The number of people on international assignments is set to grow by 50% by 2020, according to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers. This compares with 25% in the past 10 years.

Global firms placed employees in an average of 13 locations in 1998. This rose to 22 by 2009, and could reach 33 in 2020.

The research points to the emergence of new ‘capital’ cities as business hubs according to the size of local working age populations and new revenue streams.

The report also predicts that governments will share costs and knowledge to remove barriers to mobility and manage regulation, while economic and demographic imperatives could force leniency on immigration rules for specific workers, while technology will reduce the tax compliance burden.

Carol Stubbings, international mobility partner PricewaterhouseCoopers, says: “While we’re not consigning existing international work models to the history books, governments and companies will have to work together to manage some of the barriers to international mobility that will otherwise impede global competition and operations.”