The number of Filipinos going abroad is expected to continue declining until 2025, according to a study by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI).
Data from the report, titled “Safeguarding the Rights of Asian Migrant Workers from Home to the Workplace”, showed the net migration rate of the country will continue to decline to -0.7 per 1,000 population in the 2020-to-2025 period.
The net migration rate is the difference between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 population.
“If more people immigrate to a country than emigrate from it, the latter gains population from positive net migration. When more people emigrate than immigrate, the country loses population through negative net migration,” the United Nations explained in another report.
Data showed that the country’s net migration rate has been declining since the 2010- to-2015 period when it reached -1.4 per 1,000 population from -4.1 per 1,000 population in the 2005-to-2010 period.
Despite this, the Philippines continues to be one of the world’s largest labor exporters. Using 2015 data, the ADBI said the country exports almost a million workers to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
“Policies to reduce dependence on foreign workers in GCC countries have also yet to show an effect on the flow of workers. However, the impact of policies directed at the welfare and protection of deployed workers is apparent,” the report stated.
Data showed the Philippines exported as many as 406,000 workers to Saudi Arabia; some 227,000 to the United Arab Emirates; another 133,000 in Qatar; and 130,000 in other GCC countries.
This reached a total of 896,000 in 2015, around 3.11 percent, from the 869,000 estimated in 2014. The Philippines was also ranked fifth in the world in terms of being a top Asian country of origin of migrants in Organisation For Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-member-countries between 2004 and 2014.
“Immigration of Asian citizens to OECD countries is at its highest peak ever, driven by rebounds in key destination countries. Asian immigrants in Europe and in North America fare better in the labor market than other immigrant groups, sometimes even better than native-born residents,” the report stated.
The report draw on issues raised and discussed during the Sixth Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia: Safeguarding Labor Migrants from Home to Workplace that was held in Tokyo from February 3 to 5 2016.
The event brought together regional experts and policy makers and was co-organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International Labor Organization.