregular entries by Ukrainians at the southern border of the United States, which had surged after the start of war (Di Martino, 2023[13]). USCIS (2024[14]) reports that by the end of fiscal year 2023 (30 September 2023), a total of more than 150 000 Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family had been admitted under the U4U process. From the end of February 2024, paroled Ukrainians and their family members in the United States who have not changed to a different immigration status (including Temporary Protected Status, lawful permanent resident status, asylum or an on-going asylum application) are eligible to apply for re‑parole (USCIS, 2024[12]).

Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV)

In October 2022, a new humanitarian parole process addressed Venezuelans experiencing dangerous conditions, violence, or severe economic hardship in their country. In January 2023, the process was expanded to include nationals of Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua. The programme allows citizens of these countries to apply for parole to enter the United States under the condition that they have a US sponsor with legal status and financial means to support them. Those approved for parole can enter and legally reside and work in the United States for up to two years (USCIS, 2024[15]). Admissions via this parole programme are capped at 30 000 parolees per month (Di Martino, 2023[13]). Recent USCIS (USCIS, 2024[14]) figures as of end of FY 2023 (31 September 2023) report a total of nearly 238 000 individuals who entered the United States through the CHNV process. More detailed DHS (2023[16]) figures available for the first three‑quarters of Fiscal Year 2023 (October 2022 through June 2023) report a total of approximately 161 000 CHNV grants through that period, including 36 000 grants for Cubans, 51 000 grants for Haitians, 23 000 grants for Nicaraguans, and 50 000 grants for Venezuelans. Similarly to U4U, the CHNV parole processes have also been credited with dramatically reducing encounters at the southern borders (a proxy for irregular migration) (DHS, 2023[17]; Di Martino, 2023[13]; Moriarty, 2023[8]). As of June 2024, both parole programmes (U4U and CHNV) are active.

Demographics of migration flows to the OECD

Rising share of women among new migrants in the OECD due to Ukrainian refugees

The gender distribution of migration flows differs depending on the category of migration. Traditionally, more women migrate for family reasons and more men for professional reasons. For example, in 2019, five out of the six OECD countries with a majority of women among inflows, namely the United States, Australia, Spain, Canada and Italy, had also high shares of family migrants. (Figure 1.20).

Among humanitarian migrants, the share of women varies depending on the context. While Syrian refugees in 2015 were predominantly men, a large majority of Ukrainian refugees in 2022 were women. The inflows of Ukrainian women to the OECD drove the increase in the share of women among new migrants to the OECD. The average share of women among new immigrants across OECD countries rose from 44% in 2019 to 48% in 2022. In 2022, flows to 12 OECD countries included more women than men, up from 5 countries in 2021.

In Czechia and Estonia, for example, the share of women among new migrants increased by almost 20 percentage points between 2019 and 2022, reaching 58% and 57%. The share of women in migration flows also increased sharply in Germany (+10 percentage points compared to 2019, to 49%), Hungary (+7 percentage points to 45%), the Slovak Republic (+4 percentage points to 42%) and Belgium (+3 percentage points to 49%).

In some countries the share of women in migration flows was lower in 2022 than in 2019. The largest declines were observed in Korea (‑3 percentage points to 44%), Italy (‑3 percentage points to 48%) and Portugal (‑2 percentage points to 45%).

Figure 1.20. Share of women in migration flows to OECD countries, 2019 and 2022

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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India stands out as the main country of origin of migration flows to the OECD

With the exception of Ukraine, the leading country of origin was India, with around 560 000 Indians having migrated to an OECD country in 2022, an increase of more than 30% compared to 2021 (Figure 1.21). This represents almost 8% of all flows to OECD countries (excluding humanitarian migrants). In particular, the United Kingdom received 112 000 Indians in 2022, almost double the number registered in 2021, while the United States received 125 000 (+35%) and Canada 118 000 (‑8%). In these three destination countries, the vast majority of Indians migrated through labour migration pathways, either as principal applicants or as accompanying family members. In the United States, 43 000 Indian citizens became lawful permanent residents through employment as principal applicants and 51 000 as dependents. In the United Kingdom, entry clearance visas were granted to 47 000 Indian migrant workers and 55 000 to dependents of workers. These trends continued in 2023.

Figure 1.21. Top 20 countries of origin of new immigrants to the OECD, 2021‑22

Thousands

Note: Migration flows to Chile, Costa Rica, Greece and Ireland are not included. Migration flow series to Germany, Japan, Korea and Poland are adjusted to exclude short-term immigrants. 2022 migration flow data to Colombia are estimated.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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After two years of exceptionally low flows due to the COVID‑19 pandemic, Chinese immigration to OECD countries returned to above 300 000, up 13% from 2021. In particular, flows to the United States increased by 37% and returned to pre‑COVID levels, with 68 000 new Chinese immigrants.

Russia and Romania were the next top origin countries, representing around 270 000 new immigrants each in 2022. While this is the first time Russia ranked so high, Romania has long been one of the main countries of origin of flows to the OECD. The main OECD destination countries for Russian citizens are Türkiye, Israel and Germany, while the main destinations for Romanian citizens are Germany, Spain and Italy.

Colombia ranks fifth among top origin countries with 218 000 new emigrants to the OECD in 2022, more than three‑quarters of whom migrated to Spain. Morocco ranks sixth with 200 000 new migrants, most of whom chose Spain, followed distantly by France and Italy. Next, Afghanistan accounted for 175 000 immigrants to OECD countries in 2022, with Germany as their main destination, followed by Canada and Türkiye.

Following the post-COVID rebound in migration to the United States, Mexico became the eighth top country of origin for migration to the OECD, on a par with Syria.

Other significant developments in 2022 include a sharp increase in emigration of citizens of Türkiye (+60% to 115 000), whose flows to Germany doubled compared to 2021; increased flows of Nigerian citizens to the United Kingdom and to Canada that led to an overall 42% increase; a surge in new Peruvian migrants to Spain from 27 000 in 2021 to 65 000 in 2022; and finally, a doubling in the flow of Nepalese citizens to OECD countries, with Australia and Japan as the top destinations.

Only three countries display a rate of expatriation of their nationals to OECD countries above 10 per thousand inhabitants, all in Southeastern Europe: Albania (22), Romania (14) and Bulgaria (13) (Annex Table 1.A.4).

Foreign-born population

More than 150 million foreign-born in OECD countries in 2023

In 2023, more than 150 million people living in OECD countries were foreign-born. Most immigrants lived in North America (38%) and in European OECD countries (46%, among which 37% in the European Union). The United States alone hosted nearly a third of all immigrants in the OECD (32%), remaining by far the main destination country, followed by Germany (10%), the United Kingdom (7%), Canada and France (6% each) (Figure 1.22).

Figure 1.22. Distribution of the foreign-born population in OECD countries, 2023

Source: OECD International Migration Database, https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00342-en.

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In the decade to 2023, the share of immigrants in OECD countries increased from 9% to 11% (Figure 1.23). In 2023, Luxembourg became the first OECD country where the majority of the population is foreign-born, 51%. Other OECD countries where immigrants account for over 20% of the population are Switzerland (31%), Australia (29%), New Zealand (27%), Austria, Iceland and Canada (all at 22%), as well as Ireland, Sweden and Israel (all at 20%).

Mexico remains the OECD country with the lowest share of immigrants (1%). In six other OECD countries the share of immigrants remains under 4% of the population: Poland (2.2%), Japan (2.5%), Türkiye (3.5%), Colombia (3.8%), Korea (3.8%) and the Slovak Republic (3.9%).

In 2023, immigrants accounted for more than 14% of the population in half of OECD countries. A decade earlier, this was the case for only 11 countries. In Spain, for example, the share of immigrants reached 17% in 2023, up from 13% in 2013. In Germany, the share increased from 12% to 18%. Other large increases were observed in Iceland (+11 percentage points), Luxembourg (+9 percentage points), Austria (+6 percentage points) and Sweden (+5 percentage points).

Figure 1.23. Foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population in OECD countries, 2013 and 2023

Note: Data refer to 2013 or the closest available year, and to 2023 or the most recent available year. The OECD average is a simple average based on individual rates presented on this chart. For Japan and Korea, the data refer to the foreign population rather than the foreign-born population.

Source: OECD International Migration Database, Eurostat, UNDESA.

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Acquisitions of citizenship in OECD countries

Acquisitions of citizenship in OECD countries remained at high levels in 2023

In 2022, the number of acquisitions of nationality in OECD countries rose by 27% to over 2.8 million (Figure 1.24). Partial data for 2023 indicate that it remained at a similar level in 2023, with increases observed in Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom, offsetting the decline in naturalisations in the United States. With 870 000 new US citizens (‑9% compared to 2022) the United States however remained the OECD country with the largest number of naturalisations in absolute terms. It was followed by Canada, which granted citizenship to nearly 380 000 people in 2023, a similar number as in 2022. In 2023, acquisitions of German nationality surpassed 200 000 for the first time on record (+19%), overtaking the previous record in 2000. The United Kingdom also granted nationality to more than 200 000 people, a 15% increase compared to 2022. Ireland (+34% to 18 000 grants) and Finland (+20% to 12 000) also showed sharp increases in citizenship grants.

Figure 1.24. Acquisitions of citizenships in OECD countries, 2000‑23

Note: The estimation for 2023 is based on preliminary data for 18 OECD countries accounting for 77% of the 2022 total.

Source: OECD International Migration database.

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Relative to the stock of foreign population of the host country, acquisitions of nationality represented on average 2.7% in OECD countries in 2022, a 0.4 percentage point increase compared to 2021 (Figure 1.25). In 2022, Canada became the country where the ratio between acquisitions of nationality and foreign population was highest (11.8%, compared to 4.5% in 2021). This ratio remained high in 2023, at 11.4%. Sweden was second despite a drop in 2023 (7.7% down from 10.2% in 2022). Norway followed with 6.4% as in 2022, then the Netherlands, (4.5% in 2022) and the United States (4.4% in 2023). Portugal is the country where the ratio dropped the most in 2022, by one full percentage point to 3.2%, due to a drop in acquisitions combined with a sharp increase in the foreign population.

Figure 1.25. Acquisitions of citizenship as a percentage of foreign population, 2021‑23

Note: The OECD average is the average of the countries featured in the figure above.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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In 2022, more than 190 000 Indian nationals acquired the nationality of an OECD country, an increase of 60 000 compared to 2021 (+43%). This makes India the top country of origin in acquisition of citizenships in OECD countries and constitutes a record. This record figure was driven mainly by the tripling of the number of new Canadian citizens, which reached 60 000 in 2022. It will undoubtedly be surpassed in 2023 as a result of a further increase observed in Canada (to 79 000).

