Country Profile Articles

Although Sweden was once open to labor migrants from across Europe and refugees from all over the world, its policies have become increasingly restrictive over the last 35 years. Today, the country is wrestling with integration issues, as Charles Westin of the Centre for Research in International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Stockholm University, explains.

Guatemala's long civil war, which spurred large flows of refugees, has given way to high levels of economic migration to the United States and an economy more dependent on remittances. Also, Guatemala’s geography has made it a prime transit country for migrants headed north, as James Smith of Inforpress Centroamericana reports.

Although this former Soviet republic joined the European Union in 2004, its main concern is its large ethnic Russian population. Tim Heleniak of the University of Maryland explains.

Since its independence in 1991, Ukraine has expanded immigration and emigration rights – but it has also become a neighbor of the expanded European Union, a crossroads for illegal migration, and fertile ground for human traffickers. Olena Malynovksa of the National Institute for International Security Problems in Kyiv reports.

Colombia's ongoing armed conflict has caused millions to leave the country, both as economic migrants and as refugees; millions more have been internally displaced. While the government struggles with these issues, it is also courting Colombians abroad. Myriam Bérubé reports.

Lors de la deuxième moitié du 20me siècle, le Maroc s'est transformé en l'un des principaux pays d'émigration du monde. Les marocains constituent une communauté de migrants parmi les plus larges et plus dispersées en Europe de l'ouest.

A source for Europe's labor needs since the 1960s, Moroccan migrants and their remittances are central to the economy back home. But as Hein de Haas of Radboud University Nijmegen explains, Morocco is also becoming a transit and immigration country for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

Israel is home to Jews and Jewish immigrants as well as Israeli Arabs, Palestinian refugees, and others. But the arrival of foreign workers in the 1990s has further complicated the country's migration issues, as Martha Kruger reports.

South America's largest country has experienced waves of immigration and, more recently, emigration. But Brazil has not proactively addressed new migration patterns, including increases in illegal immigrants. Ernesto Friedrich Amaral of the University of Texas at Austin and Wilson Fusco of Universidade Estadual de Campinas report.

Denise Efionayi, Josef Martin Niederberger and Philippe Wanner of the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies explain how Switzerland, with one of the highest percentages of foreigners in Europe, is responding to a variety of migration challenges.

Young-bum Park of Hansung University outlines South Korea's response to temporary labor demands and its approach to integrating North Korean refugees.