Until 2020, the flow of people from the Asia/Pacific region into the OECD had continuously increased since 2000 (Figure 3.10). However, this inflow fell markedly at the beginning of the COVID‑19 pandemic, as the number of migrants from Asia/Pacific countries into the OECD more than halved (OECD/ADBI/ILO, 2021[1]). In 2021, almost 50% of Asian/Pacific migrants to the OECD came from China and India. The decrease in the number of emigrants into the OECD was largest in Thailand and Viet Nam, where the migration flow to the OECD fell by roughly 70% between 2019 and 2021.
In most Asia/Pacific countries, the number of international students has increased steadily since 2013, with a slight decrease in 2021 (Figure 3.11). Unlike the strong decrease in the number of migrants from the Asia/Pacific region into the OECD at the onset of the pandemic, the number of enrolled international students continued to increase in 2020. International students from China and India made up 64% of all international students in OECD countries from the Asia/Pacific region in 2021 (OECD, 2023[2]).
Remittance flows to Asia and the Pacific have continuously increased since 2000. Of all remittances sent to Asian/Pacific countries in 2023, more than half went to India (33%), China (14%) and the Philippines (11%) (Figure 3.12.). Remittances sent by Asian/Pacific migrants to their countries of origin amounted to USD 362 billion in 2023, accounting for more than one‑third of all global remittance flows (USD 860 billion). Remittances constitute a significant share of gross domestic product in some of the countries of origin, as, for example, in Kyrgyzstan (20%), Nepal (27%), Tajikistan (38%) and Tonga (44%).
