THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Emigration from Kerala has registered an 11.6 per cent fall after witnessing a steady increase in the last 15 years, according to the findings of the latest Kerala Migration Survey (KMS). Conducted by the Centre for Development Studies, the Kerala Migration Survey is now into its eighth year.
According to the survey, worldwide there are 21,21,887 emigrants from Kerala. This is 1.49 lakh less than the 2016 KMS and 2.78 lakh less than the 2013 KMS. The rate of growth of emigration - except in 2011 and 2013 - has been continuously dipping since 2008. S Irudayarajan, who headed the CDS team which conducted the survey, attributes the decline to a host of factors, the major one being the decrease in the population of the migration- prone age group (15-29 years).
“The decline in remuneration in the Gulf countries coupled with the rise in wages in Kerala prompted many to return home. Also the Gulf economy has suffered a serious setback owing to the fall in prices of global crude(except during the last one year),” he said.
Other reasons are the nationalisation campaign in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries like ‘Nitaqat’ and high rate of family taxes.The total remittances to Kerala between April 2017-March 2018 came to `85,092 cr. But the inter-survey increase in remittances was only 20 per cent. Of the total remittances at the state- level, 21 per cent came to Malappuram followed by Kollam at 15 per cent, Thrissur at 11 per cent and Thiruvananthapuram at 10 per cent. Malappuram tops the chart accounting for nearly a fifth of the total population. Highest emigration is to the Gulf region, accounting for 89.2 per cent.