Thiruvananthapuram: People hailing from Kerala reside at 159 among the 195 countries in the world for employment and studies, says a report released by the state government agency NORKA-ROOTS. Malayalis are also present in 20 independent territories. Interestingly, the data reveals that NORKA-ROOTS issued an ID card for Keralites even in North Korea, a very unlikely place for a person from the state to reside.
In fact, there are a mere 36 countries where no Keralite is stationed at present, according to NORKA-ROOTS.
While NORKA-ROOTS has distributed seven lakh ID cards to expatriates who registered with it, the actual number of migrants is much more. Incidentally, the Kerala Migration Survey 2018 said that 21.23 lakh Malayalis lived in other countries.
Countries without Malayalis
Asia: Pakistan.
Europe: Bosnia, Cyprus, Estonia, North Macedonia.
Africa: Gambia, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Comoros, Ethiopia, Niger, Togo, Tunisia, Mauritania.
North America: Belize, Antigua & Barbuda, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Granada, Guatemala, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent.
South America: Chile, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.
Oceania: Marshall Island, Micronesia, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Island.
Indian migrants
Statistics presented in the Lok Sabha in August 2023 said that Kerala was placed seventh in the list of states that sent the highest number of students abroad in 2020. The top seven states and the number of students were:
Andhra Pradesh: 35,614
Punjab: 33,412
Maharashtra: 29,079
Gujarat: 23,156
Delhi: 18,482
Tamil Nadu: 15,564
Kerala: 15,277.
Favourite destinations
As per figures recorded in January 2023, 13.24 lakh Indian students went to 79 countries for higher studies. The most popular countries for Indian students were the US, Australia, Canada and the UK.
However, a mere 3,000 students from Kerala registered for NORKA-ROOTS ID cards.