Turkey - A survey of G20 governments – the club of major economies – prepared by IOM at the request of the 2015 Turkish presidency – shows that 15 out of 19 G20 countries want immigration levels increased or maintained at the same level.

The survey, part of a broader forthcoming IOM’s report “How the World Views Migration”, suggests that only a minority of people in G20 countries want immigration reduced, with pro-immigration sentiment higher outside Europe.

Turkey commissioned this examination of views of migration in the G20 in its capacity as the Chair-in-Office of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and concurrently the G20 Presidency for 2015. It will be presented at a joint G20 / GFMD / Global Migration Group (GMG) event to be held in Izmir, Turkey tomorrow (3/6).

Presenting the findings of a first survey of public opinion on migration in G-20 countries conducted by the Gallup World Poll in more than 140 countries between 2012 and 2014, the report provides a rare insight into public attitudes toward immigration around the globe.

In these surveys the general public is asked whether it favours increasing immigration, decreasing immigration, or maintaining immigration at the same level.

The results show that attitudes towards immigration in G20 countries tend to be mixed. On average, every fifth person in this group wants immigration to stay at the present level and every fifth person wants it to increase.

Nearly one in three (31 per cent) want to see lower immigration levels into their countries. The remaining 25 per cent do not know or declined to answer the question.

Attitudes to immigration vary significantly according to age, education and income. Younger people and those with higher educational qualifications are more likely to welcome migration. Higher-income groups are also more likely to favour immigration.

A key finding is that in G20 countries views about migration are linked to the perceived rather than actual health of the economy.

Overall, people in G20 countries who feel economic conditions are worsening are more negative towards immigration, while those who think conditions are improving are the most positive.

The comparison between public and government views of migration shows that broadly speaking, public and government views on immigration are aligned in most G20 countries.

When public opinion towards immigration is on average negative, government policies are aimed at decreasing the level of immigration into their countries, and vice versa.

The G20 brings together the world’s major economies, collectively accounting for 80 per cent of world trade. Over half of the world’s international migrants – 128 million people – live in G20 countries. The group includes the 10 countries with the highest number of international migrants in 2013. Remittances to and from G20 countries, account for almost four fifths of global remittance flows, and several countries in the group, particularly China, India and Mexico are among the top remittance recipients in the world.

For a copy of the survey please go to: http://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/press_release/file/How_the_G20_views_migration_29May2015_updated.pdf

For more information please contact Meera Sethi at IOM Turkey. Tel. +90.532.2942569, Email: msethi@iom.int