ABSTRACT

At least since the “discovery” of the Americas in 1492, intercontinental migration has been a key factor influencing the demographic evolution of the developing world. During the first decades of this century, the major international flows originated in Europe and were directed mostly to the “New World,” that is, to the overseas countries of permanent resettlement and certain Latin American countries. Despite the dampening effects of the two world wars and the Depression, major intercontinental flows continued to be dominated by Europeans until the early 1960s. Since then, migration from developing to developed countries has been growing and important interregional flows within the developing world have also gained prominence. This chapter provides a comprehensive view of the main migration flows either originating in or directed toward seven developing regions, namely, sub-S ah aran Africa, North Africa and West Asia, South Asia, China, the rest of developing Asia (called East and Southeast Asia), Central America and the Caribbean, and South America. [1]