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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International Experience Suggests Safe Third-Country Agreement Would Not Solve the U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis
European experience shows safe third-country agreements are hard to enforce and rarely deter asylum seekers, making them an unlikely fix for the U.S.-Mexico border crisis.
Migration, Development, and Global Governance: From Crisis toward Consolidation
The 2018 Global Compact for Migration marked a milestone in international cooperation, but its long-term impact hinges on states' willingness to implement its 23 objectives.
"Merit-Based" Immigration: Designing Successful Selection Systems
MPI and OECD experts discuss what policymakers should consider in designing and managing immigrant selection systems in a time of intense labor-market and demographic change.
The Evolution of the Australian System for Selecting Economic Immigrants
Australia's economic immigration system has shifted from family-based to employer-driven and increasingly temporary since the mid-1990s.
International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?
MPI's Kathleen Newland, Refugee Council USA's Mary Giovagnoli, and David Scott FitzGerald, author of Refuge beyond Reach, discuss how and why international and national responses to the rising challenge of refugee displacement are diverging. Topics include what lies ahead for the Global Compact on Refugees and how adjustments to asylum policies in many high-income democracies are narrowing the paths to protection.
Competing Approaches to Selecting Economic Immigrants: Points-Based vs. Demand-Driven Systems
Points-based and employer-led admissions systems are converging into hybrids. Policymakers need flexible, evidence-driven approaches to compete for global talent.
The Canadian Express Entry System for Selecting Economic Immigrants: Progress and Persistent Challenges
Canada's Express Entry system, launched in 2015, modernized economic immigrant selection by cutting backlogs, but gaps remain on skills assessment and low-skilled workers.
A Conversation with António Vitorino, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration
In his first public address on his inaugural official visit to Washington, DC, IOM Director General António Vitorino discusses his vision for IOM; reforms in the UN system; coordination with other organizations in addressing humanitarian protection; and the operational steps IOM is taking to respond to forced migration and displacement.
Una nueva política migratoria para una nueva era: Una conversación con la Secretaria de Gobernación Olga Sánchez Cordero
Durante su primera visita oficial a Washington, DC, la Secretaria de Gobierno Olga Sánchez Cordero presento un discurso público sobre la nueva política migratoria de México en el Instituto de Políticas Migratorias.
A New Migration Policy for A New Era: A Conversation with Mexico's Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero
On her first official trip to Washington, DC in the government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who took office on November 30, Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero offers remarks on Mexico’s new approach to migration policy.
