Glossary
Accompanying family of workers: Immigrants who are entitled to arrive at the same time as the principal applicant. This is only possible for some categories of labour migrants (mostly highly skilled). Other family migrants joining their spouse at a later stage, through the family reunification procedure, for instance, are included under the family migrant category.
Category of entry (alternatively, admission category): Refers to the legal categorisation of permanent migrants based on the circumstances of and reasons for their entry into the host country. The OECD´s international migration database distinguishes six different categories of entry: (i) labour migrants, (ii) migrants accompanying family of workers, (iii) family migrants, (iv) humanitarian migrants, (v) other migrants and (vi) free movement migrants.
Children with foreign-born parents (alternatively, native-born children/offspring of immigrants): Individuals aged between 0 and 14 with two foreign-born parents (or one foreign-born parent and one parent which country of birth is unknown). If explicitly stated, children with foreign-born parentage may be foreign-born themselves.
Children with mixed parentage: Individuals aged between 0 and 14 with one foreign-born and one native-born parent.
Children with native-born parents (alternatively, native-born children/ offspring of native-born): Individuals aged between 0 and 14 with two native-born parents (or one native-born parent and one parent which country of birth is unknown).
Duration of stay: Refers to the time that has passed since an immigrant first moved to the host-country (and took up usual residence). This publication distinguishes (i) recent migrants who arrived in the host country within the last 5 years (or the last 10 years for some indicators where sample sizes are smaller) and (ii) settled migrants who arrived at least 10 years ago.
Elderly people: Individuals aged 65 and older.
EU average: When it is not possible to calculate the EU total, the unweighted EU average is used. It considers each EU country as a single entity with equal weight. The “EU average” is thus the arithmetical average derived from all countries with available data. The number of countries used in the calculations is shown in brackets.
EU-born: For the sake of simplicity, an EU-born is a person born in a country benefitting from the EU/EFTA free mobility agreement, i.e. a country from the EU/EFTA area, who settles in another EU/EFTA (or former EU/EFTA) country.
EU mobile citizen: An EU mobile citizen, a notion to be understood in the context of the European Union, is a national from an EU country, excluding nationals of the country of residence.
EU total: The EU total is the summary statistic generally used for EU countries. It takes differences in population size into account. It is thus the weighted average for EU countries. The number of countries used in the calculations is shown in brackets.
Europe: In the context of this publication, Europe comprises 54 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Andorra, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Belarus, Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Jersey, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Russian Federation, San Marino, Türkiye, Ukraine, Holy See, former Czechoslovakia, the former Soviet Union, and former Yugoslavia.
European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA): In 2023, the EFTA comprises Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
European Union: In 2023, the EU comprises 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden.
Family migrant: Immigrant who arrives to join family members.
Free movements: Movements of people who enjoy free mobility agreements between countries (including EU/EFTA, Australia-New Zealand, Ireland-United Kingdom).
German-speaking countries: In the context of this publication, this group comprises countries in which German is an official language: Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Guest worker: This historical term refers to labour migrants who were recruited initially on a temporary basis in a number of Western European countries in the 1950s and 1960s to fill the labour shortages of the post-war era.
Highly educated persons: People falling into ISCED groups 5-8 are those with tertiary education degrees. They have at least completed the first stage of tertiary education.
Highly skilled job: In accordance with the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO), a highly skilled job describes those who work as senior managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals (ISCO Levels 1-3).
Host country: The country in which an immigrant is residing.
Host-country citizenship: The citizenship of the country in which an immigrant is residing.
Host-country language: A language that is one of the official languages of the country of residence of immigrants.
Household: Refers to a group of persons who share the same dwelling. This publication distinguishes four categories, (i) single-person households (one adult, no children), (ii) adults without children, (iii) single-parent families (single-parent households with at least one child), (iv) families (adults with at least one child).
Humanitarian migrant: Immigrant who moves or is forced to move for humanitarian reasons and has eventually obtained an international protection status.
Immigrant (alternatively, foreign-born or migrant): A person born abroad.
Immigrant household (alternatively, foreign-born household): Refers to a group of persons who share the same dwelling, where all responsible persons for the household are immigrants.
Immigrants arrived as adults: Immigrants who arrived at the age of 15 or after.
Immigrants arrived as children: Immigrants who arrived before the age of 15.
International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED): A classification developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to facilitate comparisons of education statistics and indicators across countries on the basis of uniform and internationally agreed definitions. See http://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/international-standard-classification-education-isced.
