International migration outlook. 2025

Title page 1

Contents 7

Foreword 4

Editorial 5

Executive summary 12

1. Recent developments in international migration movements and labour market inclusion of immigrants 16

In Brief 17

Recent trends in international migration 18

Recent trends in the labour market outcomes of immigrants 61

References 72

Annex 1.A. Supplementary tables and figures 73

Notes 92

2. Recent developments in migration policy 93

In Brief 94

Major policy trends in 2024-2025 94

Regularisations related to employment 103

References 107

Notes 107

3. Recent developments in migrant integration policy 108

In Brief 109

Main developments in integration policy 110

Developments in the recognition of skills and qualifications 115

Digitisation and the use of Artificial Intelligence for integration 117

References 120

4. Immigrant integration: The role of firms 121

In Brief 122

Introduction 123

The framework 124

The immigrant earnings gap at entry in the host country labour market and over time 128

The role of firms, sectors and occupations in the immigrant earnings gap 132

Differences in the immigrant earnings gap by region-of-origin and sex 140

Conclusion 145

References 146

Annex 4.A. Data and methodology 149

Annex 4.B. Additional tables and figures 151

Notes 157

5. International migration of health professionals to OECD countries 159

In Brief 160

Introduction 161

Recent trends in international migration of doctors and nurses in the OECD 162

Evolving migration policies for health professionals in OECD countries 193

Overview of the recognition of foreign qualifications and licensing in health occupations in OECD countries 200

References 219

Annex 5.A. Evolution of the stock of foreign-trained health professionals 223

Annex 5.B. Intra OECD movements of migrant doctors, circa 2020/21 left axis (country of origin); right axis (country of residence) 228

Annex 5.C. Stocks of migrant doctors and nurses to the OECD by country of origin and emigration rates 229

Notes 233

6. Country notes: Recent changes in migration movements and policies 234

Annex A. Statistical annex 319

List of the members of the OECD Expert Group on Migration 434

Composition of the OECD International Migration Division 435

Tables 10

Table 1.1. Permanent migration to OECD countries, 2015-2024 20

Table 1.2. Postings active in a single country under Article 12, by receiving countries, 2023 37

Table 1.3. Inflows of international tertiary-level students in OECD countries, 2013 and 2019-2024 40

Table 1.4. International tertiary-level students enrolled in OECD countries, 2023 42

Table 1.5. New asylum applications by country where the application is filed, 2019-2024 46

Table 1.6. Labour market situation of immigrants in OECD countries, 2024 62

Table 1.7. The evolution of employment rates (ER) of displaced Ukrainians in selected OECD countries 64

Table 1.8. Employment, unemployment and participation rates by region of origin in selected OECD countries in 2023 and 2024, percentages 71

Table 3.1. Summary of key findings from the Mid-Term Review of the 2021-2027 EU Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 114

Table 4.1. Overqualification rates among recent immigrants 136

Table 5.1. Foreign-born doctors working in OECD countries, circa 2000/01, 2010/11 and 2020/21 166

Table 5.2. Foreign-born nurses working in OECD countries, circa 2000/01, 2010/11 and 2020/21 167

Table 5.3. Foreign-trained doctors working in OECD countries in 2000, 2010, and 2021-2023 171

Table 5.4. Foreign-trained nurses working in OECD countries in 2000, 2010, and 2021-2023 172

Table 5.5. Physicians and nurses working and not working in their trained occupation by place of birth and training, 2006, 2016 and 2021 181

Table 5.6. 25 main countries of origin for migrant doctors and nurses in the OECD, circa 2020/21 187

Table 5.7. Health workforce migration data availability status by occupation 189

Table 5.8. The 20 highest emigration rates for doctors and nurses, circa 2020/21 192

Table 5.9. Recognition and licensing of foreign-trained doctors (D) and nurses (N) in selected OECD countries 207

Figures 8

Figure 1.1. Permanent migration to the OECD, 2017-2024 19

Figure 1.2. Permanent migration to OECD countries relative to total population, 2024 22