Syria remained the second country of origin in 2022, with 134 000 new citizens (+28% compared to 2021), followed by Morocco as 121 000 nationals became citizens of an OECD country (+32%). Most of them became Spanish (55 000), Italian (31 000) and French (19 000). Sharp increases were registered in 2022 for citizens of the Philippines (+28%, at 111 000 new citizens, of which 42 000 Canadians), Pakistan, (+34%, 70 000) and Albania (+53%, 57 000, of which 38 000 Italians).

Figure 1.26. Acquisitions of nationality in OECD countries: Top 20 countries of former nationality, 2022 and 2021

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Recent trends in labour market outcomes for migrants

Employment among migrants reached record high levels in 2023

Following the adverse impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on employment outcomes in OECD countries, particularly among migrants, economies have rebounded sharply since 2021. This is a trend that continued into 2023, with many countries seeing historically high levels of employment and low levels of unemployment (OECD, 2024[18]) (Annex Figure 1.A.3).

The labour market outcomes of migrants continued to improve in most OECD countries in 2023 (Table 1.8). The average employment rate of migrants in OECD countries increased from 71.4% in 2022 to 71.8% in 2023, with 22 out of 35 OECD countries (with data available for both 2022 and 2023) surpassing 2022 levels. Unemployment continued to decrease, reaching an average of 7.3% across the OECD in 2023, 0.3 percentage points lower than in 2022.

Table 1.8. Labour market situation of migrants in OECD countries in 2023

	2023		Change in 2023‑22		Gap with the native‑born in 2023
	Percentages		Percentage points		Percentage points
	Unemployment rate	Employment rate	Unemployment rate	Employment rate	Unemployment rate	Employment rate
Australia	3.6	77.0	0.1	0.5	‑0.2	‑0.4
Austria	9.4	69.5	0.9	‑0.7	5.7	‑6.3
Belgium	9.1	61.4	‑0.5	‑0.1	4.4	‑6.6
Canada	6.3	75.8	0.4	0.6	1.2	‑0.1
Chile	7.3	76.5	0.5	1.0	‑1.8	15.1
Colombia	6.1	66.2	‑0.1	0.5	0.2	3.3
Costa Rica	7.3	65.2	‑4.0	‑1.7	‑2.0	7.3
Czechia	3.5	79.5	0.9	‑1.6	1.0	4.6
Denmark	8.5	71.9	0.9	‑0.7	3.7	‑5.4
Estonia	8.6	75.8	0.5	1.1	2.3	‑0.5
Finland	13.7	67.7	2.5	‑2.6	7.3	‑7.1
France	11.0	62.4	‑0.5	0.8	4.1	‑7.1
Germany	5.4	69.3	‑0.2	‑0.5	2.9	‑10.3
Greece	14.9	62.5	‑4.1	1.6	4.1	0.8
Hungary	3.3	78.1	‑0.7	‑2.5	‑0.9	3.4
Iceland	5.3	84.2	‑1.3	1.3	2.1	0.6
Ireland	5.0	77.1	‑0.1	0.0	0.8	4.2
Italy	10.3	64.0	‑0.5	1.5	2.9	2.9
Japan¹	5.0	77.3	..	..	1.0	0.7
Korea²	5.3	67.4	1.2	‑0.4	2.6	‑2.6
Latvia	7.7	70.4	‑0.4	2.1	1.0	‑1.2
Lithuania	8.6	71.7	‑0.1	1.1	1.5	‑1.5
Luxembourg	5.4	74.9	0.6	0.6	0.7	10.5
Mexico	5.0	51.8	‑0.3	1.2	2.1	‑12.0
Netherlands	5.8	71.6	0.0	1.3	2.6	‑13.1
New Zealand	3.3	82.3	0.6	‑0.4	‑0.9	3.3
Norway	7.2	71.6	1.2	‑1.5	4.5	‑7.5
Poland	4.4	75.4	‑1.4	‑0.4	1.6	3.0
Portugal	8.3	76.6	0.2	‑0.6	2.0	4.7
Slovak Republic	4.2	78.5	‑1.0	0.2	‑1.7	6.6
Slovenia	4.3	72.6	‑1.5	2.8	0.8	0.1
Spain	16.5	65.1	‑1.8	1.9	5.4	‑0.4
Sweden	15.1	71.1	‑0.9	2.4	10.0	‑8.6
Switzerland	6.3	77.0	‑0.6	1.7	3.4	‑5.5
United Kingdom	5.1	76.3	0.2	0.4	1.3	0.7
United States	3.7	73.3	0.2	0.7	‑0.2	3.1
OECD average	7.3	71.8	‑0.3	0.3	2.1	‑0.6
EU27	9.5	67.5	‑0.6	0.8	4.0	‑3.4

Note: Gap with the native‑born refers to the difference between the corresponding rates of the foreign-born and native‑born populations.

1. The data for Japan refer to 2020 instead of 2023 and are therefore excluded from OECD averages for 2023 (and related calculations).

2. Rates for Korea are estimated for the population aged 15‑59 and refer to foreigners and immigrants who have been naturalised in the past 5 years, compared to nationals.

Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom: Labour Force Surveys; Japan: Population Census, Korea: Economically Active Population Survey and Survey on Immigrants‘ Living Conditions and Labour Force, Chile: Encuesta de Caracterización Socioeconómica Nacional (CASEN); Colombia: Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH); Costa Rica: Encuesta Nacional de Hogares (ENAHO), Mexico: Encuesta Nacional de Ocupacion y Emploe (ENOE); United States: CPS.

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The increase in the immigrant employment rate was particularly high in some European countries, such as Slovenia (+2.8 percentage points) and Sweden (+2.4 percentage points). However, while those countries saw record levels of employment among the foreign-born, the native‑born employment rate fell slightly (‑1.2 and ‑0.4 percentage points).

Despite overall improvement in labour market outcomes, some European countries, particularly those receiving high levels of Ukrainian refugees, saw a decline in migrant employment rates in 2023. These include Germany (‑0.5 percentage points), Poland (‑0.4 percentage points) and Czechia (‑1.6 percentage points), the top three destination countries for Ukrainian refugees, respectively (see Box 1.5 for more details on Ukrainians’ employment in OECD destinations).

Many countries (20 out of 35 countries for which data is available) saw a reduction in the unemployment rate of immigrants, such as Greece (‑4.1 percentage points), Costa Rica (‑4.0 percentage points), and Spain (‑1.8 percentage points). While these changes reflect better overall labour market conditions, the reduction in the foreign-born unemployment rate was significantly larger than for the native‑born in these three countries. Fifteen out of thirty‑five OECD countries saw concomitant increases in the employment rate and decreases in the unemployment rate from 2022 to 2023.

The favourable evolution of the labour market outcomes of migrants relative to the native‑born population seen following the COVID‑19 pandemic has slowed down compared to previous years. Migrants were disproportionately negatively affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic. However, their employment outcomes rebounded at a faster rate than those of the native‑born and in 2022 had almost caught up with them (71.4% and 72% average employment rates across OECD countries for migrants and the native‑born, respectively) (OECD, 2023[19]). In 2023, the gap stood at the same level of 0.6 percentage points, with both migrants and the native‑born exhibiting slight increases in the employment rate (over +0.3 each).

In some countries, employment rates were considerably higher for migrants than for the native‑born. This applies notably in Chile (+15.1 percentage points in favour of the foreign-born), Luxembourg (+10.5 percentage points), and Costa Rica (+7.3 percentage points). On the other hand, several Western and Nordic European countries showed particularly large employment gaps which favour the native‑born, such as the Netherlands (‑13.1 percentage points), Germany (‑10.3 percentage points), and Sweden (‑8.6 percentage points). In Germany, this gap has grown by +1.2 percentage points in the last year, which may partly be explained by a large inflow of Ukrainian refugees, but also by a rise in employment among the native‑born. Further, Mexico also kept a sizeable migrant employment gap (‑12 percentage points) compared with the native‑born.

The migrant unemployment gap relative to the native‑born was particularly large in European OECD countries, such as Sweden (+10.0 percentage points for the native‑born), Finland (+7.3 percentage points), and Austria (+5.7 percentage points). These large gaps can partly be explained by the composition of the foreign-born populations in those countries, specifically their relatively large shares of humanitarian migrants with weak labour market attachment.

The labour force participation rate of migrants in OECD countries was stable in 2023 compared to 2022. On average, 77.4% of immigrants were active in the labour market in 2023, compared to 77.2% in 2022. Immigrant participation in the labour market exceeded that of the native‑born by 1 percentage point, similar to the previous year. The highest participation rates among immigrants were recorded in Iceland (89.0%), New Zealand (85.0%), and Sweden (83.8%).

The labour market participation rate of immigrants was particularly high relative to that of the native‑born in Chile (+14.9 percentage points), Luxembourg (+11.6 percentage points), and Portugal (+6.8 percentage points) (Annex Table 1.A.5). On the other hand, the participation rate of immigrants was lowest relative to that of the native‑born in the Netherlands (‑11.5 percentage points), Mexico (‑11.2 percentage points), and Germany (‑8.4 percentage points).

The increase in the employment rate of migrants in European OECD countries seems to have been largely driven by labour and family migrants, whose employment rates increased in most countries. The employment rate of humanitarian migrants decreased in several countries between 2021 and 2023. It fell by 13.4 percentage points (to 50% in 2023) in Spain, by 3.7 percentage points in Germany (to 48%) and by 2.8 percentage points in France (to 54%). These developments may again be explained by the recent arrivals of Ukrainian refugees, who have had limited time to integrate into local labour markets. The employment rate of humanitarian migrants in Poland (60.3%) in 2023 was much higher than that of countries such as France, Germany and Spain. Unfortunately, the employment rate is not available for 2021 for Poland due to small sample sizes.

The incidence of long-term unemployment – the share of the unemployed in unemployment for more than 12 months – declined among migrants in all but five of the 26 OECD countries for which data is available in 2022‑23. Migrants are now only slightly more likely to be in long-term unemployment compared to their native‑born counterparts, exhibiting long-term unemployment rates of 29.7% compared to 26.2%. In 2022, long-term unemployment stood at 32.8% among migrants and 28.8% among the native‑born.

In most countries, the incidence of long-term unemployment for immigrants decreased at a faster rate than it did for the native‑born, with the exception of some European countries including Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Sweden. The largest reductions in the incidence of immigrant long-term unemployment were seen in European countries, notably Lithuania (‑10.2 percentage points), Norway (‑7.4 percentage points), and Ireland (‑7.3 percentage points). Overall in the EU27, from 2022 to 2023 the incidence of long-term unemployment improved for both migrant men and migrant women, but slightly more strongly for the latter (‑3.0 percentage points and ‑4.9 percentage points, respectively).

