Human mobility data in Eastern Asia

Last updated on 31 July 2024

Contents

Key trends
Past and present mobility patterns

Human mobility in Eastern Asia has played a significant role in shaping the subregion’s socioeconomic history and remains a significant subregion of origin and destination. As of mid-year 2020, there were an estimated 14.8 million international migrants globally from Eastern Asia ¹. – China; Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Macao Special Administrative Region, China; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Japan, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea.

Migration from and to Eastern Asia is mostly intraregional. Nearly 45 per cent of all migrants from Eastern Asia lived in other countries and areas within Asia. Approximately 86 per cent and 59 per cent of the 9 million international migrants resident in Eastern Asia as of mid-year 2020 were from countries and areas within Asia and Eastern Asia respectively (GMDAC analysis based on UN DESA, 2020).

Key trends

Of the 14.8 million international migrants from Eastern Asia, 8 out of 9 lived in high-income countries. Among destination countries and areas, the highest number of emigrants from Eastern Asia were in the United States of America (3.8 million), Hong Kong SAR, China (2.5 million), Japan (1.2 million), Canada (1.1 million) and Australia (945,000) (UN DESA, 2020). However, destination regions have changed over the years. The share of all international migrants from Eastern Asia residing within Asia dropped from 54 per cent at mid-year 1990 to 45 per cent at mid-year 2020. During the same period, the share in Europe rose from 8 per cent to 12 per cent (GMDAC analysis of UN DESA, 2020). China (10.5 million), Republic of Korea (2.2 million) and Japan (808,800) were the three countries in the subregion from which the highest number of international migrants had left. Globally, China had the fourth highest number of emigrants as of mid-year 2020 (UN DESA, 2020).

An estimated 9 million international migrants resided in countries and areas within Eastern Asia as of mid-year 2020. Of these, nearly 95 per cent were hosted in Hong Kong SAR, China (3 million), Japan (2.8 million), the Republic of Korea (1.7 million) and China (1 million). More than 7 out of 9 international migrants who lived in Eastern Asia as of mid-year 2020 were from low-income countries. As of mid-year 2020, China (4.3 million), Viet Nam (829,000) and the Republic of Korea (614,000) were the top three countries of origin of international migrants who resided in Eastern Asia (GMDAC analysis of UN DESA, 2020).

In 2019, migrant workers constituted 0.5 per cent of the labour force in Eastern Asia (ILO, 2021). This share was the lowest globally partly due to the high number of workers in the labour force; in 2023, Eastern Asia was the subregion with the highest number of people of working-age in the population (ILO, 2024). However, countries with aging populations in the region have been attracting more labour migrants in recent years. In Japan, the total number of migrants in the workforce grew by 24 per cent between 2019 and 2024 and in the Republic of Korea, the number of migrant workers increased by 40 per cent in the last decade (Immigration Services Agency of Japan, 2024; Statistics Korea, 2023; as cited in IOM, 2024 forthcoming).

Remittances

USD 62.6 billion – an estimated 7 per cent of all remittances globally in 2023 – were received in Eastern Asian countries and areas. In 2023, the third highest amount of remittances globally were received in China (USD 49.5 billion). China has been among the top three countries of remittance inflows for more than a decade. An estimated USD 37.6 billion of remittances were sent from Eastern Asian countries and areas in 2023. Of these, the highest amounts were sent from China (USD 20.2 billion) and the Republic of Korea (USD 10.3 billion) (GMDAC analysis of World Bank - KNOMAD, 2024).

Countries and areas in Eastern Asia are popular origins and destinations for international students. In 2021, an estimated 1.2 million international students from Eastern Asia were in tertiary education outside their countries of origin. An estimated 410,300 international students lived in Eastern Asia in 2021. Between 2012 and 2020, the number of international students in the subregion had more than tripled. With 1 million and 221,700 international students respectively, China was both the country of origin and destination country of the highest number of international students (GMDAC analysis of UNESCO, 2023).

As of the end of 2023, Eastern Asia hosted more than 79,000 people of concern: nearly 27,000 refugees and people in refugee-like situations, more than 51,000 asylum-seekers and 766 people under UNHCR’s statelessness mandate (GMDAC analysis of UNHCR, 2024).

