E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
Middle East & North Africa

Middle East & North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa span both poles of migration: as countries of migrant destination, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and as countries of migrant origin. The region has a large supply of young, active workers, with millions working elsewhere in the region or in Europe. The research here focuses on labor and humanitarian migration to and from the region, including the policies and regulations that govern such migration, protection and integration issues for the region's refugees, diaspora engagement, migration cooperation and reintegration agreements with European governments, and more.

Migrant workers on a farm in Jordan
Reports

Diverging Paths: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in the Middle East and North Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on mobility in the Middle East and North Africa were immediate and wide-reaching. These include the world’s largest and most sustained repatriation efforts for stranded migrants, halted and reversed irregular journeys, and a reckoning with some countries’ reliance on foreign labor. This report examines how these impacts varied across countries in this highly diverse region, as well as the uneven recovery.

Paintings of the Algerian and Moroccan flags on a brick wall
Articles

Tense Neighbors, Algeria and Morocco Have Divergent Migration Histories

Algeria and Morocco sit along a crucial migration corridor between Africa and Europe and have often been defined by their rivalry. Although both have been reluctant to welcome large numbers of sub-Saharan African migrants, their motivations have been different. And historically, their approaches to emigration have been a study in contrasts. This article explores the factors driving migration policy in these two countries.

Recent Activity

A woman receives remittances from a family member abroad.
Articles
June 24, 2021
Can Diaspora Bonds Supercharge Development Investment?
By Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan
Multimedia
May 19, 2021
EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Switching Perspectives?
Cover image for EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants’ Countries of Origin
Policy Briefs
May 2021
EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants’ Countries of Origin
By  Camille Le Coz
Scaffolding surrounds a mosque in Iran.
Articles
April 22, 2021
Iran Loses Highly Educated and Skilled Citizens during Long-Running “Brain Drain”
By Hassan Mahmoudi
coverthumb_covid19 global mobility 2020
Reports
April 2021
COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2020
By  Meghan Benton, Jeanne Batalova, Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Timo Schmidt
IOM Muse Mohammed Jasem a Syrian refugee resettled to France
Multimedia
March 17, 2021
COVID-19 Recovery and the Next Stage of the Syrian Refugee Response After Ten Years
coverthumb_bridge fimer ground
Reports
March 2021
A Bridge to Firmer Ground: Learning from International Experiences to Support Pathways to Solutions in the Syrian Refugee Context
By  Camille Le Coz, Samuel Davidoff-Gore, Timo Schmidt, Susan Fratzke, Andrea Tanco, Maria Belen Zanzuchi and Jessica Bolter
A child walks by a destroyed building in Syria.
Articles
March 4, 2021
Violent Encounters and Social Status Shape the Conditions for Migrants Fleeing Civil War
By Justin Schon

Pages

Cover HLD Agunias
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What We Know: Regulating the Recruitment of Migrant Workers
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Cover HLD Hugo
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What We Know About Circular Migration and Enhanced Mobility
By  Graeme Hugo
Cover ClemensSkilled
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What Do We Know About Skilled Migration and Development?
By  Michael Clemens
cover Yevgeny
Books
July 2013
How Can Talent Abroad Induce Development at Home? Towards a Pragmatic Diaspora Agenda
cover_regulatingrecruitment
Policy Briefs
August 2012
Regulating Private Recruitment in the Asia-Middle East Labour Migration Corridor
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
cover_IOM_brief_3
Policy Briefs
July 2012
Asian Labour Migrants and Humanitarian Crises: Lessons from Libya
By  Brian Kelly and Anita Jawadurovna Wadud
cover_diasporahandbook
Books
June 2012
Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development: A Handbook for Policymakers and Practitioners in Home and Host Countries
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Kathleen Newland
cover_handbook_spanish
Books
April 2012
Hoja de ruta para la participación de las diásporas en el desarrollo: Un manual para políticos y profesionales de los países de origen y de acogida
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Kathleen Newland

Pages

CongoleseMigrants
Feature
July 2, 2019
A Growing Destination for Sub-Saharan Africans, Morocco Wrestles with Immigrant Integration

Long a country of emigration and a springboard for migrants aiming to reach Europe, Morocco has emerged as a destination for many sub-Saharan Africans. As more migrants remain in Morocco, the kingdom has implemented policies to aid with integration. But challenges remain, with most of the estimated 700,000 sub-Saharan Africans living in precarious conditions and irregular status despite some legalization programs.

Three men pose with guns
Feature
April 3, 2019
Foreign Fighters: Will Revoking Citizenship Mitigate the Threat?

Even with the collapse of the Islamic State's "caliphate," thousands of Western foreign fighters are estimated to remain in the Middle East. Deciding how to handle the return of the radicalized—and their dependents—is no easy issue. Some countries seek to revoke their citizenship. Yet citizenship revocation has unclear impact and raises deep questions about the limits of a state’s responsibility to its citizens, as this article explores.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon
Feature
February 21, 2019
A Fragile Situation: Will the Syrian Refugee Swell Push Lebanon Over the Edge?

Lebanon is home to more refugees per capita than any other country. The arrival of approximately 1 million refugees from neighboring Syria has created tensions not only with the native population, but also with long-established Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon. A lack of integration and resources, plus a complex domestic context, suggest further hardship may lie ahead for recent and earlier-arrived refugees alike.