Box 1.5. The labour market outcomes of Ukrainian refugees have improved in most countries

Refugees from Ukraine arriving to European countries have since 2022 been able to quickly enter into employment or self-employment through the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive. Many non-EU OECD countries have also implemented similar provisions.

The extent to which Ukrainian refugees have been able to integrate into local labour markets has varied greatly between countries. Ukrainian refugees in certain Central and Eastern European countries, such as Poland, Lithuania and Estonia, fare particularly well on the labour market, exhibiting employment rates of over 50% in September 2023. The outcomes of Ukrainian refugees in countries such as Germany, Austria and Belgium are significantly lower but have picked up somewhat since 2022, with employment rates at 25% or lower more than a year following the start of the crisis. In Canada, the employment rate stood at an exceptionally high 71% in March 2023. Meanwhile, Japanese authorities reported that nearly 700 Ukrainian evacuees had found jobs in Japan within 18 months of displacement. A survey conducted by the Nippon Foundation estimated an employment rate of around 47% at the end of 2023.

Explanations for the differences in labour market integration between countries include the pre‑existence of migration patterns and the presence of Ukrainian diaspora communities in host countries. These may influence the extent to which migrants integrate, as many Ukrainian refugees rely on pre‑existing professional networks of earlier Ukrainian arrivals to find employment (OECD, 2023[20]). This may have contributed to skills mismatches, as their primary sectors of employment are of a lower-skilled nature (Table 2), despite Ukrainian refugees possessing a relatively high education level. In Canada, the high level of knowledge of English may have helped to facilitate workforce participation (Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 2023[21]). However, a significant proportion of country variations can also be explained by disparities in methodologies and reporting (EMN/OECD, 2024[22]).

Table 1.9. Estimated employment rates of refugees from Ukraine and main sectors of employment

	ER in Sept 2022	ER in Sept 2023	Main sectors of employment in 2023	Source
Austria	15%	21%	Accommodation and food services; wholesale and retail trade; manufacturing; administrative and support services; human health and social work	IOM
Belgium	11%	17%	Administrative and support services; agriculture, forestry and fishing; construction	Brussels, Flemish and Walloon employment services
Canada		71%	Sales and services; trades, transport and equipment operators; manufacturing and utilities	Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Czechia	35%	48%	Machine and plant operators, assemblers; auxiliary and unskilled workers; craftsmen and repairmen	Labour Office of the Czech Republic
Estonia	42%	54%	Processing industry; administrative and support services; wholesale and retail trade	Statistics Estonia
Finland	22%	22%	Administrative and support services; agriculture, forestry and fishing; manufacturing	VATT Dataroom register
France		32%	Accommodation and catering; construction; service and support activities	Ministry of Labour
Germany	19%	25%	Helpers; other services (including temporary work, horticulture and facility management), manufacturing	Federal Employment Agency
Greece	42%
Ireland	27%	35%	Accommodation and food services; wholesale and retail trade; manufacturing	Central Statistics Office
Italy	31%	31%	Personal services; industry	Ministry of Labour
Japan		47%
Latvia	30%	30%	Manufacturing; wholesale and retail trade; accommodation and food services	Ministry of Welfare
Lithuania		66%	Transport and storage; manufacturing; construction	Lithuanian Employment Service
Luxembourg		41%	Cleaners and domestic helpers; waiters and barmen; administrative clerks	ADEM
Netherlands	44%	55%	Catering; logistics; agriculture	Central Bureau of Statistics
Poland		71%	Storage of goods; packaging activities; restaurants and other permanent catering establishments	UKR PESEL
Portugal		30%
Slovenia	37%	33%
Slovak Republic	23%	29%	Administrative services; professional, scientific, technical activities; accommodation and catering services	Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family
Spain		36%
Sweden		56%
United Kingdom		52%	Hospitality; manufacturing or construction (including mining and fuel).	UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey
United States	21%

Note: The “Source” columns refer to data on main sectors of employment. Employment rate sources are listed below. Employment rate data from Canada is from March 2023, the United Kingdom from May 2023, and the United States from September 2023.

Source: EMN/OECD (2024[22]), Labour market integration of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine, www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/topics/policy-issues/migration/OECD-EMN%20Inform_%20Labour-market-integration-of-beneficiaries-of-temporary-protection-from-Ukraine.pdf; Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2023[21]), Rapid evaluation of the Ukraine response, www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/documents/pdf/english/corporate/reports-statistics/evaluations/ukraine_en.pdf; Japan: Nippon Foundation survey data. United Kingdom: UK Humanitarian Response Insight Survey. United States: ACS.

Improvements in the labour market outcomes of migrants have largely been driven by women

Figure 1.27 shows changes in employment rates by gender, age, level of education, and duration of stay in the EU27, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. In most contexts, migrant women saw record employment rates.

While changes in the employment rate of native‑born men were small, foreign-born men’s employment rate slightly increased in the United Kingdom (+1.0 percentage point) and Canada (+0.7 percentage points), and slightly decreased in Korea (‑1.4 percentage points) and New Zealand (‑0.8 percentage points).

Among women, employment outcomes generally improved, in most cases exceeding improvements seen by men. The most significant increases in the employment rate of foreign-born women were seen in the EU27 (+1.1 percentage points), the United States (+1.3 percentage points), and Australia (+0.9 percentage points). In Korea and New Zealand, employment rates decreased slightly among female migrants (‑0.5 percentage points and ‑0.1 percentage points, respectively).

In the EU27, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the United States, foreign-born women exhibited the highest employment rates on record. In the EU27 and Canada, employment among foreign-born men was also at record high levels. While gender gaps persist in the EU27 and all other countries for which data is available (Annex Figure 1.A.2), foreign-born gender gaps in employment in 2023 were the smallest on record in the United States (19.7%, ‑1.3 percentage points) and Australia (10.4%, ‑2.3 percentage points), and improved slightly in the EU27 (shrinking by 0.7 percentage points). In contrast, the foreign-born gender gap in employment increased in the United Kingdom (+0.8 percentage points) and Canada (+0.3 percentage points).

Figure 1.27. Changes in the employment rate by demographic group and place of birth in selected OECD countries, between 2022 and 2023

Note: The reference population is the working-age population (aged 15‑64). Rates for Korea are estimated for the population aged 15‑59 (Youth: 15‑29; Prime‑age: 30‑49; Old-age: 50‑59) and refer to foreigners and to immigrants who have been naturalised in the past five years, compared to nationals. “Low-educated” refers to individuals with less than upper secondary education, “Medium” refers to those with upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education, and “Highly” refers to individuals with tertiary education. Calculations have been made by the Secretariat using the adjusted series for the whole population provided by Eurostat.

Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom: Labour Force Surveys; Korea: Economically Active Population Survey and Survey on Immigrants’ Living Conditions and Labour Force; United States: Current Population Surveys.

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Changes in the labour force participation rate of migrant women were heterogeneous across OECD countries (Figure 1.28). The largest increases in participation were observed in European countries such as Latvia (+3.5 percentage points), Estonia (+2.6 percentage points) and the Netherlands (+2.2 percentage points). Elsewhere in Europe, the participation rate of migrant women decreased significantly, notably in Hungary (‑6.3 percentage points), Poland (‑4.0 percentage points) and Greece (‑3.0 percentage points). Non-European OECD countries observed limited changes in the participation rate of migrant women, the most significant of which was the United States (+1.5 percentage points). Changes in participation among migrant men were much less pronounced across all countries, exceeding 2 percentage points in only two countries.

Figure 1.28. Change in the labour force participation rate between 2022 and 2023, by place of birth and gender, population aged 15 to 64

Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Canada: Labour Force Surveys; United States: Current Population Surveys.

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Young migrants’ outcomes on the labour market diverged across countries

Changes in the employment rate of young migrants, aged 15 to 24, were uneven across countries. The labour market situation of young migrants improved in Korea (+1.6 percentage points), Canada (+1.6 percentage points), the United States (+1.1 percentage points) and the EU27 (+1.0 percentage points) and did so at a faster rate than for the native‑born, except for the United States. In contrast, the employment rate of young migrants declined in New Zealand (‑4.6 percentage points), the United Kingdom (‑1.7 percentage points) and Australia (-0.9 percentage points). In all three countries, native‑born youth saw either improvements or similar outcomes relative to the year before.

Gaps in the employment rate of young migrants relative to their native‑born counterparts increased in several countries. The most significant gap, which grew by 2.2 percentage points in 2023, was in the United Kingdom, where young migrants were 11.8 percentage points less likely to be in employment than the young native‑born. The gaps in Australia (6.7 percentage points) and New Zealand (5.2 percentage points) also grew, with a particularly large widening of 4.4 percentage points in New Zealand relative to 2022. Young migrants saw their employment rates improve relative to their native‑born counterparts in the EU27 and Korea, countries in which migrants already had larger employment rates than the native‑born, but also in Canada, where the gap decreased.

A prominent indicator of labour market exclusion among young people is the “NEET” rate, referring to the share of young people not in education, employment, nor training. NEET rates saw limited changes in OECD countries between 2022‑23, and improvements made since the peak of the COVID‑19 pandemic have slowed down (Figure 1.29). The largest reductions in the NEET rate among young migrants were observed in some European countries: Switzerland (‑10.6 percentage points), Poland (‑7.3 percentage points), and Italy (‑4.4 percentage points). However, these improvements were matched by increases in the foreign-born NEET rate in other EU countries such as Portugal (+8.4 percentage points), Finland (+3.7 percentage points) and Germany (+2.0 percentage points).

The gap in NEET rates between foreign-born and native‑born youth remains particularly large in the EU27 (+7.0 percentage points), even slightly increasing compared to the year before. Changes to the NEET rate gaps were however highly heterogenous in the EU27. Whereas countries like Poland and Switzerland saw reductions in the NEET gap between migrants and the native‑born in 2022‑23, increases in the gap were observed in Portugal, Finland and Germany. The United States (with a gap of +3.0 percentage points) and Canada (+0.8 percentage points) both saw slight reductions in the NEET gap in 2022‑23. The United Kingdom remains an outlier in that the NEET gap favours the foreign-born (‑2.3 percentage points), having slightly widened relative to 2022.

