India has become the world’s top source and destination country for Hindu migrants in 2020. There are 7.6 million Hindus born in India who now live elsewhere, and about three million Hindus born in other countries who now live in India, a new Pew Research Center analysis shows.
The report, ‘The Religious Composition of Migrants in the World’, found that Hindus, including those born abroad, are underrepresented among migrants worldwide, making up only 5 percent of the total population, while their share is 15 percent.
According to the report, more than 280 million people, or 3.6 percent of the global population, lived as international migrants in 2020. “Religion plays a significant role in migration patterns, influencing both departure from the home country and reception in the destination country,” the report said.
The report also shows that India is among the countries where emigrants disproportionately belong to religious minorities.
“For example, Christians make up 2 percent of India’s population, but an estimated 16 percent of those born in India and now living elsewhere,” Pew said.
The report highlighted that India is the second largest source of Muslim migrants, with 6 million Muslims living abroad. “Muslims in India emigrate at a much higher rate than the Hindu majority. Although Muslims make up only 15 percent of India’s population, they account for an estimated 33 percent of all Indian-born migrants,” the report said. Most of India’s Muslim migrants live in Muslim-majority countries with employment opportunities, including the UAE (1.8 million), Saudi Arabia (1.3 million) and Oman (720,000).
The majority of migrants from India are in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the report said. As many as 9.9 million Indians were living in these countries in 2020.
In the GCC regions, where the migrant population has increased by 277 percent since 1990, most migrants are Muslim (75 percent), while Hindus and Christians make up 11 and 14 percent respectively, the report said.
According to the Pew Research Center, the analysis is based on data from the United Nations and 270 censuses and surveys. The aim is to provide a detailed overview of the religious composition of migrants worldwide.
First publication: Aug 20, 2024 | 12:04 AM IST