Migration data in Oceania
Oceania is comprised of island nations with few shared land borders spread across the Pacific Ocean. Traditionally, the ocean was seen to connect people through a ‘sea of islands’ (Hau’ofa et al., 1993), resulting in the region’s current identity as the ‘Blue Pacific Continent.’ Its 14 countries are grouped into four geopolitical sub-regions: Australia and New Zealand; Melanesia (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu); Micronesia (Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and Palau), and Polynesia (Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu). There are nine semiautonomous territories[1] in Oceania that do not maintain representation at the United Nations, and unless specified otherwise, these are not included in the following analyses.
Oceania is a region of migrants: there were an estimated 9.1 million migrants amongst the region’s 41.8 million people as of mid-year 2020 (UN DESA, 2020). With migrants comprising approximately 22 per cent of the population, the region far exceeds global averages. The countries with the highest proportion of migrants in their population are Australia (30%), New Zealand (29%), Palau (28%) and Nauru (20%). In contrast, on average, migrants represent only 2.2 per cent of the population in the region’s other countries[2].
More than half of the 2 million migrants originating from the countries and semiautonomous territories in Oceania remained in the region, reflecting both economic opportunity and sociopolitical ties. This includes more than 61,000 people from Oceania who had migrated to one of the nine semi-autonomous territories located within the Pacific Ocean. Some major destinations among these territories include American Samoa (18,248), New Caledonia (16,651) and Guam (15,370) (ibid.). In contrast, the majority of the 598,765 Australians living abroad have moved beyond the region, reflecting ongoing ties to the United Kingdom and the more recent origins of post-World War II migrants.
Historic and current trends
A history of movement
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the region’s earliest migrants, having first arrived on the continent 65,000 years ago (Clarkson et al., 2017), with Papua New Guineans arriving approximately 50,000 years ago (O’Connell, 2015). The islands of the Pacific Ocean were settled later in waves moving from west to east around 3,000 years ago (Lee, 2009). Aotearoa/New Zealand was the last major land mass to be settled between 1250 and 1300 (New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, n.d.). Inter-island migration and trade was a feature of the pre-colonial Pacific communities (Choo, 1994).
Colonization of the region involved power struggles between the United Kingdom, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States and Japan. The only country to resist colonial appropriation was Tonga, which remained self-governing throughout (Lee, 2009). Strong postcolonial ties remain with the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and France. Colonization instigated new waves of migration to the region, kicked off by missionaries and traders (Matsuda, 2012). Around 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia in the early colonial period, while more than 62,000 South Sea Islanders were brought in as indentured labourers in a process known as “blackbirding” (National Museum of Australia, 2020). In this period, British colonialists also brought substantial numbers of indentured labourers from India to Fiji (Lal, 2012). The region’s history of human movement is reflected in current movement within the region and with former colonial powers.
Current immigration trends
Australia, the largest country in terms of population, land mass, and economic activity, is the region’s lead host of migrants. The country has maintained a large immigration programme over many decades, recruiting migrants to tackle population concerns and address labour shortages since the end of World War II (Richards, 2008). As a result, at mid-year 2020, 30 per cent of residents of Australia, 7.7 million people, were born in another country (UN DESA, 2020). While they represent every country in the world, the main countries of origin were: the United Kingdom (1,29 million), China (653, 232), New Zealand (611, 266), India (579, 264), and the Philippines (286,303) (ibid.).
New Zealand is the second major destination for migrants to the region. Almost 29 per cent of its population – approximately 1.4 million of its 4.8 million residents – were born in another country (ibid.). At mid-year 2020, it hosted sizeable numbers of migrants from the United Kingdom (286,746), China (144,207), India (122,506), Australia (85,289), and South Africa (73,846) (ibid.).
The remaining 75,479 migrants in countries in the region were dispersed across the Pacific Island countries. Almost half of these live in Papua New Guinea (including 11,429 Indonesians, 9,219 Australians and 1,783 New Zealanders), and another 14, 087 migrants live in Fiji (ibid.).