Figure 1.29. Share of young people not in education, employment or training (“NEET”), by place of birth, in selected OECD countries, 2019‑23

Population aged 15‑24

Note: Compulsory military service is excluded from the calculation. NEET rates of the native‑born and foreign-born populations in the EU27 countries in 2019 and 2020 have been subject to adjustments for a break in series caused by a change in the methodology of the European Labour Force Survey in 2021. Calculations were made by the Secretariat taking into account the adjusted series for the whole population provided by Eurostat.

Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Canada and the United Kingdom: Labour Force Surveys; United States: Current Population Surveys.

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Labour market outcomes improved across most regions of origin

Looking at employment outcomes by region of origin reveals contrasting patterns. For most regions of origin, however, the general trend was an improvement in labour market outcomes in 2023 over the preceding year.

The employment rates of migrants from Asia improved in most countries, particularly the EU27 overall (+1.8 percentage points) and the United States (+1.5 percentage points, which includes migrants from the Middle East). In Korea, employment rates remained relatively stable among Asian migrants, with the exception of migrants originating from China (‑2.8 percentage points).

The labour market situation of migrants born in the Americas diverged depending on the host country. In Canada, migrants from other North American countries (including Mexico) saw a decline of 1.4 percentage points in the employment rate, whereas in the United States, an increase of 0.7 percentage points was observed for migrants from Mexico and a decrease of 2 percentage points for migrants from Canada. In the EU27, migrants from both North America (+1.8 percentage points) and Central and South America and Caribbean countries (+1.5 percentage points) observed large increases in the employment rate.

European migrants saw a general improvement in their labour market situation, particularly in Canada (+1.9 percentage point increase in the employment rate). In the United States however, their employment rate declined by 0.8 percentage points. In EU27 countries, a decline was observed in the employment rate of European migrants originating from outside the EU27/EFTA region (‑0.9 percentage points), most likely driven by large inflows of Ukrainian refugees. This group was also the only one among regions of origin in EU27 countries which saw a reduction in labour force participation (‑1.1 percentage points), which may be explained by the lower labour force participation rate of humanitarian and family migrants relative to other migrant categories, even though Ukrainian refugees are generally more active on the labour market than other humanitarian groups.

In all regions for which data is available, migrants from the Middle East had higher employment rates in 2023 than in the year before. The most significant improvements were observed in the United Kingdom (+3.0 percentage points, also including migrants from Central Asia) and the EU27 countries (+0.9 percentage points). In the United Kingdom, their participation rate jumped significantly, increasing by 7.8 percentage points relative to the year before. Migrants from North African countries in the United Kingdom however had a lower employment rate than the year before (‑2.4 percentage points).

Migrants originating from Sub-Saharan Africa saw mixed outcomes across countries in 2023, unlike the general improvement observed for this group in the year prior. Notably, their employment rate declined in both Australia (‑2.2 percentage points) and Canada (‑0.9 percentage points). Their unemployment levels also jumped by 0.6 percentage points in both countries, above the general unemployment rate among the foreign-born. In the EU27 and the United Kingdom, this group saw a general improvement in employment and unemployment rates over the year.

Migrants born in Oceania generally saw improvements in their labour market situation, notably in Canada (+1.1 percentage points) and Australia (+0.9 percentage points). In both countries, their employment rates are higher than the average foreign-born employment rate.

Table 1.10. Employment, unemployment and participation rates by region of origin in selected OECD countries in 2022 and 2023, percentages

	Region of birth	Employment rate		Unemployment rate		Participation rate
		2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023
Australia	Other Oceania	79.9	80.7	3.7	3.7	82.9	83.8
	Europe	79.8	80.7	2.8	2.6	82.1	82.8
	North Africa and the Middle East	58.8	59.2	8.3	7.8	64.1	64.2
	Sub-Saharan Africa	81.9	79.8	3.6	4.2	85.0	83.2
	Asia	76.8	77.0	3.5	3.6	79.6	79.8
	Americas	82.7	83.1	2.7	3.3	85.0	86.0
	Foreign-born (total)	76.5	77.0	3.6	3.6	80.0	79.9
	Native‑born	77.5	77.3	3.9	3.9	80.6	80.4
Canada	Sub-Saharan Africa	74.6	73.7	7.9	8.5	81.0	80.5
	North Africa	71.7	71.8	9.4	8.8	79.2	78.7
	Middle East	66.9	67.3	8.6	9.1	73.3	74.0
	Asia	75.7	76.5	5.3	5.7	79.9	81.2
	Europe	78.3	80.2	4.7	4.9	82.1	84.3
	Oceania	78.6	79.7	4.3	4.7	82.2	83.7
	Other North America	71.7	70.3	6.8	6.7	77.0	75.4
	Central and South America and Caribbean	77.2	77.2	5.9	6.6	82.0	82.7
	Foreign-born (total)	75.2	75.8	5.9	6.3	79.9	80.9
	Native‑born	75.8	75.8	5.0	5.1	79.8	79.9
EU27 countries	EU27 + EFTA	74.4	75.1	6.8	6.4	79.8	80.3
	Other European countries	66.2	65.3	8.2	8.1	72.2	71.0
	North Africa	53.2	54.4	16.9	16.3	64.0	65.0
	Sub-Saharan Africa	64.5	65.9	14.2	13.0	75.2	75.7
	Middle East	58.4	59.3	13.0	12.3	67.1	67.6
	North America	70.1	72.0	5.7	4.8	74.4	75.6
	Central and South America and Caribbean	68.0	69.4	14.6	13.3	79.6	80.1
	Asia	66.1	68.0	8.0	7.4	71.9	73.5
	Other regions	70.6	70.9	7.2	7.4	76.1	76.5
	Foreign-born (total)	66.8	67.5	10.1	9.5	74.3	74.6
	Native‑born	70.3	70.9	5.6	5.5	74.5	75.1
United Kingdom	EU (excluding United Kingdom)	82.6	83.3	3.1	2.5	85.3	85.4
	Other European countries	71.2	71.8	7.0	8.3	76.6	78.3
	North Africa	60.2	57.8	12.9	14.4	69.2	67.5
	Sub-Saharan Africa	76.1	77.4	5.6	5.2	80.6	81.6
	Middle East and Central Asia	54.9	57.9	8.2	14.4	59.8	67.6
	North America	76.5	79.1	4.4	3.3	80.0	81.8
	Central and South America and Caribbean	76.2	74.6	7.2	8.9	82.1	81.9
	Asia	71.2	70.9	5.6	6.4	75.5	75.7
	Other regions	84.9	87.8	3.5	1.1	88.0	88.8
	Foreign-born (total)	75.8	76.3	4.9	5.1	79.7	80.4
	Native‑born	75.5	75.6	3.5	3.8	78.3	78.6
United States	Mexico	70.8	71.5	3.5	3.9	73.4	74.4
	Other Central American countries	74.0	72.4	3.6	4.7	76.8	76.0
	South America and Caribbean	73.7	74.7	4.0	3.9	76.9	77.8
	Canada	74.7	72.7	2.4	2.9	76.6	74.9
	Europe	74.6	73.8	3.4	3.7	77.2	76.6
	Africa	74.3	76.6	5.1	3.7	78.3	79.6
	Asia and the Middle East	72.1	73.6	2.8	2.9	74.1	75.8
	Other regions	69.6	67.5	2.4	3.8	71.3	70.2
	Foreign-born (total)	72.6	73.3	3.5	3.7	75.2	76.1
	Native‑born	69.4	70.2	3.9	3.8	72.2	73.0
Korea	China (Ethnic Korean)	77.3	77.2	3.9	5.1	80.4	81.3
	China	37.6	34.8	7.3	8.4	40.5	38.0
	Viet Nam	54.5	54.4	5.1	7.5	57.4	58.8
	Other Asia	76.0	76.7	3.1	3.8	78.4	79.7
	Other regions	66.5	62.2	5.0	7.9	70.0	67.5
	Foreign-born (total)	67.6	67.4	4.1	5.3	70.7	71.2
	Native‑born	69.3	69.9	2.9	2.7	71.4	71.9

Note: The population refers to working-age population (15‑64) for the employment and participation rates and to active population aged 15‑64 for the unemployment rate. Rates for Korea are estimated for the population aged 15‑59 and refer to foreigners and to immigrants who have been naturalised in the past 5 years, compared to nationals. The regions of birth could not be made fully comparable across countries of residence because of the way aggregate data provided to the Secretariat are coded.

Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom: Labour Force Surveys; Korea: Economically Active Population Survey and Survey on Immigrants’ Living Conditions and Labour Force; United States: Current Population Surveys.

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References

[7] American Immigration Council (2023), Agency Failures Make Obtaining Humanitarian Parole Almost Impossible for Afghans, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/foia/uscis-failures-afghans-parole (accessed on 16 June 2023).

[2] De Wispelaere, F., L. De Smedt and J. Pacolet (2023), Posting of workers, Report on A1 Portable Documents issued in 2022, HIVA-KU Leuven, https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1154&langId=en.

[3] De Wispelaere, F., L. De Smedt and J. Pacolet (2022), Posted workers in the European Union, Facts and Figures, Leuven: POSTING.STAT project.

[11] DHS (2023), Annual Report 2023: Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman.

[6] DHS (2023), Department of Homeland Security Operation Allies Welcome Afghan Parolee and Benefits Report March 2023, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/PLCY%20-%20AFG%202502%20Evacuee%20Benefits%20Update%204%20%282%29.pdf (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[17] DHS (2023), Fact Sheet: Data From First Six Months of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans Shows That Lawful Pathways Work, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/07/25/fact-sheet-data-first-six-months-parole-processes-cubans-haitians-nicaraguans-and (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[10] DHS (2023), News: Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/09/21/secretary-mayorkas-announces-extension-and-redesignation-afghanistan-temporary (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[16] DHS (2023), Parole Requests – Fiscal Year 2023, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/2023_1204_dmo_plcy_parole_requests_q2_and_q3.pdf (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[13] Di Martino, D. (2023), Biden’s Immigration Parole Programs Are Working, https://manhattan.institute/article/bidens-immigration-parole-programs-are-working (accessed on 16 June 2023).

[22] EMN/OECD (2024), Labour market integration of beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine, https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/topics/policy-issues/migration/OECD-EMN%20Inform_%20Labour-market-integration-of-beneficiaries-of-temporary-protection-from-Ukraine.pdf.

[21] Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2023), Rapid evaluation of the Ukraine response, https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/documents/pdf/english/corporate/reports-statistics/evaluations/ukraine_en.pdf (accessed on 12 June 2024).

[8] Moriarty, A. (2023), Immigration Parole - Policy Brief, https://www.fwd.us/news/immigration-parole/ (accessed on 16/06/2023).

[18] OECD (2024), OECD Employment Outlook 2024: The Net-Zero Transition and the Labour Market, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ac8b3538-en.

