Asia's Changing Shape

Asia - the world's largest continent, stretching from the Mediterranean to the Pacific - is changing shape. It is not changing its physical shape - it is changing shape economically, socially, geopolitically. And because of Asia's size and centrality, these changes will have profound effects on the rest of the world. All of these changes will have major effects on the movement of people across national borders. This report describes three major changes in the shape of Asia: a profound realignment in the relationship between societies' size and wealth; a deepening integration between Asia's sub‐regions; and the rise of complex new dynamics of rivalry and alignment among Asian states. It concludes by examining what these changes will mean for the likely patterns of the movement of people across borders in the coming decades in Asia.