Figure 1.3. Permanent migration to the OECD, by category of entry, 2014-2024 23

Figure 1.4. OECD countries with the largest increases in the number of displaced Ukrainians, 2024-2025 26

Figure 1.5. Number of refugees from Ukraine recorded in OECD countries, absolute numbers and per thousand of total population, June 2025 27

Figure 1.6. Refugees admitted to OECD countries under resettlement programmes, 2013-2024 28

Figure 1.7. Total flows of new temporary foreign workers to OECD countries, 2019-2024 30

Figure 1.8. Total grants of work authorisations in Poland, 2019-2024 31

Figure 1.9. Inflows of temporary labour migrants to the OECD, main programmes and top receiving countries, 2019-2024 33

Figure 1.10. Posting of workers active in a single country under Article 12 in top receiving European OECD countries, 2010‑23 36

Figure 1.11. International student flows to the OECD, 2014-2024 39

Figure 1.12. Family members of international tertiary-level students to selected OECD countries, 2024 41

Figure 1.13. Top 20 nationalities of international tertiary-level students enrolled in OECD countries, 2014 and 2023 43

Figure 1.14. New asylum applications since 1980 in the OECD 44

Figure 1.15. New asylum applications in top OECD receiving countries, 2024 45

Figure 1.16. Top 15 origin countries of asylum applicants in OECD countries, 2024 47

Figure 1.17. Two main origin countries of asylum seekers by country of asylum 48

Figure 1.18. Quarterly detections of illegal border crossings in the EU and in the United Kingdom 49

Figure 1.19. Overstayers in Japan and Korea 50

Figure 1.20. Third-country nationals returned from an EU country following an order to leave 52

Figure 1.21. Top 20 countries of origin of new immigrants to the OECD, 2022-2023 54

Figure 1.22. Share of women in migration flows to OECD countries, 2019, 2022 and 2023 55

Figure 1.23. Share of women in flows from top 20 countries of origin of new immigrants to the OECD, 2023 56

Figure 1.24. Distribution of the foreign-born population worldwide, 2024 57

Figure 1.25. Foreign-born population as a percentage of the total population in OECD countries, 2014 and 2024 58

Figure 1.26. Acquisitions of citizenships in OECD countries, 2000-2024 58

Figure 1.27. Acquisitions of citizenship as a percentage of foreign population, 2023-2024 59

Figure 1.28. Acquisitions of nationality in OECD countries: Top 20 countries of former nationality, 2023 and 2022 60

Figure 1.29. Changes in the employment rate by demographic group and country of birth in selected OECD countries, between 2023 and 2024 66

Figure 1.30. Share of young people not in education, employment or training ("NEET"), by place of birth, in selected OECD countries, 2019-2022 69

Figure 4.1. The region of origin of new immigrants in the labour market 127

Figure 4.2. The immigrant earnings gap decreases with time spent in the host country labour market 129

Figure 4.3. Hours worked explain part of the initial immigrant earnings gap and its decrease over time 130

Figure 4.4. Immigrants who remain employed in the host country after five years are positively selected 131

Figure 4.5. Working in lower-paying firms and sectors accounts for over half of the initial immigrant earnings gap 132

Figure 4.6. Immigrants work in lower quality firms at entry in the labour market 134

Figure 4.7. Working in lower paying occupations accounts for one-quarter of the immigrant initial earnings gap 135

Figure 4.8. Immigrants partially close the earnings gap by moving to better paying firms and sectors 137

Figure 4.9. Immigrants climb up the firm quality ladder towards larger, higher paying, more productive and less segregated firms 138

Figure 4.10. Immigrants do not close the earnings gap by moving to higher-paying occupations 139

Figure 4.11. The earnings gap by region of origin 141

Figure 4.12. The immigrant earnings gap by category of migration in Canada 142

Figure 4.13. The immigrant earnings gap is slightly larger among male immigrants at labour market entry 144

Figure 4.14. Work in lower-paying firms explains more of the immigrant earnings gap for male immigrants 145

