In its International Migration Outlook 2010 report released on Monday, the OECD said Bulgaria sent the highest number of migrants to Turkey in 2008 while Azerbaijan came in second, followed by Russia. Germany, Iraq, the UK, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the US and Greece were the others in top 10 countries sending the highest number of migrants to Turkey.
The OECD said 4.4 million people migrated to the OECD’s 31 member countries -- the world’s most developed economies -- in 2008, representing a drop of about 6 percent from the year before.
OECD chief Angel Gurria warned governments against toughening immigration policies because migrant labor will be needed to fill shortages as the economy cranks back up. “Current economic difficulties will not change long-term demographic trends and should not be used as an excuse to overly restrict immigration,” he said in a statement. The report said the amount of money Turkish workers sent home from abroad reached $1.3 billion in 2008. Meanwhile, the volume of shuttle trade, also known as the “suitcase trade,” made by migrants in Turkey reached $6.2 billion in 2008, the OECD report found.
