Permanent migration to OECD countries declined by 1.6% in 2025, falling for the second consecutive year, but remained historically high at 6.1 million new permanent immigrants, 12.5% above its 2019 level, according to a new OECD report.
The International Migration Outlook 2026 shows that permanent migration, which broadly covers people moving for family, work or humanitarian reasons with a long-term right to stay, declined in several major destination countries, while inflows continued to increase in others. Family reunification remained the main reason for permanent migration, accounting for 45% of total inflows. Labour migration (20%) increased, while humanitarian migration (10%) declined significantly, falling by 26% in 2025.
Beyond recent migration trends, the report examines how migration can help OECD countries address longer-term economic challenges, including slowing productivity growth and labour shortages linked to ageing populations.
“Migration remains high, and immigrants now account for 16% of employment across the OECD,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said. “With ageing populations and slower productivity growth, countries cannot afford to waste the skills migrants bring. That means helping migrants move into jobs where they can contribute most, and giving immigrant entrepreneurs better access to finance, networks and business support.”
Immigrants accounted for 12% of the OECD population in 2025, up from 9% in 2015. In just over half of OECD countries, immigrants contributed at least 50% of employment growth between 2014 and 2024. However, the report finds that migration’s contribution to productivity depends on how effectively countries make use of migrants’ skills and support investment and innovation.
One in five STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates across OECD countries is foreign-born, and migrants are over-represented among researchers and founders of innovative firms. Yet migrants are also more likely to work in lower-productivity firms and sectors, with their skills often underutilised.
Many OECD countries have expanded programmes to attract highly skilled workers. The report calls for better recognition of foreign qualifications and closer matching of migrants’ skills to jobs, while cautioning that migrant recruitment should not replace investment in productivity and working conditions.
The report also examines migrant workers’ growing role in long-term care as ageing populations increase demand. International recruitment can help address shortages but must be accompanied by better working conditions, career opportunities and measures to retain workers.
International student inflows fell from 1.9 million in 2024 to 1.6 million in 2025, with the decline concentrated in traditional English-speaking destinations. In contrast, European countries continued to attract growing numbers of international students, especially Austria, Germany and Italy. China and India remained the largest source countries.
Asylum applications also declined across most OECD countries in 2025. Excluding the United States, applications fell by more than one-fifth compared with 2024, although they remained above pre-pandemic levels. Applications from Syrian nationals fell sharply, while those from several African nationalities rose. Indicators of irregular migration also declined in many OECD countries, while returns continued to increase.
Labour market outcomes for immigrants remained resilient in 2025. Almost 71% of immigrants were employed across the OECD, although migrant unemployment rates increased in more than two-thirds of countries. The employment rate of immigrant women reached 63.4%, 15.1 percentage points below that of immigrant men.
For further information, consult the International Migration Outlook 2026.
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