The coronavirus pandemic has slowed global migration by nearly 30 per cent, with around two million fewer people than predicted migrating between 2019 and 2020, according to a UN report.

Some 281 million people were living outside their country of origin in 2020. The report, entitled “International Migration 2020,” showed that two-thirds of registered migrants lived in just 20 countries, with the United States at the top of the list, with 51 million international migrants in 2020.

Next came Germany with 16 million, Saudi Arabia with 13 million, Russia with 12 million and Britain with nine million, AFP reports.

India topped the list of countries with the largest diasporas in 2020, with 18 million Indians living outside their country of birth.