On the potential of immigration for the remote areas of Europe: an introduction

Abstract

Migration to Europe tends to be fundamentally misconstrued and misrepresented, both in numbers and in relation to its core dynamics and asserted implications for European economies and societies (Ardittis 2017; Laine 2020a; Laine, Moyo and Nshimbi 2020). European public opinion significantly overestimates the number of non-EU immigrants: most of the 19 European Union (EU) Member States' citizens perceive the proportion of immigrants to be at least twice the actual figure (Eurobarometer 469). As the statistics clearly indicate, migration -both regular and irregular -is a global rather than a European phenomenon. While Europe has been and increasingly continues to be a popular migrant destination the numbers appear less momentous in a global assessment. This becomes especially evident when refugees are considered, 83 per cent of whom are hosted in low-and middle-income countries, and 72 per cent in their respective neighbouring countries (UNHCR 2021). Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees, at 3.8 million people, significantly outnumbering all the EU countries. Germany currently tops the EU ranking as the largest refugee-hosting country, with 1.3 million refugees. When considering refugees as a proportion of the total population, Sweden's enduring and generous refugee policy tops the EU ranking at 2.6 per cent, far behind Lebanon (19.8 per cent) and Jordan (10.4 per cent). Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine has forced millions to flee their homes, leading to major displacement crises, but note this is beyond this book's scope because the data collection was largely concluded before the war's onset.Overall global migration is grossly exaggerated. The international migrant total currently comprises 3.6 per cent of the global population (IOM 2022; UN DESA 2022). The vast majority of the global population -around 96.4