Labor migration worldwide - statistics & facts
With increased globalization and ease of travel in recent decades, more and more people are moving to another country to live and work and thus becoming migrant laborers. In the European Union, for instance, the free movement policy makes it possible for EU-citizens to live and work in other EU countries, which has resulted in a high number of people migrating from Eastern European countries to the wealthier Western European neighbors. A migrant laborer in theory does not intend to stay in the country the person is moving to, although many migrant workers end up residing in their host country permanently. Defining the exact number of migrant laborers is challenging as there is no clear definition of when a migrant worker becomes an expat. Moreover, many migrant workers are unregistered and live under harsh conditions. Nevertheless, a migrant worker is usually defined as someone of working age (15-64 years) who stays for a limited period of time in a country outside of their home country and is registered in the workforce there. In 2019, there were estimated to be around 169 million migrant workers in the world.
