PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – According to the latest United Nations figures, St. Maarten ranks number two among Caribbean nations in the 2013 Trends in International Migrant Stock report.
More people than ever are living abroad. In 2013, 232 million people, or 3.2 percent of the world’s population, were international migrants, compared with 175 million in 2000 and 154 million in 1990, according to the UN Population Division.
The United Arab Emirates tops the global list with 83.7 percent of its population being migrants. Followed by Qatar with 73.8 and Monaco 64.2 percent.
Within the Caribbean, the report merges the former Netherland Antilles nations of Bonaire Saba, St. Eustatius for the number one spot with 65.9 percent migrants. Dutch St. Maarten is second with 59.7 percent.
The United States Virgin Islands is third with 59.3 percent and Cayman Islands fourth with 57.6 percent.
French St. Martin is merged with Guadeloupe and Martinique and holds the #12 spot with 20.8 percent of the population being migrants.
Cuba has the least amount of migrants with only 0.1 percent.
Most international migrants are of working age (20 to 64 years) and account for 74 per cent of the total. Globally, women account for 48 per cent of all international migrants.
Caribbean Stats are below:
| Rank | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2013 | |
| Anguilla | 5 | 30.8 | 36.7 | 44.1 | 45.6 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 9 | 19.4 | 30.2 | 32.2 | 31.9 |
| Aruba | 6 | 23.2 | 33.1 | 34.4 | 34.9 |
| Bahamas | 13 | 10.5 | 12.9 | 16.8 | 16.3 |
| Barbados | 15 | 8.2 | 9.2 | 10.8 | 11.3 |
| British Virgin Islands | 8 | 46.1 | 40.6 | 32.8 | 32.3 |
| Caribbean Netherlands* | 1 | 20.4 | 25.9 | 65.0 | 65.9 |
| Cayman Islands | 4 | 50.8 | 57.4 | 60.3 | 57.6 |
| Cuba | 26 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Curaçao | 11 | .. | .. | 23.5 | 23.2 |
| Dominica | 19 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 8.1 | 8.9 |
| Dominican Republic | 22 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Grenada | 16 | 4.4 | 6.4 | 9.3 | 10.7 |
| Guadeloupe | 12 | 17.1 | 19.6 | 20.7 | 20.8 |
| Haiti | 25 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Jamaica | 24 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| Martinique | 14 | 10.8 | 14.2 | 14.9 | 15.0 |
| Montserrat | 10 | 18.8 | 24.4 | 25.8 | 25.9 |
| Puerto Rico | 20 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 8.2 | 8.7 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 17 | 8.0 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 10.5 |
| Saint Lucia | 21 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 6.2 | 6.7 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 18 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 8.5 | 9.4 |
| Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | 2 | .. | .. | 61.6 | 59.7 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 23 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 7 | 43.8 | 47.8 | 35.1 | 34.3 |
| United States Virgin Islands | 3 | 50.3 | 52.2 | 58.0 | 59.3 |
*Caribbean Netherlands included all of the Netherlands Antilles before they obtained country status in 2010
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2013). Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2013 revision (United Nations database, POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2013).
