OECD: Highest level of migration – Switzerland also sets a record
Published: Thursday, Nov 14th 2024, 14:30
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In 2023, more people than ever before migrated to the 38 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the second year in a row. A total of 6.5 million migrants arrived. Switzerland also recorded an all-time high with 144,500 immigrants.
This is according to the OECD Migration Outlook 2024, which the Paris-based organization published on Thursday. According to the report, the increase in temporary labor migration and the record number of asylum applications are particularly noteworthy. However, almost a third of migration is still due to family reunification.
Switzerland also recorded an increase in asylum seekers. Overall, the number of applications rose by 23% to just over 30,000 in 2023. However, the largest share of immigration, over 70%, comes from an EU or EFTA member state.
This can be attributed to the free movement of persons and the economy's need for labor. Immigration from EU/EFTA states grew by 14.1 percent, while immigration from third countries increased by 6.3 percent. A total of 2.3 million foreigners lived in Switzerland.
Of the 38 OECD countries, the USA recorded the highest level of immigration with 1.2 million migrants. This is the highest level since 2006.
Looking at all OECD members, new immigration records were set in a good third of them, particularly in the UK (747,000) and also in Canada (472,000) and France (298,000). In Denmark, Estonia, Israel. Italy, Lithuania and New Zealand, on the other hand, immigration figures fell.
38 countries are members of the OECD, including the industrialized nations of Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
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