Migration and the economy: ‘Brain Drain’ versus Remittance Gain
For many Pacific Island countries, the emigration of workers can cause shortages in key professions, but results in the benefit of remittances from migrants and new skills amongst returnees. For instance, the “brain drain” of health professionals emigrating from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga has contributed to a shortage of health workers in those countries (Yamamoto et al., 2012). Meanwhile, remittances account for a significant share of the GDP in the region. In 2023 two of the top 10 remittance-receiving countries in the world (by share of GDP) were in the Pacific region , including 41 per cent of Tonga’s GDP – the highest of any country in the world, and Samoa (28%)(World Bank, 2024). Other countries in the region where remittances constitute a high percentage of their GDP are Vanuatu (12%), Marshall Islands (12%) and Timor-Leste (10%) (ibid.). States in Oceania with increases in remittances in terms of money received in 2023 were Fiji (+9% to reach USD 500 million), Samoa (+4.2% to USD 85 billion) and Timor-Leste (+31% to USD 244 million)(ibid.). Growth in remittances declined in 2023 in Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. In Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia, and saw no change in Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Declines in remittances were attributed to an improvement in domestic tourism industry requiring workers to remain at home, or other reasons for residents to not emigrate (ibid.).
Migration and the economy: International students and tourism
Migration is integral to the economy of Oceania. The ageing populations of some countries rely on migrants to maintain the relative proportion of working-age adults, to counter the departure of citizens, and to compensate for low birth rates that fall below population replacement levels (Australian Government Productivity Commission, 2006; Carrington et al., 2008). International education is a significant industry for both Australia and New Zealand. In Australia the industry was worth AUD 36.4 billion in the financial year 2022-2023, accepting 590,000 international students in 2023 (Australian government, 2024). In New Zealand the industry was worth NZD 3.7 billion in 2019 with 72,000 student visas approved in financial year 2022-2023 (New Zealand Immigration, 2024). The region is also reliant on a strong tourism industry, with some countries experiencing bursts of tourist arrivals that far outnumber resident populations. Palau’s 18,000 residents hosted over 35,000 visitors in 2023, almost twice its population, while in 2019 this figure was five times its population (UN DESA, 2024; Palau Government, 2023). Similarly, Fiji’s 922,000 residents hosted 636,000 tourists (UN DESA, 2024; Fiji Bureau of Statistics, 2023), with tourism contributing 34 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2019 (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2019).
Migration and the economy: Seasonal labour schemes
Australia and New Zealand offer seasonal labour schemes that enable short- to medium-term migration to fill labour shortages in industries with seasonal demand (Brickenstein, 2015). Australia offers the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, which merged the previous Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme and took effect in April 2022, to allow employers in sectors short on local workers (including agriculture and aged care) to recruit workers from nine Pacific islands and Timor-Leste. Workers can be hired for seasonal positions up to nine months in 12 months, or for longer-term roles (1-4 years). The AUD 94.3 billion agriculture industry relies heavily on the labour thus supplied, along with working holiday makers (Australian Government 2024a).
In New Zealand, the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme allows the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from nine Pacific Island nations for seasonal work. Workers can stay in New Zealand for up to seven months (nine for workers from Tuvalu and Kiribati) in eleven months. Implemented in 2007, as demand from employers has increased, the cap on places has increased from 8,000 in 2009 to 19,000 in 2022/23 (New Zealand Immigration, n.d.).
Forced migration: Refugees
As of 2022, the top three countries in the region hosting refugees and asylum seekers were Australia (117,100), Papua New Guinea (13,800) and New Zealand (3,700) (UNHCR, 2024). In 2023, most refugees and asylum seekers in Australia originated from Malaysia (16,800), China (13,900), the Islamic Republic of Iran (9,800), Ukraine (8,300), India (8,300) and Afghanistan (7,000)(UNHCR, 2024). Australia and New Zealand have allocated 20,000 places and 1,500 annual places respectively to resettlement (Australian Government, 2024; UNHCR, 2023). Within New Zealand’s quota, on 24 March 2022, the governments of Australia and New Zealand announced that New Zealand will resettle refugees subject to Australia’s offshore transfer policy and will annually for three years resettle 150 refugees located on Nauru or in Australia (UNHCR, 2022). In 2023, 14,377 refugees were resettled to Australia through resettlement schemes, most of them originating from Afghanistan (5,760), Syrian Arab Republic (4,738) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (980) (UNHCR, 2024). To New Zealand, of 2386 resettled refugees, the most common countries of origin were Syrian Arab Republic (693), Myanmar (496) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (308) (ibid.).
Forced migration: Displacement due to Disasters and Conflict
Nine of the 14 states have disaster displacement data available. The highest numbers of displacements due to disaster in 2023 were in Vanuatu (69,000), New Zealand (14,000), Papua New Guinea (13,000), Fiji (6,700), and Australia (4,700) (IDMC, 2024). An estimated 64,000 or the 69,000 displacements in Vanuatu were attributed to two cyclones (Judy and Kevin) which hit within 48 hours of each other. The highest numbers of internally displaced persons were in Papua New Guinea (7,500), Vanuatu (2,400), New Zealand (2,300), Australia (1,300) and Solomon Islands (640) (ibid.). The disaster events most affecting this region are storms (87,000 displacements out of 108,000), volcanic activity (12,000 displacements), floods (5,700) and earthquakes (1,900) (ibid.).
