13
Whata migrant?
Inequalities in the world: a factor affecting migration
Source: The World Bank, 2011.
Gross national income
per capita in 2010
1
(Atlas method²,
current US dollars)
No data
$170-$1,800
$1,800-$5,000
$5,000-$16,000
$16,000-$50,000
$50,000-$183,150
1 2009 for the following
countries: Saudi Arabia,
Australia, Bahamas, Barbados,
Brunei, Canada, Cyprus,
Djibouti, Greenland, Iran, Libya,
Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco,
New Zealand, Oman, Sudan,
Suriname, Yemen.
2 The Atlas method is a method
used by the World Bank to
estimate the size of economies
in terms of gross national
income (GNI) in US dollars.
Brazil
France
United States
India
China
Japan
AFRICA
This map is a cartogram made with the Gastner-Newman method:
the surface of the countries is proportional to the population in 2010.
Inequalities in the world: a factor in migration
There is no precise definition of the word “migrant”, necessi-
tating a cautious approach to statistics. The UN only defines the
notion
of “migrant worker”. According to UNESCO, a migrant is
a person who “leaves a country to settle in another where he
or she creates social ties”. Internal migration is not taken into
account, despite the fact that such migration is significant in
countries such as China, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), for example. The explosion of the Soviet Union
created new categories of migrants.
Migration is a right recognized by various international
documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of 1948, which states in Article 13 that every person is
free to leave any country. However, this principle is permanently
infringed, owing to States’ concerns to exert sovereign rights
over their borders, on entry and sometimes exit.
For a traveller to be defined as a “migrant”, the combined
factors of length of stay and exercising a remunerated activity in
the host country are applied: children, tourists, students, even
business people and young people from dominant countries
working abroad in lieu of military service, are generally not
considered to be “migrants”. Likewise, the word reveals a
significant asymmetry between rich and poor countries.
In the modern age, we can distinguish between three major
types of migratory movements:
■■Historical pioneer fronts, aimed at colonizing territories
deemed unexploited, with, if necessary, the massacre,
deportation or submission of local populations. Such was the
case
of the “New World”, Australia, South Africa, various Soviet
and Chinese territories, Palestine, etc. Immigrants are invited to
settle and become full-fledged citizens. For the most part, this
type of movement, which prolonged the Barbarian population
of the planet, has come to an end;
■■Contemporary migration, driven by economic, environmental,
family and/or protection factors. These are the targets of
restrictive policies introduced by prosperous countries,
including the United States, the EU and the Gulf oil-producing
countries. Seeking to attract workers corresponding to quan-
titative and qualitative needs, but reluctant to grant them the
status
of permanent citizens, host countries attempt to strictly
condition migrants’ right to residency to the validity of their
employment contracts. Undocumented migrants who work on
the black market are included in this contingent;
■■Massive displacements as a result of conflicts. Dominant
countries use any means to prevent such migrants from
behaving like ordinary migrants or refugees. Kept at a distance
in temporary camps which often become permanent, these
“forced migrants” are confined to closed or semi-open
areas, which are the object of substantial transfers of money
and goods, (the price to be paid for the tranquillity of donor
countries). International aid is coupled with a parallel economy
based on trafficking and the exploitation of the most vulnerable,
including children and women.
Migrants in the world