AsianScientist (Jul. 20, 2011) – A new report says that strong economic growth has boosted the popularity of Asia, and more skilled Asians are choosing to emigrate to other Asian countries such as Hong Kong rather than western countries such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
The report, Change of Migration Patterns in Asia: Towards Regional Economic Integration, prepared by the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) at Thailand’s Mahidol University, found that Hong Kong had the highest rate of migrants in East Asia with 2.74 million migrants, followed by Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.
About 5.3 million people migrated internally in Asia in 2008, and more Chinese migrants are leaving the country with the support from the government, the study noted.
“The rapid economic development in East Asia has contributed to the growth of labor markets across Asia,” said Dr. Sakkarin Niyomsilpa of the IPSR. “Asian professionals, who had aimed for labor markets in Western countries, have instead begun to emigrate in large numbers to East Asia due to the prosperity in these Asian economies.”
Sakkarin said movements within Asia had been made easier with more relaxed immigration laws and flexibility in the labor market.
In contrast, Western nations such as the UK have recently introduced stricter immigration controls, with tougher criteria for international students wanting to study in the UK, and limits on these students’ right to work.
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Source: Mahidol University.
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