Figure 5.1. The evolution of the density of doctors in OECD countries 163

Figure 5.2. The evolution of the density of nurses in OECD countries 163

Figure 5.3. Distribution of foreign-born doctors and nurses by country of residence 168

Figure 5.4. Percentage of foreign-born among doctors and among people with high level of education in different OECD countries, 2020/21 169

Figure 5.5. Percentage of foreign-born among nurses and among people with high level of education in different OECD countries, 2020/21 169

Figure 5.6. Evolution of medical undergraduate programme intake in Ireland and Romania 174

Figure 5.7. Share of annual inflow of doctors and nurses attributable to foreign-trained in 2023 176

Figure 5.8. Evolution of yearly inflows of foreign-trained doctors over 2000-2023 in selected OECD countries 176

Figure 5.9. Evolution of yearly inflows of foreign-trained nurses over 2000-2023 in selected OECD countries 177

Figure 5.10. Immigrant doctors in France, main countries of origin, 2021 179

Figure 5.11. Immigrant doctors in Switzerland, main countries of origin, 2021 179

Figure 5.12. Immigrant nurses in Australia, main countries of origin, 2021 180

Figure 5.13. Immigrant nurses in Canada, main countries of origin, 2021 180

Figure 5.14. Share of doctors and nurses born in EEA or OECD countries among all migrant doctors and nurses, circa 2020/21 183

Figure 5.15. Net migrant stocks over 500 between OECD countries for migrant doctors to and from the OECD, circa 2020/21 184

Figure 5.16. Share of migrant doctors by country of destination and main region of origin, circa 2020/21 185

Figure 5.17. Share of migrant nurses by country of destination and main region of origin, circa 2020/21 185

Figure 5.18. Share of migrant doctors and nurses originating from countries in the WHO SSL list 188

Figure 5.19. Trends in the share of foreign-born medical doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (2015-2023) 191

Figure 5.20. Evolution of emigration rate to the OECD for doctors (X axis) and nurses (Y axis) between 2000/01 and 2020/21, p.p. change 193

Figure 5.21. Spain inflows of foreign-trained doctors over 2003-2023 by country of training 204

Infographics 10

Infographic 1. Key facts and figures 15

Boxes 101

Box 2.1. Extension of temporary protection statuses for persons fleeing Ukraine 101

Box 3.1. Mid-term review of the Commission Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027 114

Box 4.1. Methodology 125

Box 4.2. Hours worked explain part of the initial immigrant earnings gap and its decrease over time 130

Box 4.3. Immigrant overqualification is widespread across OECD countries 136

Box 4.4. The integration of the native-born children of immigrants: The role of firms 140

Box 4.5. Earnings gaps and the role of firms by category of immigration - Evidence from Canada 142

Box 4.6. The integration of refugees: The role of firms 143

Box 1.1. OECD permanent and temporary migration statistics 19

Box 1.2. Displacement from Ukraine four years into the crisis 26

Box 1.3. Resettlement to the OECD continued increasing in 2024 28

Box 1.4. OECD Temporary labour migration statistics 29

Box 1.5. Trends in temporary labour migration to Poland 2019-2024 30

Box 1.6. Available data sources and their key limitations 49

Box 1.7. Data sources and limitations on overstayers in OECD countries 51

Box 1.8. Types of returns and data sources 52

Box 1.9. Labour market outcomes of displaced Ukrainians are steadily improving across the OECD 64

Box 5.1. Monitoring the international migration of health professionals 164

Box 5.2. Regional policies fuel the rapid rise of foreign-trained nurses in Belgium 173

Box 5.3. International training hubs deliver many graduates 173

Box 5.4. Canada's health workforce reflects both brain gain and brain waste 181

Box 5.5. Health workforce migration: A global perspective 188

Box 5.6. Health workforce migration trends in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates 190

Box 5.7. Migration pathways for skilled refugees in the health sector 199

Box 5.8. How can migrant health professionals practice in another country? 201

Box 5.9. System of recognition of professional qualifications in the EU 201

Box 5.10. Spain turns to Latin America to fill persistent doctor shortages 203

Box 5.11. Personalised counselling available for migrant health professionals seeking recognition of their medical qualifications in Germany 210

