An estimated 258 million people have left the countries where they were born – and are living in other nations – an increase of nearly 50 per cent since the year 2000.

The numbers are contained in the biennial report from the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs – released Monday on International Migrants Day.

The percentage of the planet’s people who are international migrants has increased modestly from 2.8 per cent in 2000 – to 3.4 per cent this year – but the percentage living in high-income countries rose from 9.6 per cent in 2000 to 14 per cent in 2017.

The Undersecretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin says “reliable data and evidence are critical to combat misperceptions about migration – and to inform migration policies.”