The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) counted 6.1 million new permanent immigrants across its 38 member countries in 2025, marking a second annual decline while remaining 12.5% above 2019.
The OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2026, published Nov. 12, put the total 1.6% below 2024, after three years of sharp post-pandemic increases. Its definition includes some changes in immigration status and movement within areas with free-movement arrangements, so the figure does not count only people arriving from outside member states.
Permanent labor migration rose 13% in 2025, while humanitarian migration fell 26%. Those changes refer to permanent migration categories, rather than all labor or humanitarian movement.
The U.K. recorded a 32% drop to 295,800. The U.S. still had the largest count, at more than 1.2 million, despite a 14% decline. Canada recorded 393,800, down 19%.
Southern European countries moved in the other direction. Italy’s total rose 46% to 248,800, partly driven by expanded labor migration pathways and planned admissions in sectors facing shortages, the OECD said. Portugal increased 139% to about 313,700 as authorities worked through a backlog of residence permit applications; about 300,000 permits were granted from September 2024 through December 2025. Spain’s figure rose 25% to 460,500 after a May 2025 immigration reform broadened residency policies.
AFP reported that resistance to irregular migration and arrivals by people fleeing conflict, authoritarian rule and economic hardship formed part of the wider political setting around migration policy. Portugal’s increase also reflected the processing of applications already in the queue, rather than only new migration.