Box 5.12. Supporting displaced Ukrainian medical students in Germany 211

Box 5.13. Special measures for foreign-trained physicians and nurses in Poland during COVID-19 and the Ukrainian Displacement Crisis 213

Box 5.14. Medical Support Workers Scheme introduced in the United Kingdom 217

Box 5.15. New licensing pathways for foreign-trained doctors emerging across various US states 218

Annex Tables 10

Annex Table 1.A.1. Permanent migration flows to OECD countries by category, 2023 and 2024 73

Annex Table 1.A.2. Inflows of temporary labour migrants (selected categories), 2019-2024 74

Annex Table 1.A.3. Permits considered in the statistics on temporary labour migration and their characteristics 77

Annex Table 1.A.4. Postings of workers active under Article 12 in selected European OECD countries, by destination country, 2010-2023 83

Annex Table 1.A.5. Top 50 countries of origin of new immigrants to the OECD, 2022-2023 84

Annex Table 1.A.6. Labour force participation in OECD countries in 2024 89

Annex Table 1.A.7. Employment rates of persons aged 15-64 by place of birth and education level, OECD countries, 2024 90

Annex Table 1.A.8. Employment of foreign-born persons by industry, 2024 91

Annex Table 4.A.1. Linked employer-employee datasets by country 149

Annex Table 4.B.1. Counts, age and share of women among new immigrants in the labour market 151

Annex Table 4.B.2. Immigrant earnings over time in the labour market 152

Annex Table 4.B.3. Educational attainment of recent immigrants 152

Annex Table 4.B.4. Distribution of foreign- and native-born across industries 153

Annex Table 5.A.1. Inflows of foreign-trained doctors and new medical graduates in OECD countries in 2010 and 2021-2023 225

Annex Table 5.A.2. Inflows of foreign-trained nurses and new nursing graduates in OECD countries in 2010 and 2021-2023 226

Annex Table 5.C.1. Stocks of migrant doctors and nurses to the OECD by country of origin and emigration rates 229

Annex Figures 9

Annex Figure 1.A.1. Inflows of international students by nationality to selected OECD countries 85

Annex Figure 1.A.2. Employment rates by place of birth, 2004-2024 86

Annex Figure 1.A.3. Evolution of the gap in employment rates between men and women, by place of birth, 2004-2024 87

Annex Figure 1.A.4. Change in the labour force participation rate between 2023 and 2024, by place of birth and sex, population aged 15 to 64 88

Annex Figure 4.B.1. Immigrant earnings gaps after ten years 151

Annex Figure 4.B.2. Educational attainment does not explain immigrants working in lower-paying sectors and firms 154

Annex Figure 4.B.3. Earnings gaps at entry in the labour market, by region of origin 155

Annex Figure 4.B.4. Immigrant earnings gaps and contribution of firms at entry in the host country labour market 155

Annex Figure 4.B.5. Immigrant earnings gaps in the first and fifth year in the host country labour market, by region of origin 156

Annex Figure 5.A.1. Share of total physician and nurse stock growth (decrease) over 2010-2023 explained by foreign-trained 223

Annex Figure 5.B.1. Intra OECD movements of migrant doctors, circa 2020/21 left axis (country of origin); right axis (country of residence) 228

Statistical Annex Tables 319

Table A.1. Inflows of foreign population into selected OECD countries 322

Table B.1. Inflows of foreign population by nationality 323

Table A.2. Outflows of foreign population from selected OECD countries 341

Table A.3. New asylum requests in OECD countries 347

Table B.3. New asylum requests by nationality 348

Table B.4. Stocks of foreign-born population by country of birth 371

Table A.5. Stocks of foreign population by nationality in OECD countries 391

Table B.5. Stocks of foreign population by nationality 393

Table A.6. Acquisitions of nationality in OECD countries 412

Table B.6. Acquisitions of nationality by country of former nationality 414