International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO): ISCO is a tool developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) for organising jobs into a clearly defined set of groups according to the tasks and duties undertaken in the job. It is intended for use in statistical applications and lends itself to international comparisons. See http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/isco88/.
Labour migrant: Immigrant who moves primarily for the purpose of employment.
Longstanding European destinations: In the context of this publication, this group comprises Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. See Chapter 1 Group 2 for more details.
Low-educated persons: People falling into ISCED groups 0-2 are described as having no or low education. They have no more than a lower-secondary level of education.
Low-skilled job: In accordance with the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO), a low-skilled job describes those who work in elementary occupations that require simple, routine tasks and, often, physical effort (ISCO 9).
Man: Person whose self-declared gender is male.
Mixed household: Refers to a group of persons who share the same dwelling, where one of the responsible persons is an immigrant and the other one is native-born.
National: Person with the nationality of the country of residence.
Native-born: Person born in the country of residence.
Native-born household: Refers to a group of persons who share the same dwelling, where all responsible persons were born in the country of residence.
Non-EU migrant (alternatively, Non-EU born): For the sake of simplicity, a non-EU migrant is a person born outside the EU/EFTA area who settles in a EU/EFTA country.
Nordic countries: In the context of this publication, this group comprises the five member countries of the Nordic council: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
OECD average: When it is not possible to calculate the OECD total, the unweighted OECD average is calculated instead. It takes each OECD country as a single entity with equal weight. The “OECD average” is thus the arithmetical average derived from all countries with available data. The number of countries used in the calculations is shown in brackets.
OECD total: The OECD total is the summary statistic generally used for OECD countries. It takes differences in population size into account. It is thus the weighted average for OECD countries. The number of countries used in the calculations is shown in brackets.
Permanent immigrant (alternatively, permanent flow): Permanent immigrants are foreign nationals who received a residence permit that either grants them the right to stay permanently or can be indefinitely renewed.
Recent migrant: An immigrant who entered the host country within the last 5 years or within the last 10 years. Employment and skill indicators (including Chapter 8) refer to recent migrants as those who arrived within the last 5 years, while all other indicators, if not otherwise stated, refer to recent migrants as those who arrived within the last 10 years.
Responsible person of a household: Defined differently depending on the data source. The EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC) identifies one or two persons “responsible for the household”. It considers that they are the person(s) owning or renting the accommodation or the person(s) to whom the accommodation is provided if it is provided free. If more than two persons share the responsibility, only the oldest two are registered.
Under the Israeli Labour Force Survey, the responsible person of the household is the one who fills in the household questionnaire. His/her partner (if any) is the second responsible person.
The United States Current Population Survey defines the term “householder” as the person (or one of the persons) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented (maintained) or, if there is no such person, any adult member, excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees. If the house is owned or rented jointly by a married couple, the householder may be either the husband or the wife.
The concept of the responsible person of the household is not used in Australia, New Zealand or Canada. Instead, the person with the highest wage and his/her partner (if any) are identified as the responsible person of the household in this publication.
Settled migrant: A migrant who has lived in the host country for at least 10 years.
Settlement countries: In the context of this publication, this group comprises Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand and the United States. See Chapter 1 Group 1 for more details.
Third countries: All countries that are not members of the European Union in 2022. It comprises EFTA countries.
Third-country national (TCN): A third-country national, a notion to be understood in the context of the European Union, is a national with a third-country nationality who resides in the European Union.
Very low-educated persons: People falling into ISCED groups 0-1 are described as having no or very low education. They have no more than a primary level of education.
Very old people: Individuals aged 75 and older.
Woman: Person whose self-declared gender is female.
Youth from EU parentage: Individuals aged between 15 and 34 who are native-born with two foreign-born parents, at least one of whom is born in an EU/EFTA country (or one EU-born parent and one parent which country of birth is unknown).
Youth from non-EU parentage: Individuals aged between 15 and 34 who are native-born with two foreign-born parents born outside the EU/EFTA (or one non-EU born parent and one parent which country of birth is unknown).
Youth with foreign-born parents: Individuals aged between 15 and 34 who are native-born with two foreign-born parents (or one foreign-born parent and one parent which country of birth is unknown).
Youth with mixed parentage: Individuals aged between 15 and 34 who are native-born with one foreign-born and one native-born parent.
Youth with native-born parents: Individuals aged between 15 and 34 who are native-born with two native-born parents (or one native-born parent and one parent which country of birth is unknown).