Category World News

According to new research from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), migration to wealthy nations decreased by more than one-fifth last year as labor markets weakened and visa requirements were tightened in countries like Australia and the United Kingdom.

Work-related migration decreased between 2023 and 2024, according to data from the Paris-based organization, which is made up of 38 wealthy and emerging economies, even before Donald Trump’s White House-return led to a decline in arrivals into the United States.

Following the global COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people admitted for permanent work in the OECD decreased by roughly 934, 000 last year, after a steady growth for several years.

Net migration decreased by more than 40% in 2024, partly as a result of visa policy tightening, which is most evident in the UK. However, labor migration decreased in most European Union countries even where there hasn’t been a change in policy stance.

The OECD’s international migration division leader, Jean-Christophe Dumont, believes that the global economic situation is “less favourable” because of the downturn.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its forecast for 2025’s global growth by 0.5%, citing President Donald Trump’s trade war as a limiting factor.

Other nations, which had traditionally been among the biggest migrants’ recipients, have since tightened immigration regulations. Measures to limit work-related migration have been introduced by Canada, Australia, and the UK over the past two years.

Dumont also noted that a sizable number of Ukrainians who were granted temporary protection in Europe had reduced the demand for foreign workers by a large number, reducing labor shortages in a number of fields.

An estimated 5.1 million Ukrainians who fled their country in 2022&nbsp are currently residing in OECD member states as of June 2025, according to the most recent data from the organization.

What about other migrations?

Between 2023 and 2024, the OECD reported a 13% decrease in the number of new international students entering the group. Important factors were factors in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia’s tighter visa regulations, which were prompted by concerns about immigration fraud and the pressure on local housing markets.

In contrast, humanitarian migration has increased. In the US, asylum applications increased significantly in the last few months of the Biden administration, and there has recently been a significant rise in illegal small-boat arrivals from EU nations.

These increases indicate that, despite the decline in student and labor migration, total permanent migration to developed economies in 2024 decreased only marginally, by 4 percent, from its peak in the previous year.

The 6.2 million OECD newcomers added in 2024 outnumber pre-pandemic levels by about 15%, though. At 2.3 million, temporary labor mobility, which entails visas that prevent permanent settlement, remained constant. This is still higher than the 2019 level.

What changes have there been in migration rates?

In OECD nations, 6.5 million people re-established themselves in 2023, a record number. The UK saw the biggest increase of almost 10% over the previous six million-person move in 2022, which was almost 10% more than the previous record of six million.

In 2023, Canada, France, and Japan were the only OECD member states with record-setting immigration rates. Donald Trump’s campaign focused on reducing immigration after receiving 1.2 million permanent legal immigrants.

In spite of the political debate, research from investment bank Goldman Sachs found that in the US, more than four million jobs were created in the country in the next three decades: from Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, and the UK.

What lies ahead?

Dumont predicted that despite stricter US immigration laws, the overall immigration to the OECD nations might ease slightly in 2025. He added that migrants’ employment rates remain stable on the labor markets.

For instance, in the UK, the employment rate for people who were born there was approximately 76%, which is slightly higher than the rate for those who were born there.

He attributed this to visa programs intended for higher-skilled positions and to the fact that low-skilled immigrants were willingly “filling gaps” in jobs that UK citizens do not want.

We need to reevaluate some of the issues surrounding native labor shortages in industries like agriculture, construction, and health, according to Fabiola Mieres, a senior immigration specialist at the International Labour Organization.

The story is obviously centered on minimum wages and working conditions.

She continued, “Immigration will likely continue to play a significant role in electoral politics around the world, particularly in Europe and the US.” There are a lot of heated emotions there.

Describe the OECD.

Following World War II, the OECD was established in 1948 to coordinate the US Marshall Plan’s reconstruction of Western Europe. It also facilitated the removal of trade barriers between its European members at the time.

As reconstruction in Europe was about to come to an end, member states began looking for a more global framework for economic cooperation by the late 1950s. The US and Canada were added to the OECD’s membership in 1961.

The OECD expanded its membership over the course of the years to include nations from Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, as a result of its transition from a transatlantic body to a more diverse and developing community.