[1] OECD (2023), International Migration Outlook 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b0f40584-en.

[19] OECD (2023), OECD Employment Outlook 2023: Artificial Intelligence and the Labour Market, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/08785bba-en.

[20] OECD (2023), “What we know about the skills and early labour market outcomes of refugees from Ukraine”, OECD Policy Responses on the Impacts of the War in Ukraine, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c7e694aa-en.

[4] UNHCR (2024), UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2024, https://reporting.unhcr.org/unhcr-projected-global-resettlement-needs-2024.

[14] USCIS (2024), News Release: Completing an Unprecedented 10 Million Immigration Cases in Fiscal Year 2023, USCIS Reduced Its Backlog for the First Time in Over a Decade, https://www.uscis.gov/EOY2023 (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[15] USCIS (2024), Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, https://www.uscis.gov/CHNV (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[12] USCIS (2024), Uniting for Ukraine, https://www.uscis.gov/ukraine (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[5] USCIS (2023), Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole for Individuals Outside the United States, https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/humanitarian_parole (accessed on 17 June 2024).

[9] Wilson, J. (2024), Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure, https://sgp.fas.org/crs/homesec/RS20844.pdf (accessed on 17 June 2024).

Annex 1.A. Supplementary tables and figures

Annex Table 1.A.1. Permanent-type flows to OECD countries by category, 2022 and 2023

Thousands and percentage change

	Work			Accompanying family			Family			Humanitarian			Free movement			Total
	2022	2023	%	2022	2023	%	2022	2023	%	2022	2023	%	2022	2023	%	2022	2023	%
Australia	41.0	68.9	68%	48.0	73.4	53%	54.3	52.5	‑3%	13.3	17.9	34%	14.0	25.9	84%	170.9	238.7	40%
Austria	3.3	5.0	50%	2.0	3.1	57%	12.6	13.0	3%	16.5	22.2	35%	58.6	61.7	5%	93.3	105.4	13%
Belgium	7.2	7.7	6%				33.3	33.8	1%	11.1	10.5	‑6%	68.7	68.7	0%	120.4	120.8	0%
Canada	135.8	144.9	7%	119.8	127.8	7%	97.4	109.7	13%	74.3	75.1	1%				437.6	471.7	8%
Czechia	22.5	14.6	‑35%				10.7	10.5	‑2%	0.5	0.3	‑33%	11.7	11.7	0%	45.6	37.5	‑18%
Denmark	10.7	10.7	0%	6.8	5.7	‑16%	5.5	6.0	9%	1.4	1.3	‑4%	41.6	36.8	‑11%	66.3	60.6	‑9%
Estonia	5.5	3.5	‑37%				3.2	2.2	‑32%	1.4			3.5	3.0	‑14%	13.5	8.6	‑36%
Finland	13.1	12.2	‑6%				16.5	21.2	29%	3.0	2.9	‑4%	7.6	6.1	‑19%	40.4	42.8	6%
France	59.0	59.3	1%				105.0	98.3	‑6%	27.7	34.1	23%	71.3	75.2	5%	294.4	297.6	1%
Germany	89.9	93.3	4%				102.0	115.1	13%	150.0	170.3	14%	327.1	313.9	‑4%	669.0	692.7	4%
Greece	5.6	11.8	110%				15.9	12.9	‑19%	23.6	28.5	21%	4.8	6.7	40%	62.8	72.5	16%
Ireland	35.4	27.4	‑23%	0.0			4.0	4.0	0%	1.9	2.9	49%	25.6	30.9	21%	66.9	65.2	‑3%
Israel							7.8	5.6	‑29%							74.7	46.0	‑38%
Italy	55.8	31.8	‑43%				123.3	127.3	3%	5.4	4.7	‑13%	50.0	43.4	‑13%	235.4	208.2	‑12%
Japan	79.2	90.1	14%	37.5	39.6	6%	21.1	19.3	‑8%	2.0	1.3	‑33%				144.2	154.8	7%
Korea	5.7	12.9	129%	0.4	1.0	166%	11.9	16.0	35%	0.2	0.2	0%				57.8	87.1	51%
Lithuania	4.3	2.0	‑55%				5.3	3.8	‑29%	0.3	0.4	20%	0.4	0.8	82%	10.6	7.2	‑32%
Luxembourg	3.6	3.8	5%				4.6	5.2	12%	1.2	1.1	‑9%	17.8	17.3	‑3%	27.2	27.4	1%
Mexico	10.3	8.2	‑21%				32.8	33.6	2%	21.2	16.3	‑23%				75.6	69.9	‑8%
Netherlands	32.1	27.4	‑15%				45.9	45.3	‑1%	29.6	27.1	‑8%	96.4	94.8	‑2%	204.1	194.7	‑5%
New Zealand	74.9	40.3	‑46%	62.8	58.8	‑6%	9.0	11.2	24%	3.6	5.7	61%	4.0	3.2	‑21%	154.3	119.3	‑23%
Norway	5.7	5.4	‑5%		3.8		11.3	7.1	‑37%	4.8	4.1	‑14%	22.1	21.3	‑4%	44.0	41.8	‑5%
Portugal	53.2	55.1	4%				30.3	35.1	16%	0.7	0.3	‑54%	30.1	30.1	0%	121.0	132.4	9%
Slovak Republic	18.9	19.5	3%				3.5	3.4	‑5%	0.1	0.0	‑28%	1.2	1.2	0%	24.3	24.6	1%
Slovenia	23.4	21.4	‑9%				5.7	6.3	10%	0.2	0.2	‑24%	2.4	3.3	35%	31.8	31.1	‑2%
Spain	34.5	25.3	‑27%	11.5	12.2	7%	59.2	100.2	69%	16.1	12.3	‑24%	114.3	115.2	1%	324.0	364.1	12%
Sweden	17.7	15.7	‑11%	14.1	12.4	‑12%	20.2	22.7	13%	5.2	5.5	5%	32.6	30.8	‑5%	89.8	87.1	‑3%
Switzerland	3.1	2.8	‑7%				20.1	21.6	7%	10.1	10.5	4%	96.4	109.3	13%	130.0	144.5	11%
United Kingdom	190.5	282.6	48%	131.0	261.0	99%	103.5	112.2	8%	24.0	65.3	172%				488.4	746.9	53%
United States	145.7	82.3	‑43%	141.9	79.9	‑44%	581.5	785.9	35%	92.0	126.3	37%				1 048.7	1 189.8	13%

Source: OECD International migration database.

Statlink

Annex Table 1.A.2. Permits considered in the statistics on temporary labour migration and their characteristics