In Eastern Asia, an estimated 4.8 million internal displacements occurred in 2023 due to disasters and as of the end of 2023, 677,000 people were living in internal displacement in the subregion. Since IDMC started publishing data in 2008, the highest numbers of internal displacements due to disasters in the subregion were in 2008 (18.7 million) and 2010 (16 million). In the decade between 2014 and 2023, China was among the top five countries globally with the highest numbers of internal displacements due to disasters (GMDAC analysis of IDMC, 2024).

Past and present mobility patterns

1900s to 1950s

The discovery of gold in the United States of Americas and colonial governments in Southeast Asia seeking labourers spurred migration from China in the second half of the 1800s. Chinese migrants moved as free migrants, indentured labourers and those using the “credit-ticket system during this period. However, the Chinese Exclusion Act passed by the American government in 1882, which was renewed and expanded in 1892 and 1902, suspended Chinese labour migration to the United States of America. This – and other exclusion policies in Northern America and Oceania – shifted the main destinations of Chinese migrants to Southeast Asia. In the early 1900s, over 100,000 people moved annually from Hong Kong SAR, China and Amoy to Southeast Asia. By the start of the second World War, an estimated 8.5 to 9 million Chinese lived outside China, with the majority of them in Southeast Asia (Skeldon, 1996; United States Department of State, n.d.).

The booming economy of the United States of America in the late 1800s attracted Japanese labour migrants whose wages in Japan were dropping. More than 400,000 Japanese migrants left for the United States and its controlled lands between 1886 and 1911 (Library of Congress, n.d.). Simultaneously, a series of military defeats to Western powers and Japan in the first half of the nineteenth century triggered migration to China. Settlers of Euro-American, Japanese and Russian origin moved to some regions of coastal and northern China where they established a semi-colonial society. In 1942, more than 150,000 foreigners lived in Shanghai in regions that were independent of Chinese sovereignty (Haugen and Speelman, 2022).

Due to a series of poor harvest seasons in the Republic of Korea in the late 1800s, several Koreans moved to China and Russia. By 1910, an estimated 54,000 and 220,000 Koreans lived in Siberia and the Manchuria region of China respectively (Kwon, 1997). After Japan’s annexation of the Republic of Korea in 1910, male labour migrants from Korea moved to Japan and in the 1930s, women and children also started moving. By 1930, there were about 419,000 Koreans in Japan. Though the Korean labour migration to Japan before World War II was mostly not forced, labour shortages in Japan during the war led to enforced migration and by 1945, there were an estimated 2 million Koreans in Japan. After the war, an estimated 1 - 1.4 million of these Koreans left Japan (Moon, 2010).

1950s to 2000s

From 1950 to 1978, China restricted migration from mainland China and the main destination was Hong Kong SAR, China. During the 1950s, around 40,000 persons from mainland China went to Hong Kong SAR, China. In the second half of the twentieth century, several destination countries in Northern America and Oceania changed their restrictive migration policies leading to increased migration from China to Canada, Australia and New Zealand (Skeldon, 1996).

The Korean War between the Democratic Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea led to displacement and voluntary migration in both directions. Estimates suggest that nearly 650,000 people moved from the Democratic Republic of Korea to the Republic of Korea and another 290,000 people moved from the Republic of Korea to the Democratic Republic of Korea during the war years (Shin, 2001). The economic boom in the Republic of Korea in the late 1900s attracted both labour migrants and the return migration of ethnic Koreans. The total number of international migrants in the Republic of Korea grew significantly by 465 percent from an estimated 43,247 at mid-year 1990 to 244,224 at mid-year 2000 (GMDAC analysis of UN DESA, 2020).

Internal migration from rural to urban areas also plays a significant role in the mobility dynamics of the subregion. Internal migration within provinces in China more than doubled between 1990 and 2000 (UN DESA, 2013). The share of the Eastern Asian population in urban areas is estimated to have been around 18 per cent in 1950, and this share increased to 38 per cent in 1995 (UN DESA, 2018).

2000s

The 2000s increased internal migration and urbanization in Eastern Asia. The share of the Eastern Asian population in urban areas is expected to increase from an estimated 42 per cent in 2000 to a projected 69 per cent in 2025, making the share in the subregion higher than the projected global share in 2025. With an increase of 31 percentage points from 36 per cent in 2000 to 67 per cent of the population in 2025, the change in the share of the urban population in Eastern Asian countries is projected to be the highest in China. Japan and Mongolia are projected to be the countries with the second and third highest differences in the shares of urban population between 2000 and 2025. However, it is worth noting that some of the high-income countries in the subregion such as the Republic of Korea are projected to have relatively stable shares between 2005 and 2025. By 2050, the share in the urban population is projected to be 81 per cent and 80 per cent in Eastern Asia and China respectively (GMDAC analysis of UN DESA, 2018).

