Eyeing Mediterranean Migration – Global Economic Effects
Mediterranean regions have experienced an increase in migrants over the past few years. According to 2024 reports, this trend is not about to die down, and it is thus important for migrants, governments, and citizens of host countries to understand how it could affect them. Our guide looks into the current numbers, why they have grown so much, and what this could mean for the global economy.
The Current Mediterranean Migration Statistics
Many reports have indicated that migration patterns have increased across the globe. And in the Mediterranean, the flow is evident based on the numbers. Let's consider the 2024 figures:
- Arrivals: By June 2024, this region had welcomed hundreds of thousands of migrants—120,000 had arrived by sea (25,345 of these had gone to Italy), while others had arrived by land or air. This number was a big jump compared to previous years.
- Safety: The need for people to move away from their home countries is sometimes so big that they willingly take risks to migrate. In 2024 alone, 4,000 migrants went missing or died when trying to use the migration routes.
- Demographics: While migrants come from all over the world, some countries contribute more to the percentages - these include Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, and Eritrea, which contributed to 70% of the arrivals. Besides nationality, diversity is also shown in the genders and ages - at least 30% of the arrivals are women and children.
- Locations: Arrivals affect different places, depending on the route chosen by the migrants. Those using the central route head to regions such as Italy, while those using the east prefer Greece.
Many countries have opened their doors to migrants. However, increased immigration policies and repatriation strategies have discouraged migrants from using illegal routes.
What's Causing the Migration
Before looking at how migration has influenced the economy, it's important to understand why people move in large numbers. For many migrants, political conflict and oppressive governments in their home countries are to blame - think of regions such as Syria and Sudan, where violence forces people to leave their homes. Economic challenges such as high unemployment and corruption rates and poor economic conditions also push people to seek opportunities elsewhere. Additionally, many countries now face natural disasters due to climate change. As a result, migrants are often willing to move to new places, and some even fall victim to smuggling rings in the Mediterranean region.
The Economic Impact of Migration
Migration in the Mediterranean region does not only affect the host countries. Instead, it spills over to the home countries as well as partner states of the home and host countries. Let's consider how this works:
Labor Supply
Host countries often appreciate the role of migrants in providing labor as a key resource to their industries. For example, construction and agriculture industries usually benefit from increased labor, allowing them to develop faster and boost the economy. On the other hand, home countries face a loss of labor supply that can weaken their industries. When reviewing labor supply effects, it's important to consider the labor supply ratios in the country, e.g., where a host country has a small population, increased labor supply is a good thing. However, if the nation has a big labor supply, increased migrants could worsen unemployment rates.
Government Spending
Host countries often need to seek funding to provide for migrants, especially when dealing with asylum seekers and refugees. While the initial integration costs can be high, the host governments benefit from increased taxes and social security remittances that boost the overall economy in the long term. In the same way, home countries enjoy increased remittances from migrants who send money back home to cater to their dependents. Take the example of a country like Morocco—migrant remittances are a significant chunk of the economy.
Economic Growth
Migrants contribute to their host countries in many ways. First, they work and can thus pay taxes to the government. Second, they increase the demand for goods and services, which supports existing businesses and industries—e.g., increased housing needs result in increased spending on real estate. Third, they can run businesses that add to the GDP and employ others. The same effects trickle down to their home countries, as their remittances go a long way in supporting local businesses.
Societal Growth
Migrants have positive and negative effects on the societies where they settle. On the positive side, they introduce new ways of thinking and can thus foster innovation in businesses. Moreover, they introduce new markets that host countries can serve. On the negative side, the increased number of migrants can lead to pressure on social services (such as schools and hospitals) and housing. Such pressure can reduce availability to countries in host countries and can also increase pricing, e.g., increased housing prices.
Conclusion
As migrants continue choosing the Mediterranean routes to escape the poor conditions in their home countries, their numbers will keep growing. Given the positive and negative effects these numbers can have on host and home countries, host countries need to work together to integrate migrants into their economies while ensuring their citizens do not bear the brunt of this exercise.
