The profile of the average expatriate is evolving into a newly diversified picture, with new countries and generations entering the scene, thus challenging more traditional approaches to mobility programmes. 
The expatriate condition is attracting an increasingly diversified population. As in the past, the average profile is still predominantly of a mature male person, around his 40s, moving accompanied by a partner/spouse.
But new trends are emerging, that are reshaping the global workforce:
- More and more feminised: more women are entering the scene and are open to an experience abroad as part of their career progress
- Millennials picture their future career on a global scale, and expect by their company the opportunity to have an exciting assignment abroad
- They are recruited directly from their studies, as international students are integrated in the host country recruitment channels. Students constitute one of the fastest growing category of expatriates as more and more governments support foreign students participation in the labour market (Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better lives, OECD, 2012)
- Younger expatriate population tend to move alone (about 30% moved as single in recent years), and though they can be less costly than executives, they bring about new challenges in terms of loyalty and motivation (Cartus, 2014)
- Countries of origins and mobility patterns are changing, with Asia gaining importance. And overall in 2014 south–south migration across developing countries was slightly larger than south–north migration, from developing to developed countries (Building human capital through labour migration in Asia, OECD, 2015).
- Varied mobility solutions: while the return-home becomes less and less relevant, developmental assignments are expected to increase the most, followed by short-term assignments and rotational programmes, permanent transfers, and extended business travel (global commuting), according to Cartus latest survey.
With different generations of workers moving aborad and new geographies entering mobility patterns, companies strategies face a variety of expectations and needs, as well as new challenges to unlock the full potential of expatries while balancing budget constraints.