UAE and contemporary forms of migration

• UAE


  Made up of kingdoms; health and education has improved
• GDP in the UAE

  Decreased from 102.4 to 67.4 (2019) - lots of millionaires left
• Migrant shares in the UAE

  8.5 million out of 9.3 million population
• Kafala system


  Sponsorship system where the employers will provide the cost for travel documents and accommodation
• Problems with the Kafala system


  • Encourages exploitation, owning mentality, no legal protection, poor standing of living, can't leave
• Migrants arrived in Qatarfor the 2022 World Cup


  2 million
• Other controversies of the Qatar world cup:

  LGBT+ rights

  Migrant workers rights
• Migrant flows


  • Highly skilled to US Brain drain; STEM graduated being paid to grow the economy
  • Intra-regional migration between ASEAN - Developing countries have more low skilled job opportunities
  • Intra regional migration between MERCOSUR - People are moving to Argentina and Chile because of wages and better development
  • Return Migration - high proportion of EU migrants are returning to their country of origin
  • Internal migration - Rural to urban migration in EDCs meaning more job opportunities
• Most immigrants in the UAE are from India (38%) Bangladesh (9.5%) and Pakistan (9.4%)
• Types of jobs immigrants had to do

  3D jobs - Dirty, dangerous, difficult
• South to South migration

  Migration between lower income countries (EDCs and LIDCs)
• Reasons for rising female migration numbers globally

  • Greater independence and freedom of women - they are more likely to get a job
  • Improved status of women in some countries - not expected to be homemakers
  • Increase in highly-skilled / graduate female migrants - more opportunities to fill labour markets
  • Increase in number of refugees fleeing conflict - refugees usually flee together
• Percentage of migrants in developed countries that are female


  52% in 2013
• Percentage of migrants in developing countries that are female


  46% in 2013
• Country with high number of female migration

  Cyprus - 54% migrant shares
• Main reason for rise in youthful migration

  Greater employment opportunities, higher wages and the possibility of remittance
• Countries with high number of youthful migration

  Germany and France
• Contemporary global migration patterns

  Global South to North

  Global South to South
• Reasons for increasing South to South migration

  • Travelling in Europe is becoming harder both economically
  • Stricter administrative borders
  • Many EDCs in the Global south need lower skilled workers for development
  • Easier to travel to neighbouring countries
• Reasons for more female migration

  More independence - women are allowed to get their own jobs, get an education, less discrimination so easier to get a job

  Greater status of women - not expected to be married and become homemakers, can be main income earners

  More female graduates - education is now an option for women, many graduates move to high skilled countries