Country	Name of the programme	Duration of stay / renewability of the contract	Existence of a quota
Australia (Temporary resident and seasonal worker programmes) Including renewals	Seasonal workers: Temporary resident (other employment); Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP); Pacific Labour Scheme; Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme (PALM)
	Working holidaymakers: subclasses 417 and 462	Up to 1 year	Subclass 417: uncapped
			Subclass 462: capped except for the United States
	Trainees: The Training visa (subclass 407) introduced in 2016.	Up to 2 years
	Intra-company transferees: Temporary resident Skilled programme	Up to 4 years
	Other workers: Temporary resident Skilled programme (except ICT); Temporary Resident (Other Employment) excluding “Australian Government Endorsed Events”, “Invited for Other Social and Cultural Activity”; Entertainment; Family (Temporary); Religious Work
Austria	Seasonal workers: Number of work permits issued (quota and out of quota workers)	Up to 9 months
	Trainees: Temporary residence permits (Aufenhaltsbewilligungen [AB]) issued for ICT trainees	Up to 12 months	Uncapped
	Intra-company transferees: AB permits issued to ICT Managers and Specialists	Up to 12 months (renewable)	Uncapped
	Other workers: AB permit for Self-employed. NB permit for Specific cases of gainful employment – special managers Job rotation Researchers: Settlement permits (Niederlassungsbewilligung [NB]) for Researchers (and AB permits for Researchers, if any) Au pair: AB permits for Special cases of dependent gainful occupation – Au Pair Excludes: Posted workers, Artists, Volunteers/social service workers	Up to 12 months (renewable)	Uncapped
Belgium	Working holidaymakers: top 10 countries of origin (estimation)
	Trainees (estimation)
	Other workers: Au pair; Researchers
Canada (TFWP and IMP programmes – initial permits)	Seasonal workers: Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme (TFWP): effective entries	Not renewable
	Working holidaymakers: International Experience Canada Working Holiday and International Youth Program (IMP)	Not renewable	Uncapped
	Intra-company transferees: International Mobility Program (IMP) Work Permit Holders by year in which Initial Permit became effective (Trade – ICT; NAFTA – ICT; GATS professionals; significant benefits ICT)	Varies
	Other workers: Temporary Foreign Workers with LMIA (excl. Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme – TFWP); International Mobility Program Participants (excl. Working Holiday (IEC); ICT; Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel; Spouses of skilled workers; Spouses of students; PR Applicants in Canada; Humanitarian reason; Haiti special measures)	IMP: varies	Uncapped
		Live‑in caregivers: unlimited
		other TFWP: not renewable
Czechia	Seasonal workers: Long-term visa for Seasonal employment	Up to 9 months, renewable
	Intra-company transferees
	Researchers
	Other workers: Special work visa (for citizens of Ukraine and other selected nationalities) working in agriculture, food industry, forestry	Up to 1 year, not renewable
Denmark	Working holidaymakers: Residence permits in the area of education – Working Holiday	Up to 12 months
	Trainees: Residence permits in the area of education – Interns	Up to 18 months
	Other workers: Work permits – Agriculture, Wage work in Greenland or Faroe Islands. Researchers: Work permits – Researchers and teachers Au pair: Residence permits in the area of education – Au pair	Up to 2 years (4 years for researchers) (renewable)
Estonia	Seasonal workers: Registration of short-term employment as a seasonal worker	Up to 270 days in a 365‑day period	Uncapped
	Intra-company transferees: Temporary residence permit – ICT (includes trainees, managers, specialists)	Up to 3 years (1 year for ICT trainees)
	Other workers: Other registration of short-term employment (Under general conditions, Equipment installer/craftsman, Other)	Up to 365 days in a 455‑day period	Uncapped
	Researchers: Temporary residence permit – Researcher	Up to 5 years
Finland (Decisions on first residence permits)	Seasonal workers: Seasonal work visas; Seasonal work requiring a LM test	Up to 9 months
	Trainees: Internship
	Intra-company transferees: ICT; ICT (mobile)
	Other workers: Volunteering; National researcher; Scientific research	Up to 12 months
France (first residence permits issued – work contract or permits shorter than 1 year)	Seasonal workers: number of medical check-up (source: OFII)	Up to 9 months per year (3‑year authorisation)
	Working holidaymakers: Programme vacances Travail	Up to 12 months.
	Trainees: Stagiaires	Up to 1 year initially (extension up to 3 years in total)
	Intra-company transferees: Residence permits – Salarié en mission / Salarié détaché ICT	Up to 3 years.
	Other workers: Researchers, au-pair, other residence permits	Up to 12 months (renewable)
Germany (grants of first residence permits)	Seasonal workers: § 15a Abs.1 Nr. 1 BeschV (Saisonbeschäftigung – Arbeitserlaubnis bis 90 Tage)
	Trainees: Berufsausbildung (§ 16a AufenthG)
	Intra-company transferees: § 8 BeschV (Praktische Tätigkeiten als Voraussetzung für die Anerkennung ausländischer Berufsqualifikationen), § 10 BeschV (Internationaler Personalaustausch, Auslandsprojekte), § 10a BeschV (ICT-Karte / Mobiler-ICT-Karte)
	Other workers: “Au pair (§19c Abs. 1 AufenthG in conjunction with § 12 BeschV)”; European Voluntary Service (§ 19e AufenthG)
Ireland	Trainees: Internship employment permit
	Intra-company transferees: ICT Employment permit
	Other workers: Contract for Services Employment permit; Exchange Agreement
Israel (entries excl. Palestinian workers, and stock of Jordanian daily workers working in uncapped sectors)	Other workers:
	Construction: Jordanian workers (daily workers in capped sectors); Tel Aviv city rail project; Sea ports projects; Jordan Valley irrigation project; Foreign Construction Workers (bilateral agreements with Bulgaria, China, Moldova, Romania, Türkiye, Ukraine)	Daily workers: unlimited; other workers: renewable up to 63 months	Capped
	Tourism: Jordanian daily workers in hotel industry and construction in Eilat	Unlimited	Capped
	Agriculture	Not renewable	Capped.
	Home care	Renewable up to 63 months (or up to 7 years if no employer change between 5 and 7 years of stay)	Uncapped
	Specialists and skilled (experts working visa)	Unlimited	Uncapped
Italy (entry visa data)	Seasonal workers: estimates from the Ministry of Interior	Up to 9 months	Capped
	Trainees: visa for study/training reasons – traineeship		Uncapped
	Working holidaymakers: “Vacanze lavoro” programme	12 months	Uncapped
	Intra-company transferees: estimates from the Ministry of Interior	Up to 3 years (1 year for ICT trainees)	Uncapped
	Other workers: estimates from the Ministry of Interior		Uncapped
Japan (New visas, excl. re‑entry)	Working holidaymakers: Working holidaymaker visas		Capped for some nationalities
	Trainees: Trainees and Technical intern training
	Intra company transferees
	Other workers: Professor; Researcher; Instructor; Specified Skilled Worker; Designated activities – Researcher and IT engineer; Designated activities –Housekeeper; Designated activities – EPA candidates	1 to 5 years, renewable	Uncapped
Korea (Visas issued, incl. some re‑entries)	Industrial trainees: Industrial trainees (D‑3); general trainees (D‑4)
	Working holidaymakers: H‑1
	Intra-company transferees: D‑7
	Other workers: Speciality Occupations (E‑5); Unskilled Employment (E‑9); Visiting & Employment (H‑2); Foreign Language Instructor (E‑2); Research – (E‑3); Professors (E‑1)
Lithuania (First issuances of temporary residence permits)	Trainees: intern at a scientific study institution
	Intra-company transferees: Temporary residence permits – ICT
	Other workers: Researchers Excluding “Workers in shortage occupations/whose work meets the needs of the labour market” (undetermined share of posted workers among this category)
Luxembourg (first residence permit issuances)	Trainees: “Stagiaires”
	Intra-company transferees: Transfert intragroupe – expert/cadre; employé-stagiaire; mobile expert cadre; Travailleur transféré; Mobilité à long terme du travailleur transféré – expert/cadre
	Other workers: Posted workers; Researcher; Prestataire de service Communautaire; Volunteer; Au pair	Up to 12 months
Mexico	Seasonal workers: Cards of visiting border-worker (Tarjetas de Visitante Trabajador Fronterizo)	Up to 5 years
	Other workers: Temporary residence permit (Tarjetas de Residente Temporal) for work
Netherlands	Intra-company transferees: Single permit – Work/residence permit for ICT	Up to 3 years (up to 1 year for ICT trainees)
New Zealand (excludes Australian citizens)	Seasonal workers: Recognised Seasonal Employer Limited Visa; Supplementary Seasonal Employment (extensions)	Up to 7 months (or 9 months for citizen-residents of Tuvalu and Kiribati); extensions possible up to 6 months	Capped
	Working holidaymakers: Working Holiday Scheme	Up to 12 months (or 23 months for citizens of the United Kingdom or Canada)	Capped for some countries
	Trainees: Work experience for student; Medical & dental trainee; NZ racing conference apprentice; Excluding religious trainees	Practical training for students not enrolled in New Zealand (or enrolled for 3 months maximum): up to 6 months; Apprentice jockeys: up to 4 years	Uncapped
	Other workers: Skilled Migrant Programme; Skilled Work programme: selected categories (ASEAN Special Work; Chef from Thailand; China Skilled Workers; China Special Work; Essential Skills; Essential Skills – Skill Level 1; Essential Skills – current employment; AEWV transitional; Accredited Employer); Work to Residence Programme: selected categories (Long Term Skill Shortage List Occupation; Talent (Accredited Employer)) Exchange Work
Norway (Education and work permits)	Seasonal workers: Work permits – seasonal	Up to 6 months in a 12‑month period. Not renewable
	Working holidaymakers (from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan or Argentina)	Up to 1 year. Renewable for some nationalities for up to 2 years	Some capped
	Trainees: Education permit – Interns or guestworkers (Praktikant eller gjestearbeider)	Up to 6 or 12 months. Not renewable
	Post doc: Education permit – Post-doc
	Intra-company transferees
	Other workers: Other granted work permits for third-country nationals
Poland	Other workers: Declarations >90 days; Total work permits (A, B, C, D, E); Notifications of entrusting work (March 2022 Law)
Slovak Republic	Seasonal workers: Foreign workers – Agriculture (Residence permit for the purpose of seasonal employment)	180 days within 12 months, renewable once
	Trainees: Temporary residence – ICT – intern; Special activity – Internship as part of studies outside the Slovak Republic
	Intra-company transferees: ICT Specialists and Managers
	Researchers: Temporary residence – Research & Development
	Other temporary workers: Temporary residence – Special activity – Teaching activity
Slovenia	Seasonal workers: first permits issued (Eurostat)	Up to 6 or 7 months in a calendar year
	Trainees: Ministry of Interior
	Intra-company transferees: Temporary residence permits – ICT	Up to 1 year, Renewable
	Other temporary workers: Temporary residence permits – Research work	Up to 1 year, Renewable
Spain (first residence permits)	Seasonal workers: Residence of limited duration: salaried and self-employed; agriculture and selected other sectors; GECCO programme
	Trainees: Residence of limited duration – Work-linked Training
	Intra-company transferees: EU and national programmes
	Other workers: Digital nomad; Fixed-term residence: Employment for others. Civil servants or military officials of foreign state administrations who come to Spain to carry out activities by virtue of co‑operation agreements with the Spanish Administration; Researchers EU / national: agreement with research organisations (EU and national): Research staff; scientific and technical staff; Professor; Temporary residence: Employed, Self-employed, Exception to the work authorisation.
Sweden (Temporary permits)	Seasonal workers: Berry pickers
	Working holidaymakers: Working holiday visas (for citizens of Australia, Hong Kong (China), Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Korea)	Not renewable
	Other workers: Researchers Excluding: Student looking for work; International exchange (Artist, Aupair, Intern, Youth exchange); Professional athlete/coach; Looking for work or starting a business
Switzerland	Trainees: L permits (all durations)	Up to 18 months	Capped
	Other workers: Holders of L permit for Work (Third-country nationals) Researchers: Academic guests and sabbaticals – B and L permits (Third-country nationals) Postdoc: Doctorants et postdoctorants – B permits (estimated share of postdocs) (Third-country nationals)	Up to 12 months, renewable	Capped
United Kingdom (Entry clearance visas granted)	Seasonal Seasonal worker (previously Tier 5)	Up to 6 months	Capped
	Trainees: Study – Trainee doctors and dentists; Work – Graduate Trainee (Global Business Mobility)	Up to 12 months
	Working holidaymakers: Youth Mobility Scheme (previously Tier 5)	Up to 24 months (multi‑entry visa)
	Intra-company transferees:
	Tier 2 – Intra Company Transfers Short Term (closed on 6 April 2017)
	Tier 2 – Intra Company Transfers Long Term	Maximum 5 years (9 years if salary > GBP 120 000 per year)
	Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility)	Up to 5 years
	Other workers: ECAA Businessperson; International Graduates Scheme; Overseas Domestic Worker; Private Servants in Diplomatic Households; Government Authorised Exchange (previously Tier 5); International Agreement (previously Tier 5); Secondment Worker (Global Business Mobility); Service Supplier (Global Business Mobility); UK Expansion Worker (Global Business Mobility)
United States (non-immigrant visa statistics)	Seasonal workers: H‑2A – Temporary worker performing agricultural services; H‑2B – Temporary worker performing non-agricultural services	Up to 3 years	Capped as to H‑2B
	Working holidaymakers: J‑1 – Exchange visitor, Summer Work Travel Programme	Up to 4 months	Capped
	Trainees: H‑3	Up to 2 years
	Intra-company transferees: L‑1 – Intra-company transferee (executive, managerial, and specialised personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation)	Maximum initial stay of one year (3 years for L‑1A employees). Extended until reaching the maximum limit of seven years (5 years for L‑1B)
	Other workers:
	H‑1B – Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse (approvals)	Up to 3 years initially. Maximum limit of six years in total (with some exceptions)	Capped
	H‑1B1 – Free Trade Agreement worker (Chile/Singapore)
	O‑1 – Person with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics	Up to 3 years (extension up to 1 year)
	O‑2 – Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O‑1	Up to 3 years (extension up to 1 year)
	TN – NAFTA professional	Up to 3 years

Statlink

Annex Table 1.A.3. Inflows of temporary labour migrants (selected categories) 2019‑23

