Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 13 (IANS) More and more Keralites are going abroad for jobs, and the highest migration increase is among Muslims.
The
number of migrants abroad in 2011 was estimated at 2.28 million, up
from 2.19 million in 2008, 1.84 million in 2003 and 1.36 million in
1998.
These are among the findings of the Centre for Development
Studies here. It has come out with a fifth comprehensive study on
international and internal migration from Kerala since 1998.
Remittances from migrants form more than 60 percent of Kerala's revenue.
The report said this stood in 2011 at Rs.49,695 crore, from Rs.43,288 crore in 2008.
The proportion of Hindus among the non-resident Keralites has shot up. It was 37.5 percent in 2011, and 29.9 percent in 1998.
The
vast majority of the migrants in 2011 were Muslims (about 45 percent),
although the community's share in Kerala's population was 26 percent.
While Hindus formed about 56 percent of the population, their share among the migrants was only 37.5 percent.
The
gain among the Hindus was mostly at the expense of Christians, whose
share shrank from 25.1 percent in 2003 to 17.9 percent in 2011.
The
2011 study is based on primary data collected from 15,000 households
selected through random sampling covering all 63 taluks or
sub-districts.
According to study researchers K.C. Zachariah and
S. Irudayarajan, the main countries of destination for Keralites have
remained unchanged over these years - 90 percent go to Gulf countries.
Nearly 40 percent of Kerala's migrants live in the United Arab Emirates and 25 percent in Saudi Arabia.