A descriptive analysis of immigration to and emigration from the EU

This paper is part of the joint project between the Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission and the OECD’s Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs on “Review of Labour Migration Policy in Europe”.This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.Grant: HOME/2013/EIFX/CA/002 / 30-CE-0615920/00-38 (DI130895)A previous version of this paper was presented and discussed at the OECD Working Party on Migration in June 2015.The paper examines immigration to, and emigration from, the European Union, and compares them with migrant inflows and outflows to other OECD destinations. It investigates how the migrants are distributed in terms of gender, age, education and labour force status, depending on their country of origin as well as of destination. Drawing upon the Database on Immigrants in the OECD countries (DIOC), changes in migration rates and stock are analysed over time, focusing on whether the EU is facing a net gain or loss of skills.