WHAT ARE SENDING AND RECEIVING COUNTRIES? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The sending countries are developing countries that, due to internal socio-economic and political conditions, cause their citizens to emigrate to another receiving country to improve their living conditions or preserve their physical integrity.

Receiving countries are the countries that receive immigrants. In most cases they are developed countries but the common characteristic of all is that at least they present higher living conditions than the expelling country.

People who leave the sending country are called emigrants and once they step on the territory of the receiving country they are called immigrants.

Migration studies on sending and receiving countries are increasing every day since the migratory flow is becoming more intense, in large part, due to the number of mostly illegal immigrants that cause positive and negative effects on both the receiving and the sending country.

In the same way, the treatment of this problem poses challenges in terms of Human Rights, the economy and political participation.

There are different sociological, economic and political perspectives on the reasons that motivate people to migrate, but there is a general consensus that the two main reasons for emigration are work and / or violence.

Historical review of migrations

The migratory phenomenon is not something new but concurrent in human history. When primitive man saw a shortage of food in his place of residence, he moved to other parts.

With the emergence of agriculture, man settled for longer periods in certain places. However, wars and plagues were decisive factors in emigrating from one place to another.

In medieval times, most of the population lived in the countryside, but the Industrial Revolution with its intensive need for labor, accompanied by the urbanization process, forced the peasants to migrate to the cities. So that the fields became expulsion centers and the cities in receiving centers of population.

Migration flows are dynamic and accelerate more with the globalization process, therefore, the countries that are recipients were once expelling countries.

The expelling countries in history

Historically, Europe has been a receiving and expelling focus for citizens. After the discovery of America, Latin America was a recipient of Spanish and Portuguese.

During the 17th century, between 1620 and 1640, the Great Migration of Puritan English settlers to Ireland, New England (USA), the West Indies and the Netherlands occurred.

In the 19th century, imperialism (process of economic expansion) occurred on the part of the main European empires, facilitated by the greater development of transportation systems.

Starting in 1870, the exploration and annexation of territories in Asia, Africa and Oceania by the British, French, Dutch, Portuguese, American and German Empires began.

In the 20th century with the two World Wars and the latent threat of planetary atomic destruction during the Cold War, many Europeans emigrated to North America, but also to Asia (many Jews fled Europe and settled in Palestine).

In the First World War, more than six million people were displaced in Europe. During World War II, between 25 and 30 million moved from Germany and the Soviet Union.

Until the construction of the Berlin Wall, in Germany alone four million German refugees passed from the Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic (both in Germany).

Between 1850 and 1940, about 55 million Europeans moved from Europe to America, of which 60% settled permanently in the American continent.

Of these, 15 million came from the British Isles, 10 million from Italy, 5 million from Germany and another 5 million from Spain. Its main destinations were the United States, Argentina, Canada and Brazil.

Saying goodbye to the 20th century, in the 1990s, the conflict in the Balkans once again brought the flow of refugees into Europe back to levels similar to those of World War II.

Since 1991, more than 5 million people have temporarily or permanently left the territory of the former Yugoslavia, or 20%.

In less than half of the 21st century, Sudan's separation between North and South Sudan, the war in Iraq, the invasion of Afghanistan, the famines in Somalia and the war in Syria, are some examples of political conflicts that have turned these nations into countries expelling inhabitants to Europe and North America.

As we can see, most of the receiving countries in the past were also sending countries.

Recipient countries

The 2015 International Migration Report of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs reported that the number of international migrants to date reached 244 million.

Of this number, 46.6 million (19%) of people around the world reside in the United States, being the number 1 host country.

In a second place much further from the first is Germany with 12 million and Russia with 11.6 million. Here is a table with the main recipient countries for the last 25 years: United States, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada, France, Australia and Spain.

Source: BBC Mundo

Ejector countries

The main expelling regions of the world are Southeast Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Emerging economies that are in transition between developed and developing countries are the world's largest diaspora pockets. This means that structural flaws remain in the economy and politics of the issuing country.

These countries also face brain drain, that is, people highly qualified by their educational level who leave their country of origin and live in developed countries that are interested in receiving people with this type of professional and academic profile.

1- India (16 million)

About half of all the world's international migrants are born in Asia (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2017).

India is the Asian country that "exports" the most inhabitants with a total of 16 million (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2017).

Of the world's top 20 expeller countries, 11 are Asian and come just after Russia: China (10 million), Bangladesh (7 million), Pakistan, and Ukraine (6 million each).

The preferred destination countries are the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada and Pakistan.

2- Mexico (12 million)

United is its main destination given its geographical proximity. During 1990, 95 out of every 100 Mexican migrants had left for the United States (INEGI. National Institute of Statistics and Geography., 2017).

By 2014, the restrictive measures of the North American country reduced that figure to 86 (INEGI. National Institute of Statistics and Geography., 2017). Only 2.2% are in Canada.

The main reason for emigrating from the country is work, followed by family reunification and finally the advancement of studies.

3- Russia (11 million)

Currently 11 million Russians live outside the country; however, it is home to 11.6 million immigrants.

The Russian case is particular because it has a simultaneous role of receiving country and sending country. Unlike Mexico, Russian emigrants do not have a main destination but a behavior more similar to Indians: different recipient countries.

References

1. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (13 of 7 of 2017). International Migration Report 2015 Highlights. Obtained from United Nation: un.org
2. Acosta García, MA, González Martínez, S., Romero Ocampo, ML, Reza Reyes, L., & Salinas Montes, A. (2012). Block III. People who come and go. In MA Acosta García, S. González Martínez, ML Romero Ocampo, L. Reza Reyes, & A. Salinas Montes, Geography fifth grade (pp. 89-94). Mexico DF: DGME / SEP.
3. Aragonés Castañer, AM, & Salgado Nieto, U. (13 of 7 of 2017). Can migration be a factor for the development of the sending countries? Obtained from Scielo. Scientific Electronic Library Online: scielo.org.mx
4. Aruj, R. (13 of 7 of 2017). Causes, consequences, effects and impact of migration in Latin America. Obtained from Scielo. Scientific Electronic Library Online: scielo.org.mx
5. INEGI. National Institute of Statistics and Geography. (13 of 7 of 2017). "Statistics regarding the international migrant day (December 18). Obtained from INEGI. National Institute of Statistics and Geography: inegi.org.mx
6. Massey, D., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, AA, Pres, L., Ruesga, S., Murayama, C.,… Salas, C. (13 of 7 of 2017). Migrations and labor markets. Obtained from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. Iztapalapa Unit.: izt.uam.mx
7. Portes, A. (13 of 7 of 2017). International Migrations. Immigration and the metropolis: Reflections on urban history. Obtained from Network of scientific journals from Latin America and the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal: redalyc.org
8. University of Barcelona. (13 of 7 of 2017). 2.2. Migrations in Europe. Obtained from the University of Barcelona: ub.edu.