Migration to developed countries declined for a second year in a row in 2025, dropping by 1.6 per cent compared with the previous year, according to a report published on Thursday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The 38 OECD member countries still recorded high numbers, with 6.1 million new permanent immigrants in 2025, compared with 6.2 million in 2024.
Many Western countries have seen a backlash against the arrival of irregular migrants fleeing conflict, authoritarian rule and economic hardship in their home countries.
The report found that legal humanitarian migration fell “sharply” by 26 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024. Labour migration, on the other hand, rose by 13 per cent.
Although 2025 marked an overall decline, the number of permanent immigrants settling for the long term was 12 per cent higher than in 2019.
Three countries recorded a notable rise in permanent migrants in 2025.
Portugal saw a 139 per cent increase to 313,600 people, driven by the approval of a backlog of pending residency permits.
Spain recorded a 25 per cent increase to 460,500 people, notably after broadening its residency policies.
Italy saw a 45 per cent increase to 248,800 people, largely due to a flow of family and labour migration.
Other countries recorded significant declines in permanent migrants.
The United States saw a 14 per cent drop but still leads OECD countries, with more than 1.2 million permanent migrants in 2025.
Canada recorded a 19 per cent decrease to 393,800 people, while the United Kingdom saw a 32 per cent decline to 295,800 people.
According to the latest available figures, India remained the leading country of origin for migration flows to the OECD in 2024, ahead of China and Colombia.
Asylum applications to OECD countries, excluding the United States, totalled 1.1 million in 2025. This was a 22 per cent decrease from the previous year, though still about 10 per cent higher than in 2019.
Men continue to account for the majority of migration flows to OECD countries.
According to the latest available data from 2024, women made up about 46 per cent of new immigrants.
The OECD countries that admitted significantly more women than men were the United States and Ireland, each with 54 per cent female immigrants, and Sweden with 53 per cent. Israel, Chile, Australia and New Zealand each recorded 52 per cent.
The OECD noted that migration offers an opportunity to boost long-term productivity in many countries, particularly in the face of ageing populations.
“With the OECD working-age population set to decrease by 8 per cent by 2060, pushing overall growth downwards, reviving productivity growth is key to maintaining living standards,” said Mark Pearson, the OECD’s acting Director of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs.
“Immigrants now account for 16 per cent of employment across the OECD, 3 percentage points more than a decade ago,” he added.
Labour participation rates remained at historic highs across the OECD in 2025. The report stated that the migrant participation rate was, on average, 1.5 percentage points higher than that of native-born workers in 24 out of 34 OECD countries.
The question “is not whether migration is good or bad for productivity, but how policies can maximise its potential,” Pearson said.
