Migration .1 General migration Afghanistan - National Risk and Vulnerability Survey 2011-2012, Living Conditions Survey NRVA 2011 12 report

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3.5.2 International migration

Immigrants’ country of origin and urban-rural settlement NRVA 2011-12 indicates that 3.1 percent 827 thousand of the population was born abroad. 4 The most important country of birth is Pakistan, where 77 percent of the life-time immigrants were born 638 thousand persons, followed by Iran with 21 percent 174 thousand Table 3.7, panel a . Other countries of birth are insigniicant with only just over one percent of persons born abroad. Of the life-time immigrants 32 percent now reside in urban areas and 60 percent in rural areas the remaining part being Kuchis. For the non-Kuchi population this implies that in proportion to the overall settled population 24 percent urban and 76 percent rural a preference for urban settlement is observed. This preference is stronger for immigrants from Iran than for those coming from Pakistan. Of the non-Kuchi life-time immigrants born in Pakistan, 28 percent now live in urban areas and 72 in rural areas. For the settled immigrants born in Iran a majority of 56 percent has settled in urban areas, compared to 44 in rural areas. Another difference in the migratory patterns between Pakistan and Iran is the signiicance of Kuchi immigration from the former country and its virtual absence from the latter. The picture for recent immigration is quite similar to that of life-time immigration Table 3.7, panel b. The total number of persons who lived abroad in October 2004 is of the same order of magnitude 725 thousand and again Pakistan and Iran – respectively with 67 and 32 percent – dwarf any other country of previous residence. Recent immigrants from Iran again settle at a rate similar to that of life-time migrants, with 54 and 46 percent in respectively urban and rural areas. The corresponding igures for recent immigrants from Pakistan are more balanced than for life-time immigrants: 42 against 50 percent with 8 percent Kuchi. Overall, this implies an even stronger preference to settle in urban areas than in life-time migration. The number of immigrants since October 2004 suggest an immigration ratio in the order of 0.4 percent per year. However, this strongly under-estimates immigration, as it does not take into account the effects of return migration, repeated immigration and mortality since 2004. 5 Table 3.7: Immigrants a born abroad and b living abroad in October 2004, by current residence, and by country of origin percentages Country of origin a. Population born abroad b. Population living abroad in October 2004 Current residence Current residence Urban Rural Kuchi National Urban Rural Kuchi National Current residence as percentage of country of origin Pakistan 25.5 64.1 10.4 100.0 42.5 49.5 8.0 100.0 Iran 55.6 44.3 0.1 100.0 54.3 45.7 0.0 100.0 Other countries 28.6 56.6 14.9 100.0 14.8 74.0 11.2 100.0 Total 31.9 59.8 8.3 100.0 45.9 48.6 5.5 100.0 Country of origin as percentage of current residence Pakistan 61.6 82.7 96.7 77.1 61.8 68.2 97.6 66.9 Iran 36.8 15.7 0.2 21.1 37.8 30.0 0.0 32.0 Other countries 1.6 1.7 3.1 1.8 0.4 1.8 2.4 1.2 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Data between brackets are considered unreliable Emigrants’ country of destination and urban-rural area origin For the year preceding the survey interview, the respondent households indicated that 107 thousand persons of 14 years and older left the household to live abroad. This would imply an emigration rate of 0.4 percent per year. However, this igure underestimates emigration to the extent that entire households left the country. 4 The methodological elaboration and sources of error for the estimations are given in Annex VI. 5 Calculated as the average number of annual immigrants per province since October 2004 as a percentage of the mid-period population between October 2004 and January 2012. POPULATION STRUCTURE AND CHANGE