E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
International Data

International Data

Globecropped

Globally, more than 258 million people are international migrants—a number that continues to rise as advances in transportation and communication have increased the capacity and desire to move. Migration today is more widely distributed across more countries. The data-rich research offered here, based on credible sources, sketches migration flows, the sending of remittances, admission levels, enforcement actions, and more for countries around the world.

For international data resources, visit MPI's Data Hub.

Recent Activity

Refugees prepare to be resettled in the United Kingdom.
Articles
Cover image for Integración socioeconómica de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos
Reports
July 2021
By  Diego Chaves-González, Jordi Amaral and María Jesús Mora
Cover image for Socioeconomic Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees
Reports
July 2021
By  Diego Chaves-González, Jordi Amaral and María Jesús Mora
Arrivals from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, depart a train in Moscow.
coverthumb_venezuelan profile sp
Fact Sheets
August 2020
By  Diego Chaves-González and Carlos Echeverría-Estrada
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Fact Sheets
August 2020
By  Diego Chaves-González and Carlos Echeverría-Estrada
Haitian_national_palace_earthquake
Articles
A gathering in Tel Aviv for asylum seeker rights

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coverthumb DG Empl Data Overview
Reports
July 2014
By  Meghan Benton, Susan Fratzke and Madeleine Sumption
Cover DG Employment France
Reports
May 2014
By  Patrick Simon and Elsa Steichen
Cover DG Employment SWEDEN web thumb
Reports
April 2014
By  Pieter Bevelander and Nahikari Irastorza
cover DGEmployment Spain
Reports
March 2014
By  Núria Rodríguez-Planas and Natalia Nollenberger

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Image of man on steps in front of China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, China

China has a long history of international migration. Movement was sharply interrupted following the 1949 revolution but has rebounded in recent decades. Since 1979, the country has developed from one of mostly limited migration into one that is in many ways defined through its global interactions, although it continues to treat migration warily, as this country profile explains.

A Dutch family at Ellis Island between 1915 and 1920.

As host to more immigrants than any other country, the United States has been shaped and reshaped by immigration over the centuries, with the issue at times becoming a flashpoint. This article covers the history of U.S. immigration and the major laws governing immigration, and provides a comprehensive overview of the present-day immigrant population.

Two boys pose in an informal settlement east of Johannesburg largely populated by immigrants.

South Africa hosts the most immigrants of any African country. Yet it faces conflicting pressures, including the legacy of apartheid, a steady outflow of well-educated South Africans, and the need to juggle bilateral labor mobility schemes at a time of economic insecurity and high unemployment. This article traces these pressures and how they have developed over time.

A woman and her child in southern Ethiopia.

In 1980, more than 2.5 million Ethiopian refugees lived in other countries. Now, Ethiopians are more likely to migrate for labor reasons, particularly to the Middle East and southern Africa, and meanwhile the country has become a refuge for humanitarian migrants from its neighbors. This article traces the history of migration from, to, and through Ethiopia.

Refugees prepare to be resettled in the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom was once a country primarily of emigration, but in recent decades many more migrants have arrived at its borders than have left. This decades-long transition was interrupted by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and this article describes the inflection point at which the country finds itself.

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Recent Activity

Articles

Arno Tanner of the Finnish Immigration Service and the Universities of Helsinki, and Tampere discusses the historical and current state of migration to and from Finland, and the country's immigration policy priorities going forward.

Articles

In addition to Palestinians, Jordan also hosts forced migrants from Iraq, especially since the 2003 U.S. invasion, as well as Lebanon. Géraldine Chatelard of the Institut français du Proche-Orient examines Jordan's large refugee population, emigration and remittances, labor migration to Jordan, and the government's migration-management policies in this updated profile.

Articles

This West African nation deals with a range of migration issues, from massive internal and regional migration to brain drain and a large, well-educated diaspora in the West that its government sees as key to future development. Blessing U. Mberu of the African Population and Health Research Center and Roland Pongou of Brown University take a comprehensive look at migration issues in Africa's most populous country.

Articles

This former British colony in the Caribbean, once a destination for forced and indentured labor from across the globe, has experienced large emigration flows of both skilled and unskilled workers and their families to the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada over the last half century. As Alex Glennie and Laura Chappell of the Institute for Public Policy Research explain, the Jamaican government has a number of strategies to limit brain drain and to encourage return.

Reports
January 2010

The enlargement of the European Union has fundamentally changed migration patterns to the United Kingdom. Since May 2004 an estimated 1.5 million workers have moved to the UK from new EU member states. This report looks at the challenges ahead as migration patterns shift across the UK.

Articles

The world's second most populous country also has a vast diapora spread across nearly every continent. Daniel Naujoks provides a broad overview of Indian migration flows and major populations worldwide, and discusses India's diaspora policies, refugees and asylum seekers from the region, and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Reports
October 2009

The size and characteristics of immigration to the UK have changed significantly. Immigrants are more numerous, more mobile, and more diverse than ever before. This report looks at the differing immigration patterns.

Articles
Ireland's economy and openness to labor migration from new EU Member States fueled immigration flows, including return migration, over the past few years. But the global recession has hit the country hard, and unemployment among both foreigners and Irish nationals is rising. Emma Quinn of the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin updates the Ireland country profile with a look at recent trends, policies, and data.

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