The third factor affecting international migration has been the relaxation of restrictions on Asian entrants by the predominantly white settler states. In the late 1950s, migrants from Asian origins accounted for less than 8 per cent of the migration to the United States and around 2 per cent of that to Canada and Australia. By the early year of the 21st century, these proportions had increased to over half of the annual immigration to Canada, one third of that to the US and some 40 per cent of the immigration to Australia. The absolute number of Asian