The seventy-fifth Wildclickers' Migratory Stroll

As of the beginning of this year, at least 191 million people are living and working in a country not of their origin. One person of every 35 in the world is a migrant or an immigrant.

If all immigrants and migrants combined belonged to the same country, it would have the fifth largest population on the planet.

The country that attracts the most people from abroad is the United States, with 35 million, followed by Russia and Germany on 13.3 and 7.3 million people respectively. China sees the most people leave, followed by India and the Philippines. About half of all migrants are bound for North America and Europe.

Estimates vary as to how much money migrants send home, but what is not in dispute is that the amounts involved are huge and extremely important to developing economies. According to the International Labour Organization, the money sent back to developing countries is at least $160 billion, but is likely to be much higher. Not all remittances are recorded.

In November, the World Bank estimated that the figure for 2006 could be $199 billion sent home to developing countries, with $268 billion sent home to all countries by immigrants worldwide.

This money is often greater than the amount developing countries receive in aid. The skills and education that migrants and immigrants bring back to their home countries often exceed all the goodwill humanitarian efforts dedicated by other nations.