Improving Statistics on International Migration in Asia

International migration has reached unprecedented scale, diversity and political, economic, social and demographic significance in Asia over the last decade. Despite this data collection of migrant stocks and flows remains very limited in most Asian countries. Accordingly, policy making on migration in the region lacks an evidence base and is influenced by interest groups, anecdotal evidence and prejudice. This paper argues that the heightened security consciousness since 911 together with the development of efficient computer based collection and analysis of migration data systems has created a propitious environment for bringing about a parametric improvement in data collection on international migration in Asia. A number of suggestions are made in this regard, especially the inclusion of relevant international migration questions in the 2010 round of population censuses.