Historically, ‘hukou’, the Chinese household registration system, ensured that individuals worked in the same area where they were registered for residency purposes. This limited access to the social welfare system in urban areas for internal migrants and led to restrictions in internal labour mobility (Gul and Lu, 2011). Though some of the goals outlined in attempts to reform the hukou system have been met, the much faster growth in internal migration has resulted in increasing social benefits gaps (Chan, 2021). Rapid urbanization leads to significant stress on the existing infrastructure and countries are turning to innovative solutions to support the increased infrastructural needs. See IOM’s forthcoming Asia-Pacific Migration Data Report in Asia and the Pacific2023 for an example from Mongolia.

500,000 long-term immigrants moved to China in 2021, and this number is significantly lower than the 910,826 migrants who moved in 2019 pre-COVID. The top 5 countries of nationality of these inflows in 2021 were the Philippines (20.5%), Viet Nam (17.2%), Mongolia (9.9%), Russia (7.5%) and the Republic of Korea (6.1%) (Chinese National Immigration Administration, as cited in OECD, 2023). Mobility between mainland China and Hong Kong Special Administrative RegionSAR, China and Macao Special Administrative RegionSAR, China have been high over the years. An estimated 2.4 million and 300,567 people from mainland China resided in Hong Kong SAR, China and Macao SAR, China respectively as of mid-year 2020. In the other direction, an estimated 209,555 and 18,918 people from Hong Kong SAR, China and Macao SAR, China respectively resided in mainland China as of mid-year 2020 (UN DESA, 2020). This includes people moving due to marriages between people from mainland China and people from China’s Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong SAR, China Census and Statistics Department, 2024; Vong et al., n.d.).

Additionally, aging populations and increasing demand for labour in Hong Kong SAR, China as well as the liberalization of the gaming industry in Macao SAR, China have attracted workers from mainland China, Southeast and South Asia. Migrant workers from countries in the Asia– and Pacific region accounted for more than 88 per cent of the international migrant worker population in Hong Kong SAR, China in 2021. The top countries of origin of these migrant workers were the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Thailand and Pakistan (Hong Kong SAR, China Census and Statistics Department, 2023 as cited in IOM, 2023). Of the 176,661 non-resident workers at the end of December 2023 in Macao SAR, China, most of them were from mainland China (68%) and predominantly employed in the construction, trade and hospitality sectors. However, 49 per cent and 52 per cent of non-resident workers from the Philippines and Viet Nam respectively were employed in domestic work. Migrants from the Philippines and Viet Nam accounted for 16 per cent and 4 per cent respectively of all non-resident workers in Macao SAR, China (Macao SAR, China Public Security Police Force, 2024).

The Republic of Korea and Japan have also faced labour shortages in their aging economies and have implemented policies to attract more international migrants. The total number of international migrants in the Republic of Korea and Japan increased by 608 per cent and 64 per cent respectively between mid-year 2000 and mid-year 2020 (GMDAC analysis of UN DESA, 2020). As a share of the total population in the Republic of Korea, international migrants grew from 0.5 per cent at mid-year 2000 to 3.4 per cent at mid-year 2020 (UN DESA, 2020). The Republic of Korea established the Employment Permit System (EPS) in 2004, bilateral labour agreements with 16 Asian countries, facilitating temporary labour migration to reduce labour shortages in specific sectors (World Bank, 2019).

In Japan, the total number of migrants in the workforce grew by 24 per cent between 2019 and 2024 and in the Republic of Korea, the number of migrant workers increased by 40 per cent in the last decade (Immigration Services Agency of Japan, 2024; Statistics Korea, 2023; as cited in IOM, 2024 forthcoming).

Visas issued for marriage to Korean citizens and non-professional employment visas issued by the Republic of Korea accounted for 159,499 and 151,116 foreigners respectively in 2019 (Korea Immigration Service Statistics, 2009-2019 as cited in Lee, 2022). While 47 per cent of all male migrants in the Republic of Korea resided on visas issued for employment (E-9 and H-2 visas) and only 4 per cent resided on marriage visas (F-6 visas), 22 per cent of all female migrants in the Republic of Korea resided on marriage visas (F-6 visas) (Lee, 2022). Between 1998 and March 2024, a total of 34,121 defectors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had entered the Republic of Korea. Among these defectors, 72 per cent were women (Republic of Korea Ministry of Unification, n.d.).

