Annual new permanent migration flows represent less than 1% of the population in nearly all OECD countries (Figure 4.7). Only five countries have permanent migration flows above 1.5%, three of which have the smallest populations in the OECD (Estonia (2.4%), Iceland (3.6%), and Luxembourg (4.4%)), alongside New Zealand (3.0%) and Switzerland (1.7%). Japan, Mexico and the Slovak Republic are the only three OECD countries where permanent migration represented less than 0.1% of the population.
Across OECD countries, permanent migration flows increased by 26% in 2022 and permanent migration to OECD countries reached its highest level since 2005. The record high levels of permanent migration were driven by increased humanitarian and labour migration, the latter being in part related to labour and skills shortages experienced by many OECD countries. As a result, in most OECD countries, permanent migration relative to population was higher in 2022 than over the period of 2013‑19 (Figure 4.7). New permanent migration flows increased by over 1 percentage point between 2013‑19 and 2022 in Estonia and Iceland, which received increasing inflows in the last years, and New Zealand, due to an exceptional increase in permanent migration based on a one‑off residence visa system for certain temporary work visa holders in 2022.
On average in the OECD, more than 10% of the population was foreign-born in 2022 (Figure 4.8). The share of foreign-born within the population was highest in Australia, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Switzerland, where at least one‑in-four people were foreign-born. Luxembourg is the country with the highest share of foreign-born people – almost 50% of its population. Over the past decade, the share of foreign-born persons in the total population increased in all OECD countries except Greece, Israel and the Baltic States. Over two‑thirds of OECD countries have an immigrant population exceeding 10% of the population, while only three countries (Japan, Mexico and Poland) have a share below 3%. On average, 17% of immigrants have lived in their host country for up to five years.
Although foreign-born women have higher fertility levels than native‑born women in most OECD countries, migrants’ TFR is below the replacement rate (2.1 children per woman) in two‑thirds of OECD countries (Figure 4.9). The differences in fertility levels between native‑ and foreign-born women vary across OECD countries. Costa Rica has the largest gap in TFR between native‑ (1.4 children per woman) and foreign-born women (3.7 children per woman) at 2.3, while the Netherlands has the smallest gap at 0.04. The TFR of native‑born women was higher than among their foreign-born peers in only nine countries – Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Japan, the Slovak Republic and Türkiye.
