Global Program
The Global Program acts as a policy laboratory for innovative, evidence-based, and politically feasible solutions to migration policy challenges. From direct policy advice to deep comparative research, its work interrogates policy design and effectiveness, helps countries newer to immigration learn from innovation and evidence in other regions, and anticipates how demographic, economic, and technological shifts will reshape migration in the years ahead. It supports governments in responding to crises with greater coordination and foresight, and provides a trusted off-the-record space for engaging with sensitive topics. Its main geographical focus is Europe, the Americas, and Australia, but it increasingly works with governments and other partners worldwide, including in East Africa and Asia. For more on the Global Program, click here.
Featured
How Europe Was Transformed by the 2015-16 Migration and Refugee Crisis
Ten years after the 2015-16 migration and refugee crisis, the European Union has reshaped its process for dividing up asylum claims and controlling…
The Shifting Financing of Responses to Venezuelan Displacement
Financing for Latin American responses to Venezuelan displacement has changed over the years, and new approaches are needed in light of foreign aid…
Migration Diplomacy in an Age of Transactionalism
As international cooperation frays, balanced diplomacy—rather than coercive dealmaking—promises the most effective approach to emerging migration…
More Featured Work
Key Statistics
International migrants comprise 3.7 percent of the global population. Learn more about them
304 million
The number of migrants globally in 2024
50.6 million
The number who as of 2025 were refugees or asylum seekers
94 million
The number of international migrants in Europe—the top destination globally
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Missing Ingredients in Diaspora Engagement in Development: Destination-Country Policies and Integration
This webinar examines what roles diasporas could play in the development cooperation programs of countries of destination, as well as the potential challenges and opportunities for policy design.
Pushing Borders Outward: The state of asylum globally five years after the EU-Turkey Deal
Marking the launch of an initiative led by MPI and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, this event considers the extent to which externalization strategies such as the EU-Turkey agreement or deals with Libya and now-rescinded U.S. agreements to send asylum seekers to Central America have become the dominant strategies deployed by countries of asylum and how these policies have affected both asylum seekers and host and transit countries.
No “Climate Refugees,” But Still a Role for the UN Refugee Agency
When climate disasters displace people, where does the mandate of the UN refugee agency begin — and where does it end?
Building Effective Migration Management Capacity in Mexico and Central America
This report release event examines migration management in Mexico and Central America, and the growing government attention to migration functions, enhanced immigration enforcement, increased investments in asylum systems and existing protection frameworks, as well as labor migration policies. The discussion explores strategies that regional and U.S. governments, as well as civil society, can employ to better manage migration, as governments in the region are being confronted with rapidly changing migration trends.
A Year of Pandemic: The State of Global Human Mobility & What Is on the Horizon
The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed mobility and cross-border movement across the globe in 2020. This two-panel discussion, with introductory remarks from the IOM Director General, showcases findings from an IOM-MPI report examining how the pandemic reshaped border management and human mobility. The conversation also focuses on what the lasting impacts may be throughout 2021 and beyond.
The Benefits of Climate Migration
How can migration, remittances, and skills flows strengthen communities’ ability to cope with climate impacts?
COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2020
In 2020, COVID-19 sharply curtailed global mobility, slashing international flights and leaving nearly 3 million people stranded by mid-year.
Laying the Foundation for Regional Cooperation: Migration Policy & Institutional Capacity in Mexico and Central America
Since 2015, Mexico and Central America have built fragmented, enforcement-heavy migration systems. This report maps gaps and paths toward improved regional cooperation.
Sentando las bases para una cooperación regional: Política migratoria y capacidad institucional en México y Centroamérica
Desde 2015, México y Centroamérica han ampliado su capacidad migratoria de forma fragmentada y con énfasis en control, dejando brechas en protección y vías legales.
Is Climate Change Driving Migration from Central America?
How do drought, food insecurity, and structural poverty combine to shape migration decisions in Central America — and what does the data tell us?