Somali migrants disembarking.
Feature
February 6, 2019
On the Move in a War Zone: Mixed Migration Flows to and through Yemen

War and impending famine in Yemen have captured significant attention. Yet often overlooked is the country’s role as the epicenter of one of the world’s busiest mixed migration routes, linking Africa, Asia, and Europe. This article examines the migration pathways to and through the country, push and pull factors, and the impact of civil war on human movement.

Migrants returning to Ethiopia
Top Ten
December 14, 2018
Intensifying Focus on Migrant Returns Takes a More Global Stage

Questions of how, when, and under what conditions migrants and asylum seekers can be returned to their origin countries have featured prominently in international discussions of migration in 2018. Crucially, so too has an increased interest on the part of both destination and origin countries in making reintegration assistance more effective to help ensure that return is sustainable.

Pages

archive >
MI_BleakWinter
Video, Audio
January 14, 2013

A Bleak Winter: Providing Needed Aid to Those Fleeing Conflict in Syria

A delegation of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) visited Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq in late November to discuss the humanitarian crisis with refugees, officials from host and donor governments, representatives of international humanitarian organizations and local nongovernmental agencies; and to get a firsthand look at the work of IRC partners and staff who are directly involved in providing assistance to the refugees and to Syrians trapped inside the country.

MI_MPI_IOM_Handbook
Video, Audio
July 11, 2012

MPI/IOM Panel Discussion and Asia-Pacific Launch of Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development

A discussion with Dr. Noppawan Tanpipat, Vice President, National Science and Technology Development Agency; Frank Laczko, Head, Migration Research Division, IOM; Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias, Regional Research Officer, IOM, and Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute (MPI); and Kathleen Newland, Director of Migrants, Migration, and Development, Migration Policy Institute (MPI).

MI_developingroadmapengagingdiaspora
Video, Audio
June 26, 2012

Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development

This discussion highlights the best practices and experiences of different countries in engaging and maximizing the contributions that diasporas can and do make to the development of their country of origin, and more broadly the experience of policymakers in both sending and receiving countries and the related challenges and opportunities they face.

MI_Diasporas_NewPartners
Video
November 30, 2010

Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy

Over the past year, MPI has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to examine how diasporas contribute to – or detract from - development efforts in their countries of origin. MPI and USAID have published an edited volume of the research. Please join us for the release of the book where speakers will discuss new thinking on the role of diaspora engagement in U.S. foreign and development policy.
multimedia SolnIDPrefugees
Video, Audio
June 9, 2010

Discussion on Possible Solutions for Refugees and IDPs

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees T. Alexander Aleinikoff offers remarks on durable solutions for the refugee protection system as part of MPI's Leadership Visions Series.

Pages

Recent Activity

Reports
March 2022

The Challenge of Coordinating Border Management Assistance between Europe and the Maghreb

To address cross-border challenges, the European Union and its Member States have increasingly partnered with neighboring countries, with those in the Maghreb region of northern Africa playing a particularly important role. This report examines the border security situation in the Maghreb and European efforts to work with Maghrebi partners to strengthen border management. It finds a mismatch in priorities stymies cooperation.

Articles
January 13, 2022

Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in the United States

Migration from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to the United States doubled between 2000 and 2019, yet these immigrants represented less than 3 percent of the overall U.S. foreign-born population as of 2019. MENA immigrants are more likely than other immigrants to be English proficient, have a college degree, and work in management, business, science, and arts occupations.

Expert Q&A, Audio
December 10, 2021

When Climate Change Comes to Refugee Settings

For this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration, we speak with Joan Rosenhauer, the executive director of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, about how natural disasters and other environmental harms affect her organization’s work and its faith-based mission.

Reports
October 2021

How We Talk about Migration: The Link between Migration Narratives, Policy, and Power

As migration levels rise, societies are facing competing narratives about immigration. Often, there is dissonance between top-down narratives from political leaders and bottom-up narratives spread through personal and media engagement. This report explores positive and negative narratives around migration in Colombia, Lebanon, Morocco, Sweden, and the United States to determine the contexts in which some stick while others fail.

Expert Q&A, Audio
October 12, 2021

Impacts of Extreme Heat: Global Warming and Migration

Global warming and extreme heat are behind many of the phenomena linked to climate change. Hotter weather also has an impact on migration and on migrants, ranging from destinations such as the Middle East to parts of the United States. In recent years, there has been more attention paid to cases of migrant workers dying from the heat. In this episode of our Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast, we speak with Tord Kjellstrom, a physician and researcher who has closely studied the relationship between extreme heat and population health, about what extreme heat means for migrants.

Video, Audio, Webinars
August 24, 2021

Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan: How Could Europe Respond to Growing Displacement?

In light of the dangers facing millions of Afghans, this discussion focused on what European countries should prioritize to address the immediate needs of displaced populations; how to start planning for longer-term assistance to countries in the region who are hosting Afghan refugees; implications for partnerships with governments in the region; and what safe pathways other countries have opened in recent days to evacuate Afghans at risk.

Reports
July 2021

Future Scenarios for Global Mobility in the Shadow of Pandemic

More than 18 months since the first COVID-19-related travel restrictions were introduced, the pandemic’s effects on global mobility are still unfolding. With vaccination campaigns picking up speed in some places while only beginning in others, and new variants of the virus emerging, the timeline for restarting international migration and travel remains uncertain. This report explores how different policy choices could result in very different mobility realities.

Articles
July 15, 2021

Immigrants from Iran in the United States

The United States is home to the largest population of Iranian migrants in the world. More than half of Iranian immigrants in the United States live in California. This article explores key details of this immigrant population, which is older, more highly educated, and has significantly higher median household incomes than the U.S.-born and overall immigrant populations.

Pages