Destination	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2023/22	2023/19
						change
Seasonal workers
AUS	14 457	4 540	14 573	24 270	21 022	‑13%	45%
AUT	9 390	8 715	10 447	14 078	15 044	7%	60%
CAN	3 845	2 135	1 960	3 925	3 257	‑17%	‑15%
CZE	1 333	1 442	2 525	917	634	‑31%	‑52%
DEU	..	8	836	1 766	2 329	32%	..
ESP	12 169	18 708	15 496	15 389	13 084	‑15%	8%
EST	4 569	3 200	4 692	2 508	1 107	‑56%	‑76%
FIN	11 496	13 301	15 892	6 588	3 747	‑43%	‑67%
FRA	10 285	5 991	11 210	13 201	11 620	‑12%	13%
GBR	2 493	7 211	29 587	34 484	32 724	‑5%	1 213%
ITA	4 205	1 805	1 974	3 229	6 481	101%	54%
KOR	..	..	548	8 181	25 539	212%	..
MEX	9 997	3 679	3 743	4 397	6 633	51%	‑34%
NOR	3 414	2 363	1 402	2 860	3 109	9%	‑9%
NZL	13 890	15 264	19 437	20 517	19 491	‑5%	40%
SVK	1 191	986	1 029	1 264	1 065	‑16%	‑11%
SVN	120	22	98	98	98	0%	‑18%
SWE	6 162	3 490	5 546	6 534	5 240	‑20%	‑15%
USA	307 609	275 797	421 750	421 833	446 078	6%	45%
Total	416 625	368 658	562 745	586 039	618 303	6%	48%
Working Holidaymakers (WHM)
AUS	167 893	29 265	19 945	154 042	228 397	48%	36%
BEL	111	34	27	36	..	..	..
CAN	61 625	18 675	17 755	50 330	67 850	35%	10%
DNK	3 706	982	21	687	820	19%	‑78%
ESP	985	..	..	..	..	..	..
FIN	..	..	..	30	77	157%	..
FRA	5 200	2 040	612	4 508	4 569	1%	‑12%
GBR	20 107	7 965	8 313	16 886	22 750	35%	13%
ITA	142	47	39	94	94	0%	‑34%
JPN	18 022	3 329	243	4 070	14 189	249%	‑21%
KOR	2 677	875	318	2 039	3 231	58%	21%
NOR	237	172	156	453	22	‑95%	‑91%
NZL	59 199	14 835	903	74 907	45 252	‑40%	‑24%
SWE	2 052	1 582	399	..	..	..	..
USA	108 803	4 952	39 647	92 619	103 785	12%	‑5%
Total	450 759	84 753	88 378	400 701	491 037	23%	9%
Trainees
AUS	2 234	534	503	1 472	2 916	98%	31%
AUT	..	1	..	1	4	300%	..
BEL	211	38	31	42	61	48%	‑71%
CHE	143	90	120	137	202	47%	41%
DEU	5 132	3 121	5 345	9 260	13 665	48%	166%
DNK	2 360	1 642	2 045	2 028	2 111	4%	‑11%
ESP	..	1	2	2 496	27 892	1 017%	..
EST	..	..	..	..	..	..	..
FIN	163	70	91	93	67	‑28%	‑59%
FRA	4 212	2 504	3 538	5 653	6 708	19%	59%
GBR	..	..	..	232	472	103%	..
IRL	33	20	25	43	55	28%	67%
ITA	355	110	281	490	490	0%	38%
JPN	207 494	87 455	23 646	185 225	198 810	7%	‑4%
KOR	811	295	382	31 943	35 514	11%	4 279%
LTU	..	..	2	2	2	0%	..
LUX	48	29	35	64	92	44%	92%
NOR	221	48	1	18	63	250%	‑71%
NZL	1 044	240	12	150	489	226%	‑53%
SVK	6	2	1	3	1	‑67%	‑83%
SVN	..	..	5	5	5	0%	..
USA	1 037	305	558	722	902	25%	‑13%
Total	225 504	96 505	36 623	240 079	290 521	21%	29%
Intra-company transferees
AUS	1 637	749	964	1 795	2 142	19%	31%
AUT	136	78	68	93	114	23%	‑16%
BEL	197	67	..	..	..	..	..
CAN	11 660	4 690	9 670	15 160	12 240	‑19%	5%
CHE	..	..	..	..	..	..	..
CZE	126	150	208	164	204	24%	62%
DEU	6 713	6 681	6 431	8 801	10 000	14%	49%
ESP	1 360	563	1 445	1 432	1 288	‑10%	‑5%
EST	17	20	5	4	2	‑50%	‑88%
FIN	29	15	15	28	44	57%	52%
FRA	3 613	1 475	1 764	2 939	2 882	‑2%	‑20%
GBR	27 138	8 823	12 893	20 663	15 524	‑25%	‑43%
IRL	1 243	937	503	1 651	1 693	3%	36%
ITA	199	69	203	252	283	12%	42%
JPN	9 964	3 188	497	7 798	8 443	8%	‑15%
KOR	399	406	383	402	360	‑10%	‑10%
LTU	46	19	9	9	9	0%	‑80%
LUX	225	89	157	178	181	2%	‑20%
NLD	4 374	1 871	2 299	3 298	2 725	‑17%	‑38%
NOR	1 595	857	1 357	1 262	1 646	30%	3%
SVK	45	12	17	20	28	40%	‑38%
SVN	18	8	15	15	15	0%	‑17%
USA	77 014	18 635	39 352	80 653	71 102	‑12%	‑8%
Total	147 748	49 402	78 255	146 617	130 925	‑11%	‑11%
Other temporary workers
AUS	81 252	28 792	23 803	68 759	112 189	63%	38%
AUT	904	655	1 067	1 184	1 339	13%	48%
BEL	1 057	888	910	1 098	1 650	50%	56%
CAN	59 970	27 735	48 350	85 837	158 201	84%	164%
CHE	3 278	2 456	3 448	3 470	3 787	9%	16%
CZE	485	544	903	461	365	‑21%	‑25%
DNK	3 821	3 156	4 376	5 326	4 630	‑13%	21%
ESP	11 704	8 269	10 792	16 069	19 978	24%	71%
EST	23 295	15 939	23 713	17 855	5 092	‑71%	‑78%
FIN	1 091	894	1 096	1 326	1 413	7%	30%
FRA	12 752	7 505	10 668	13 636	20 472	50%	61%
GBR	31 447	12 887	19 049	28 111	28 641	2%	‑9%
IRL	119	113	43	63	66	5%	‑45%
ISR	68 400	26 000	41 600	67 800	81 300	20%	19%
ITA	2 742	1 392	2 189	3 515	3 515	0%	28%
JPN	8 638	6 796	5 937	27 308	51 351	88%	494%
KOR	104 743	42 917	57 481	117 886	127 622	8%	22%
LTU	32	18	23	24	38	58%	19%
LUX	476	446	566	645	741	15%	56%
MEX	14 546	10 336	19 032	19 802	22 673	14%	56%
NOR	3 380	2 006	2 269	3 137	3 309	5%	‑2%
NZL	64 683	38 823	53 802	45 102	80 229	78%	24%
SVK	70	44	87	86	78	‑9%	11%
SVN	..	33	69	78	113	45%	..
SWE	..	..	1 173	1 121	1 324	18%	..
USA	183 461	144 789	186 179	225 365	203 032	‑10%	11%
Total	682 346	383 433	518 626	755 064	933 148	24%	37%

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Annex Figure 1.A.1. Inflows of international students by nationality to selected OECD countries

2023 top ten nationalities as a percentage of total inflows, 2019 and 2023

Note: Note: EU27/EFTA data compares 2022 to 2019. China includes Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.

Source: OECD Database on International Migration and Eurostat.

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Annex Table 1.A.4. Top 50 countries of origin of new immigrants to the OECD, 2021‑22

	Number	Number	Share in	2022/21 absolute change (thousands)	2022/21 change (%)	Difference with 2021 rank	Expatriation rate
	2021	2022	2022 (%)				(per ‘000 population) in 2022
India	411	557	6.4	146	35	‑1	0.4
China	290	326	3.8	37	13	‑1	0.2
Russia	112	268	3.1	156	139	11	1.8
Romania	247	268	3.1	20	8	‑2	13.8
Colombia	102	218	2.5	117	115	12	4.3
Morocco	173	201	2.3	28	16	‑2	5.4
Afghanistan	142	175	2.0	33	24	0	4.4
Mexico	130	165	1.9	35	27	1	1.3
Syria	143	164	1.9	22	15	‑3	7.8
Brazil	119	157	1.8	38	32	1	0.7
Italy	134	152	1.8	19	14	‑3	2.6
Germany	150	150	1.7	0	0	‑7	1.8
Venezuela	96	148	1.7	52	54	7	5.2
Philippines	92	138	1.6	46	50	7	1.2
Poland	124	137	1.6	13	10	‑5	3.6
Pakistan	113	122	1.4	8	7	‑3	0.5
Türkiye	72	115	1.3	43	60	7	1.4
France	106	110	1.3	4	4	‑2	1.7
United States	101	109	1.3	8	8	‑1	0.3
Nigeria	71	100	1.2	29	41	5	0.5
Viet Nam	53	99	1.1	46	87	5	1.0
Iran	117	94	1.1	‑23	‑20	‑10	1.1
Bulgaria	87	91	1.0	3	4	‑1	13.1
United Kingdom	97	89	1.0	‑7	‑8	‑5	1.3
Peru	42	89	1.0	47	111	10	2.7
Spain	74	79	0.9	5	7	‑3	1.7
Bangladesh	50	68	0.8	19	37	2	0.4
Honduras	44	67	0.8	23	53	4	6.6
Albania	52	64	0.7	12	23	‑2	22.4
Argentina	39	63	0.7	24	63	9	1.4
Cuba	43	59	0.7	17	39	3	5.3
Portugal	51	59	0.7	8	15	‑4	5.7
Dominican Rep.	40	56	0.6	16	42	4	5.1
Nepal	27	55	0.6	28	105	20	1.8
Algeria	44	53	0.6	10	22	‑2	1.2
Iraq	107	51	0.6	‑56	‑52	‑21	1.2
Egypt	45	50	0.6	5	12	‑6	0.5
Belarus	30	46	0.5	16	52	10	4.8
Hungary	39	45	0.5	6	15	‑1	4.6
Netherlands	41	43	0.5	2	4	‑4	2.5
Korea	35	43	0.5	8	24	0	0.8
Tunisia	33	43	0.5	10	31	2	3.5
Canada	34	41	0.5	7	19	‑1	1.1
El Salvador	26	39	0.5	13	48	11	6.2
South Africa	23	36	0.4	13	54	13	0.6
Uzbekistan	50	36	0.4	‑14	‑27	‑16	1.1
Ecuador	25	35	0.4	10	39	9	2.0
Croatia	35	35	0.4	0	1	‑8	8.6
Georgia	23	34	0.4	11	46	10	9.0
Greece	28	33	0.4	5	18	‑1	3.2

Note: Migration flows to Chile, Costa Rica, Greece and Ireland are not included. Migration flow series to Germany, Japan, Korea and Poland are adjusted to exclude short-term immigrants. 2022 migration flow data to Colombia are estimated.

