GENEVA, December 1, Reuters - Migration between rich countries has increased while conflict and climate change have increased internal displacement in fragile states that many people can't leave, the International Organization for Migration IOM said on Wednesday.
Eighteen of the top 20 countries of origin for migrants in 2020 were highly developed, up from seven in 1995, said Marie McAuliffe, head of the U.N. migration agency's research division and editor-in-chief of its 2022 World Migration Report.
In 2020, the number of internally displaced increased to 55 million globally, up from 51 million in 2019 - a vulnerability exacerbated by the COVID 19 epidemic, which has grounded many would-be migrants.
McAuliffe told reporters that we are at risk from an international mobility divide with potential consequences for global inequality.
For the relatively rich, the Schengen area of Europe has provided migration opportunities for some 400 million European citizens, allowing Portuguese citizens to live and work in Germany.
The IOM said that international migration pathways for millions of people in developing countries have narrowed, denying many opportunities for betterment that migration has traditionally offered.
Afghans, for example, don't have the power passports of more stable countries. Many of them can't get access to passports, and even those who can't face barriers to international travel, McAuliffe said.
Of the 55 million internally displaced persons in 2020, 48 million fled conflict and violence and seven million were uprooted by disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires, which are often caused by climate change.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon, heavy rain and flooding resulted in around 279,000 and 116,000 new displacements.
While COVID 19 kept many millions of people grounded around the world, the global displaced population grew and new internal displacements also increased, McAuliffe said.