By the late 20th century, the OECD had established itself as a hub for economic analysis, policy analysis, and the creation of governance standards. It gained acclaim for its education, labor markets, and environmental policy research that was widely recognized.

To end decades of tax competition between governments attempting to attract foreign investment, the OECD spearheaded a proposal to tax large multinational corporations at least 15%.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s residence in Tel Aviv has been surrounded by enraged crowds of Israelis protesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a full pardon from corruption charges.

The protest on Sunday night occurred shortly after Netanyahu, 76, unsuccessfully sought pardon from the president during his long-running corruption trial.

At the protest outside Herzog’s private residence, opposition lawmakers, including Naama Lazimi, demanded that he reject the request and joined dozens of activists who were protesting the phrase “Pardon = Banana Republic.”

While others stood behind a large pile of bananas and a sign with the word “pardon” on it, one protester donned the role of Netanyahu in an orange prison-style jumpsuit.

Shikma Bressler, a well-known anti-government activist, demanded that his trial be completely canceled without taking any responsibility or reimbursing himself for how he destroyed this nation.

She continued, “Israelis are aware of what is at stake, and the future of our nation is invincible.”

The longest-serving prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate corruption cases.

In one instance, Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused of accepting from billionaires in exchange for political favors in exchange for more than $ 260, 000 worth of luxury goods, including cigars, jewelry, and champagne. In two other cases, he is accused of trying to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.

Netanyahu refutes the allegations, and his attorneys wrote to the president’s office in a 111-page letter that the prime minister still believed the legal proceedings would lead to a total acquittal.

Netanyahu stated in a brief video statement that he wanted to “see the process through,” but that “the national interest and political reality impose otherwise.”

He continued, “The continuation of the trial is tearing us apart from within, causing fierce divisions, and aggravateing rifts.”

Herzog’s office confirmed that it had heard from Netanyahu.

This is a unique request that has significant implications. The president will take the request seriously and sincerely after receiving all relevant opinions,” it said.

The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) is looking into Netanyahu besides the domestic allegations. The ICC issued arrest warrants for former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the genocidal war in Gaza in November 2024.

Nearly 171,000 people have been injured in Israel’s war against Palestinians, including nearly 70 000 of whom are mostly women and children.

Netanyahu’s request for pardon comes just one week after Donald Trump retorted against Herzog during a speech to Israel’s parliament last month.

Trump also wrote to Herzog earlier this month, praising the corruption case as a “political, unjustified prosecution.”

In Israel, pardons typically only come after a defendant’s legal case is overturned and proven guilty. The request of Netanyahu sparked a backlash right away.

Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, claimed that Netanyahu should not be pardoned without first renouncing his crimes, expressing regret, and abruptly stepping down from politics.

Former deputy commander of the military, Yair Golan, a member of the opposition, demanded resignation from the prime minister and pleaded with the president not to grant a pardon.

Golan said that “only the guilty seek pardon.”

A pardon of a prime minister accused of serious fraud and breach of trust, according to the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, would send a clear message that no one is above the law.

‘Liability’

Ami Dror, a protester, claimed the president’s job was to “protect Israeli democracy,” and that if law and order are destroyed, Israeli democracy might end.

In addition to the statements made by Coalition allies, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu’s request for a pardon was supported.

A corrupt judicial system, according to Smotrich, has been prosecuting Netanyahu for years, and Israel Katz, the defense minister, said a pardon would end the “deep rift that has accompanied Israeli society for almost a decade.

Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst for Al Jazeera who was based in Doha, described Netanyahu as a “liability for Israel.”

“Israel has honed its status as the Middle East’s unique democracy for decades. Yes, there are procedural democratic institutions in Israel, and even that has slowly and steadily slowed down under Netanyahu.

Bishara criticized Netanyahu’s “crusade” against Israel’s judiciary, including the Supreme Court, prior to the war’s end, noting that the actions had sparked widespread anti-government protests in Israel.

He therefore has a problem with liberal democracy, institutions, and legality. He led Israel into a genocidal war, which is the subject of international court of justice proceedings, according to Bishara, who has since been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

The man is a criminal, he says. He is a fugitive from abroad, and as a result, Israel’s economy won’t recover as a result. As long as he is prime minister, the analyst said, “Israel’s society will not heal, and the war will not end.”