Source: OECD International Migration Database.

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Annex Figure 1.A.2. Evolution of the gender gap in employment rates, by place of birth, 2002‑23

Note: The reference population is the working-age population (aged 15‑64). In the EU27, years between 2010 and 2020 have been subject to adjustments for the break in series caused by the change in the methodology of the European Labour Force Survey in 2021. Calculations have been made by the Secretariat using the adjusted series for the whole population provided by Eurostat.

Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom: Labour Force Surveys; United States: Current Population Surveys.

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Annex Figure 1.A.3. Employment rates by place of birth, 2002‑23

Note: The reference population is the working-age population (aged 15‑64). In the EU27, years between 2010 and 2020 have been subject to adjustments for the break in series caused by the change in the methodology of the European Labour Force Survey in 2021. Calculations have been made by the Secretariat using the adjusted series for the whole population provided by Eurostat. Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom: Labour Force Surveys; United States: Current Population Surveys.

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Annex Table 1.A.5. Labour force participation in OECD countries in 2023

	Labour force participation rate (foreign-born)	Labour force participation rate (native‑born)	Gap with the native‑born
Australia	79.9	80.4	‑0.6
Austria	76.7	78.7	‑2.0
Belgium	67.5	71.4	‑3.8
Canada	80.9	79.9	1.0
Chile	82.6	67.6	14.9
Colombia	70.5	66.8	3.7
Costa Rica	70.4	63.9	6.5
Czechia	82.4	76.8	5.6
Denmark	78.5	81.1	‑2.6
Estonia	82.9	81.5	1.5
Finland	78.5	80.0	‑1.5
France	70.1	74.6	‑4.5
Germany	73.3	81.7	‑8.4
Greece	73.4	69.2	4.2
Hungary	80.7	77.9	2.8
Iceland	89.0	86.4	2.6
Ireland	81.1	76.1	5.0
Italy	71.3	65.9	5.3
Japan¹	81.4	79.8	1.6
Korea²	71.2	71.9	‑0.7
Latvia	76.2	76.7	‑0.5
Lithuania	78.4	78.8	‑0.4
Luxembourg	79.2	67.6	11.6
Mexico	54.5	65.7	‑11.2
Netherlands	76.0	87.4	‑11.5
New Zealand	85.0	82.5	2.6
Norway	77.2	81.3	‑4.1
Poland	78.8	74.4	4.4
Portugal	83.5	76.7	6.8
Slovak Republic	81.9	76.4	5.5
Slovenia	75.9	75.1	0.7
Spain	77.9	73.6	4.3
Sweden	83.8	84.1	‑0.2
Switzerland	82.2	85.0	‑2.8
United Kingdom	80.4	78.6	1.8
United States	76.1	73.0	3.1
EU27	74.6	75.1	‑0.5
OECD average	77.4	76.2	1.1

Note: Gap with the native‑born refers to the difference between the corresponding rates of the foreign-born and native‑born populations.

1. The data for Japan refer to 2020 instead of 2023 and are therefore excluded from OECD average.

2. Rates for Korea are estimated for the population aged 15‑59 and refer to foreigners and immigrants who have been naturalised in the past 5 years, compared to nationals.

Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom: Labour Force Surveys; Japan: Population Census, Korea: Economically Active Population Survey and Survey on Immigrants‘ Living Conditions and Labour Force, Chile: Encuesta de Caracterizacion Socio‑economica Nacional (CASEN); Colombia: Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH); Costa Rica: Encuesta Nacional de Hogares (ENAHO), Mexico: Encuesta Nacional de Ocupacion y Emploe (ENOE); United States: CPS.

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Annex Table 1.A.6. Employment of foreign-born persons by industry, 2023

	Agriculture and fishing	Mining, Manufacturing and energy	Construction	Wholesale and retail trade	Hotels and restaurants	Education	Health	Activities of households as employers	Admin. and ETO	Other services	Total foreign-born employed (thousands)	Foreign-born in total employment (%)
Australia	1.3%	11.0%	7.4%	11.8%	9.0%	6.7%	14.8%	-	9.0%	29.1%	14	30.3%
Austria	0.8%	19.4%	10.8%	15.4%	10.8%	6.1%	4.8%	-	10.4%	21.4%	977	24.9%
Belgium	0.6%	11.7%	9.9%	12.2%	7.1%	6.0%	8.0%	-	21.7%	22.7%	896	20.3%
Czechia	1.3%	31.8%	12.7%	14.8%	6.6%	4.8%	1.2%	0.6%	7.3%	18.9%	280	6.3%
Denmark	-	-	4.0%	23.6%	13.2%	14.5%	20.2%	-	14.0%	10.4%	152	6.5%
Estonia	-	27.4%	10.5%	11.4%	5.9%	9.6%	-	-	7.0%	28.2%	64	11.0%
Finland	-	14.1%	7.8%	9.6%	10.1%	10.3%	11.0%	-	13.5%	23.5%	228	10.3%
France	1.2%	10.7%	11.1%	12.6%	8.6%	7.5%	8.3%	2.3%	14.2%	23.4%	3 207	12.9%
Germany	-	24.3%	8.8%	14.2%	8.5%	5.1%	7.0%	-	11.7%	20.6%	7 642	21.0%
Greece	9.7%	13.7%	16.3%	13.8%	17.1%	2.6%	2.1%	5.6%	7.7%	11.2%	303	8.2%
Hungary	3.2%	26.0%	13.1%	11.4%	4.7%	10.9%	2.4%	-	9.4%	18.8%	139	3.3%
Iceland	-	19.7%	5.8%	13.1%	11.9%	14.9%	6.3%	-	10.5%	17.8%	35	19.6%
Ireland	-	13.5%	7.9%	19.1%	15.7%	8.9%	10.0%	-	8.5%	16.4%	443	23.7%
Israel	0.5%	15.5%	3.7%	10.6%	3.2%	8.5%	16.1%	5.3%	10.6%	26.0%	801	27.8%
Italy	5.7%	22.2%	10.5%	10.5%	10.8%	2.5%	3.1%	13.0%	7.1%	14.6%	3 202	15.4%
Japan	3.6%	39.9%	6.8%	11.2%	9.2%	3.9%	4.8%	2.2%	0.2%	18.2%	957	2.0%
Latvia	-	21.9%	9.7%	17.9%	6.7%	8.7%	-	-	6.8%	28.3%	61	8.2%
Lithuania	-	41.9%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	58.1%	16	1.3%
Luxembourg	-	4.3%	7.1%	10.9%	4.8%	3.8%	5.2%	2.2%	21.9%	39.8%	165	60.7%
Netherlands	1.7%	13.6%	4.9%	17.1%	7.3%	7.1%	9.1%	-	14.5%	24.5%	1 206	15.0%
Norway	1.4%	11.9%	11.5%	11.0%	9.5%	8.6%	13.7%	-	12.8%	19.6%	516	21.7%
Poland	-	27.8%	10.9%	10.5%	11.3%	5.1%	-	-	8.3%	26.2%	245	1.6%
Portugal	2.3%	5.8%	11.8%	18.1%	15.8%	11.1%	5.0%	5.3%	10.5%	14.3%	434	10.7%
Slovak Republic	1.0%	21.4%	8.0%	19.5%	6.1%	4.0%	7.7%	-	9.3%	22.9%	23	1.0%
Slovenia	0.0%	29.2%	19.7%	11.1%	7.3%	4.5%	2.9%	0.0%	10.6%	14.6%	124	14.0%
Spain	5.0%	10.6%	10.6%	15.4%	17.3%	2.9%	3.1%	9.9%	8.2%	17.0%	4 181	22.2%
Sweden	0.5%	12.7%	5.3%	9.6%	6.9%	14.6%	12.7%	0.0%	13.3%	24.3%	1 042	23.8%
Switzerland	0.5%	17.4%	8.1%	13.3%	7.3%	7.1%	7.0%	2.2%	9.1%	28.0%	1 166	33.6%
United Kingdom	0.3%	8.2%	4.6%	10.6%	5.6%	8.9%	16.5%	0.2%	10.2%	34.9%	3 156	20.1%
United States	1.7%	11.7%	12.0%	12.0%	9.0%	5.9%	12.3%	1.1%	7.9%	26.4%	30 166	19.8%
EU27	2.3%	17.6%	9.5%	13.5%	10.3%	5.5%	6.0%	3.9%	11.1%	20.2%	25 559	15%
	Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	Mining & manufacturing	Construction	Wholesale & retail trade, hotels & restaurants	Electricity, transport, communication & finance	Business, personal, public service & others
Korea	7.0%	47.5%	10.6%	18.4%	3.0%	13.6%					869	3.6%

Note: A dash indicates that the estimate is not reliable enough for publication. ETO stands for extra-territorial organisations. The population refers to the employed population aged 15 to 64. Data for Australia and Japan refer to 2017 and 2020, respectively, and sector overrepresentation data is not available. Data for Israel and the Slovak Republic refer to 2020. Rates for Korea are estimated for the population aged 15‑59 and refer to foreigners and to immigrants who have been naturalised in the past 5 years, compared to nationals.

Source: European countries: Labour Force Surveys (Eurostat); Australia, Israel, the United Kingdom: Labour Force Surveys; Japan: Population Census; Korea: Economically Active Population Survey and Survey on Immigrants’ Living Conditions and Labour Force; United States: Current Population Surveys.

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Notes

← 1.  Permanent-type migration data presented in this section include new entries but also in-country changes of status from a temporary to a permanent status. The terms “permanent-type migration”, “permanent inflows/immigration”, and “admissions” are used interchangeably.

← 2.  Humanitarian migration in OECD permanent-type migration flows include recognised refugees under the 1951 UNHCR convention or other forms of protection but do not include Ukrainians under the Temporary Protection Directive in the EU or similar schemes in other OECD countries.

← 3.  Excluded from the scope of this section are non-labour market related categories (sportspersons, religious workers, etc), temporary authorisations delivered pending grant of a permanent-type permit, and authorisations pending change of employment status (job seeker) or legal status (asylum seekers). Where programmes dedicated to Ukrainians fleeing war are included in mainstreamed temporary worker programme (as in Canada), these specific programmes are excluded.