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) – the Population Division regularly publishes estimates of the total number of international migrants (international migrant stock). In the latest edition published in 2020, data are available by age, sex, destination and origin as of mid-year 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – the OECD regularly publishes and updates data on migration flows and stocks of migrants in OECD countries. Additionally, it provides access to databases on demographic and labour market indicators as well as indicators on immigrant integration.

International Labour Organization Department of Statistics (ILOSTAT) – ILO publishes global estimates on migrant workers, labour force surveys, and labour market information disaggregated by place of birth. Some of the sources include household surveys as well as reports by social security and recruitment agencies.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – UNHCR’s Refugee Data Finder allows users to filter data on refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs of concern to UNHCR, other people in need of international protection, stateless persons and others of concern as well as on solutions for refugees and IDPs (such as returned refugees, resettled refugees, returned IDPs and naturalization) by year, country of asylum and country of origin.

International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) – IOM’s DTM monitors displacement and mobility by collecting information on the volume and basic characteristics of populations transiting through established Flow Monitoring Points. Among Eastern Asian countries, DTM data are available for Mongolia.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) – IDMC provides data on the total number of internally displaced persons (IDP stock) and internal displacements disaggregated by drivers of internal displacement. Their country profiles also provide an overview of conflict and disaster events that triggered migration, an analysis of the drivers of internal displacement, as well as country-specific displacement patterns.

Sources from countries and areas: 

China

China, Hong Kong SAR

China, Macao SAR

Japan

Mongolia

Republic of Korea

International organizations like UN DESA rely on official national data to produce their estimates. In Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, 94 per cent of countries have updated information on the total number of international migrants since the 2010 round of population censuses, 83 per cent had provided recent data on the country of origin of international migrants and updated data on the age of international migrants. After Northern America, Europe and Oceania, countries in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia have the highest availability of migration data (UN DESA, 2020).

However, direct comparison of national statistics on international migration is challenging due to differences in definition of migrants and the timing of data collection methods. Limited public availability of methodological documentation and codebooks slow down the compilation of data from different official sources.

Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants

Established in 1996, the Asia-Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants (APC) aims to promote dialogue on issues and explore opportunities related to population movements. The APC focuses on various aspects of human mobility including the causes and consequences of population movements, data collection and information sharing, prevention of displacement and preparedness, reintegration, finding durable solutions to refugee situations as well as emergency response and contingency planning. It also aims to address issues such as trafficking in women and children, irregular migration and the smuggling of people. China; Hong Kong SAR, China; Macao SAR, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea and Mongolia are among the 34 members of the APC.

Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (ISCM)

Established in 2002, the Bali Process is a regional process focused on enhancing cooperation and coordination to address irregular migration among its members across the Asia-Pacific and reaching Europe and North America. Co-chaired by Australia and Indonesia, it is a multilateral forum that supports information sharing, policy development and capacity building among its members. By bringing together experts in working groups on trafficking in persons; disruption of criminal networks involved in smuggling and trafficking; return and reintegration as well as planning and preparedness, the Process facilitates dialogue among its members and helps them work together on practical measures to combat smuggling and trafficking. China; Hong Kong SAR, China; Macao SAR, China; the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Japan; the Republic of Korea and Mongolia are among the 45 members of the Bali Process.

Colombo Process

Established in 2003, the Regional Consultative Process on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labor for Countries of Origin in Asia (formerly called the Ministerial Consultation on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labor for Countries of Origin in Asia) or the Colombo Process provides a forum for countries of origin of migrant workers in Asia. The process supports member states to share good practices in labour migration management, consult on migrant welfare issues, promote cheaper and safer transfer of remittances.

Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT)

Established in 2004, the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT) is a regional process that helps combine efforts to combat human trafficking in the Greater-Mekong Sub-region (GMS). COMMIT facilitates collaboration among governments, international organizations and NGOs to close avenues of exploitation; specific focus areas include combatting human trafficking, migrant smuggling and forced labour as well as (trans)national referral mechanisms for trafficked persons. China is among the 6 member states of the process.

Human mobility data in Eastern Asia

Key trends

Past and present mobility patterns

Further reading