Conflict and violence triggered 2,000 internal displacements in Oceania, all of which occurred in Papua New Guinea. Internally displaced people due to conflict increased sharply in the region from 25,000 IDPs in 2021, to 86,000 in 2022 and 88,000 in 2023. In 2023 87,000 IDPs in the region due to conflict were in Papua New Guinea, and 1,000 were in the Solomon Islands (ibid.).
Forced migration: Anticipating climate- and environmentally-induced migration
Many of the countries of Oceania are acutely vulnerable to the impacts of environmental and climate change. While planned relocation is the least preferred option (Gharbaoui and Blocher, 2018), governments agree that migration linked to adverse climate impacts will become more common as disasters become more severe and impacted territories become uninhabitable (McMichael et al., 2019). Kiribati is expected to be unfit for human habitation by 2035, with existing internal displacement from low-lying islands and coastal regions causing overcrowding and limited access to basic resources (Cauchi et al., 2019). Planned relocation of communities has already occurred in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu (IOM and UN-OHRLLS, 2019), and several Pacific countries have developed national frameworks to plan for this phenomena, including Fiji (2023) and Vanuatu (2018). As a potential destination country, New Zealand’s Cabinet (2018) proposed an action plan for responding to climate-induced displacement and migration in the Pacific. A regional climate mobility framework was completed in 2023, with the support of the Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security Programme (Pacific Islands Forum, 2023). A landmark decision from the UN Human Rights Committee (2020) recognizes that States shall refrain from sending people back to situations in which the impacts of climate change in the country of origin pose a risk to their life with dignity (principle of non-refoulement). The Committee’s conclusions underscore the urgency for States to open new regular migration pathways and provide temporary and longer-term forms of protection to people who would face life-threatening climate risks in case of return to their country of origin. The decision also highlights that the affected States need the support of the international community to address the immense challenges posed by climate change (IOM, 2020b).
Forced migration: Australia's offshore processing arrangements
Australia has a national asylum system in place to determine whether people claiming asylum are refugees and are owed protection (UNHCR, n.d.), and implements policies which prevent people who arrive by boat from seeking asylum. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs (n.d.), anyone who attempts an unauthorized boat voyage to Australia is turned back to their point of departure, returned to their home country or transferred to another country for processing. This includes transfer to a processing centre in Nauru and, until 31 December 2021, Papua New Guinea (Australian Border Force, 2019a; Refugee Council of Australia, 2024). Between 2012 and April 2024, 4,300 people were transferred under these arrangements to Papua New Guinea or Nauru. 1,400 have been resettled in a third country, 1,000 have been resettled in the USA, and another 1,000 were returned to their country of origin. 840 were returned to Australia before this option was stopped in 2013, and 160 have been resettled in New Zealand. 64 migrants are estimated to still be in both Nauru and Papua New Guinea respectively (Refugee Council Australia, 2024).
Key UN bodies, including the UNHCR and OHCHR, have criticized these arrangements for failing to comply with human rights standards.
COVID-19
As a result of COVID-19, all countries in Oceania introduced stringent border restrictions, including closed airports, seaports and land border crossings and strict quarantine measures. Mobility restrictions due to COVID-19 also disrupted labour migration as well as critical sources of employment and income the Pacific region (World Bank, 2021). Thousands of migrants in Australia had lost their jobs due to the downturn, or their right to work due to the expiry of their original visa (Australian Red Cross, 2020).
Australia and New Zealand were both hit hard by the lack of international students during the pandemic, but are slowly starting to reopen their borders for international students again and seasonal labourers (Government of New Zealand, 2020, 2022; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021; Australian Department of Home Affairs, 2021; Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2022).
Data sources
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division publishes data on international migration including the international migrant stock for all countries (including demographics, origin and destination, and net migration), analyses of key trends, and some analysis of relevant policies. Its regional definition of Oceania includes nine territories not included here. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees provides Population Data including via its Refugee Population Statistics Database. Data is available for all countries, with capacity to segment based on protection status, demographics, and geography.
