TOKYO -- After the COVID-19 pandemic finally ran its course, mass migration around the world resumed at record levels. The number of people who moved to countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) seeking permanent residency in 2022 reached an all-time high of 6.1 million. India surpassed China as the biggest source of migrants in 2020 and 2021.
In 2022, the number of new permanent migrants entering member states of the OECD -- a club of 38 developed economies -- increased 26% from the previous year and 14% from 2019, before the pandemic struck. The U.S. was the biggest destination, welcoming 1.04 million migrants, followed by Germany with 640,000, the U.K. with 520,000, Spain with 470,000 and Canada with 430,000.