The Pacific Community’s Statistics for Development Division plays a key role in supporting and coordinating the delivery of official statistics for 22 Pacific Island countries and territories (excluding Australia and New Zealand). It does not focus on migration, but includes population and visitor arrivals, which are collated in the Pacific Data Hub. Each country’s department of immigration and bureau of statistics provide additional data.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre’s Pacific Response to Disaster Displacement Project is working to generate new evidence to better understand, plan for, prevent, and respond to disaster displacement in the Pacific. This includes working with the National Disaster Management Offices in the Pacific to collect and analyse relevant information, and to disseminate these data via the IDMC Global Internal Displacement Database and the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix.
Academic work on migration in Oceania is not collated in a single site, but rather within supra‑regional (Asia-Pacific) or national collections. Migration centres including a focus on Asia include the Migration Policy Institute’s Asia and Pacific regional page and the Mixed Migration Centre Asia.
Strengths and limitations of the data sources
Migration data in Australia and New Zealand is comprehensive and timely, with data continuously collected at border processing points and triangulated against current and historical census data. The smaller countries in Oceania do not always have the same resources to invest in comprehensive migration records and may rely on censuses or manual data collection methods to compile migration data. Under-resourcing may affect the quality of data as well as reporting regularity. As an example of this issue, the most recent annual statistics for Kiribati regarding arrivals and departures are from 2017, and they include a note that the figures from its second major point of entry may be understated due to non-availability of arrival and departure cards. In addition, the figures reported do not separate out residents and visitors.
The Pacific Community’s Statistics for Development Division anticipates when all member countries will undertake a census and other national surveys.
The data for Overseas Visitor Arrivals collated in the Pacific Data Hub include tourists and excursionists (primarily day visitors from cruise ships), but does not include data on migrants.
UN DESA datasets report on nine semi-autonomous territories that are not included here. While the modest size of these populations has minimal impacts on overall regional trends, many of these host large migrant communities as a share of total population.
Finally, reporting on migration data is affected by the increasing number of people holding dual citizenship (Alarin and Goodwin, 2017). Over 90 per cent of countries of Oceania allow dual citizenship (MACIMIDE, 2020), and this contributes to circular migration and remittance patterns (Naujoks, 2020). However, these migrants may not be detectable in national datasets which do not count citizens in migration flows.
Regional processes
The principal regional intergovernmental forum is the Pacific Islands Forum, which works to enhance cooperation amongst its 18 Member States. The annual Leaders' Summit is the peak regional political meeting for discussions on regional cooperation and integration. Within this, the Smaller Island States collaborate on shared challenges presented by a small population, limited natural resources, and remoteness.[2]Decisions made by the Pacific Islands Forum and coordinated by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat are implemented by the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP). The CROP works to improve cooperation, coordination, and collaboration amongst the various intergovernmental organizations in the region. CROP organizations include the Pacific Community, which delivers technical assistance, policy advice, training, and research services.
The only regional forum dedicated to migration is the Pacific Immigration Development Community. Established in 1996, it provides a forum for immigration agencies to discuss issues of mutual interest, foster cooperation and assistance, strengthen Members’ territorial borders, enhance entry system integrity, and modernise national immigration legal frameworks. Membership is open to 21 countries and territories across the Pacific, including all the countries of Oceania. It publishes policy briefs and reports on an occasional basis, some of which are made available to the public.
The countries of Oceania are often incorporated within the larger geopolitical region of the Asia Pacific. The inter-state consultation mechanism on migration in Asia-Pacific is the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (“Bali Process”). Operating since 2002, the Bali Process raises awareness of the consequences of people smuggling, trafficking in persons, and related transnational crime. The forum aims to provide a space for policy dialogue, information sharing, and practical cooperation to help the region address these challenges. All countries of Oceania are members except for the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Tuvalu. IOM's Pacific Strategy (2022-2026) includes research, data and evidence as one of the cross-cutting considerations in programming. The strategy aims to address three pillars: resilience to climate change and disaster related human mobility; labour mobility and human development; and governance for border management and migrant protection.
Global developments will likely invigorate regional mechanisms dealing with migration. The Terms of Reference for a new Regional UN Network on Migration for Asia and the Pacific were finalised in early 2020. On 19 March 2021, a regional follow-up for Asia and the Pacific, and review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) concluded with a call for greater collaboration among countries in the region to implement the GCM (IOM, 2021).[3]
Free movement arrangements
Oceania does not have a single shared migration zone, but certain agreements facilitate human mobility within the region.
Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand have maintained free movement between their countries under various mechanisms since the 1920s. The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, reinforced by the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Treaty Agreement, enables citizens to visit, live and work in each country indefinitely. While there is no cap on numbers, health and character requirements apply. As of mid-2020, 611,000 New Zealanders lived in Australia, while 85,000 Australians lived in New Zealand (UN DESA, 2020). While such migration is indefinite, since 2001, New Zealanders in Australia are issued with a class of ‘temporary’ visa that limits their access to certain benefits such as welfare payments.
New Zealand and the Pacific
New Zealand has always maintained a strong relationship with Pacific communities, recognising the shared origins of the Maōri with their regional neighbours. As a result, New Zealand is host to significant diaspora communities (Bedford et al., 2007). In addition to regional seasonal labour provisions, New Zealand also maintains two programmes to enable some Pacific Island nationals to migrate permanently. Under the Pacific Access Category, a maximum of 650 applicants with a job offer can migrate permanently to New Zealand from Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu and Kiribati. In addition, 1,100 visas are issued to Samoan citizens under the Samoa Quota annually.
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA) has been signed by 12 Pacific island states and territories to enable progressive implementation of free trade measures.[4]
Pacific region
The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus is a regional free trade agreement which came into force in December 2020. and facilitates temporary visas in the region for skilled workers. Arrangements for unskilled or semi-skilled workers remain separate. In the year ending June 2023, New Zealand accepted 16,144 recognised seasonal employee workers rom the Pacific to work in agriculture and horticulture, who remitted over USD 116 million. As of July 2024, PACER Plus had been signed and ratified by Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Kiribati, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Cook Islands; and signed but not yet ratified by Nauru.
Further reading
International Organization for Migration
2023 Asia-Pacific Migration Data Report 2022. IOM Asia-Pacific Regional Data Hub, Bangkok.
2022 IOM Pacific Strategy (2022-2026). IOM, Canberra
World Bank
2021 Pacific Labor Mobility, Migration and Remittances in Times of COVID-19 : Summary Report. World Bank, Washington D.C.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
2020 International Migration mid-2020 . United Nations, New York.
Lee, H. and S. Tupai Francis (eds.)
2009 Migration and Transnationalism: Pacific Perspectives. ANU E-Press, Canberra.
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
2015 Asia-Pacific Migration Report 2015: Migrants Contributions to Development.
Hugo, G.
2014 “Change and Continuity in Australian International Migration Policy.” International Migration Review, 48(3):868-890.
Leeves G.
2009 “Migration Plans and Received Remittances: Evidence from Fiji and Tonga” International Migration Review, 43(1):160-177.
Hermann, E., W. Kempf and T. Meijl (eds.)
2016 Belonging in Oceania: Movement, Place‐Making and Multiple Identifications. Berghahn, New York.
Zubrzycki, J.
1981 “International Migration in Australasia and the South Pacific” International Migration Review. 1981;15(1_suppl):158-180.
Bedford, R., E. Ho and J. Lidgard
2001 “Immigration Policy and New Zealand’s Development into the 21st Century: Review and Speculation.” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 10(3-4):585-616.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
2019 International Migration 2019. United Nations, New York.
Lee, H. and S. Tupai Francis (eds.)
2009 Migration and Transnationalism: Pacific Perspectives. ANU E-Press, Canberra.
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
2015 Asia-Pacific Migration Report 2015: Migrants Contributions to Development.
Hugo, G.
2014 “Change and Continuity in Australian International Migration Policy.” International Migration Review, 48(3):868-890.
Leeves G.
2009 “Migration Plans and Received Remittances: Evidence from Fiji and Tonga” International Migration Review, 43(1):160-177.
Hermann, E., W. Kempf and T. Meijl (eds.)
2016 Belonging in Oceania: Movement, Place‐Making and Multiple Identifications. Berghahn, New York.
Zubrzycki, J.
1981 “International Migration in Australasia and the South Pacific” International Migration Review. 1981;15(1_suppl):158-180.
Bedford, R., E. Ho and J. Lidgard
2001 “Immigration Policy and New Zealand’s Development into the 21st Century: Review and Speculation.” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 10(3-4):585-616.
[1] These are: American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Tokelau, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Migrants represent 27 per cent of the nearly 880,000 people resident in these territories (ibid.).
[2] These are (in ascending order of population): Nauru (11,000), Tuvalu (12,000), Palau (18,000), Marshall Islands (59,000), Micronesia (Federated States of) (115,000), and Kiribati (119,000).
[3] In this region: nine voted yes, Australia abstained, and four were non-voting, as reported here.
[4] This does not include Australia, New Zealand, Marshall Islands or Palau.