Africa (sub-Saharan)

Beyond intraregional migration, sub-Saharan Africans migrate to North Africa, Europe, North America, and beyond. The research offered here focuses generally on two aspects of sub-Saharan migration: the outcomes for these migrants and their children once they have settled in their countries of destination, the United States among them, and the roles that diasporas and development policies can play in the economic improvement of these African nations.

A woman in Nigeria smiles while using her mobile phone

Reports

Leaving No One Behind: Inclusive Fintech for Remittances

Remittances are a vital lifeline for migrants’ families around the world and an important source of revenue for many low- and middle-income countries, especially in times of crisis. As more people turn to digital financial technologies for these money transfers, this shift holds the potential to shake up the rigid remittance industry and boost development benefits. But it also brings new challenges, as this report explores.

Motorcyclists and pedestrians travel a road between buildings in Arua, Uganda

Reports

Migration and Displacement in Secondary Cities: Insights from Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda

Small and mid-sized cities are some of the fastest growing in many parts of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa. Yet life in these cities can present a variety of challenges for migrants and displaced persons. This report examines these challenges in secondary cities in Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda, and how local, national, and civil-society actors are working to address them.

Recent Activity

Articles October 23, 2020 Climate Impacts as Drivers of Migration By Alex de Sherbinin	Articles June 5, 2020 A Warm Welcome for Some: Israel Embraces Immigration of Jewish Diaspora, Sharply Restricts Labor Migrants and Asylum Seekers By Rebeca Raijman
Articles April 2, 2020 Africa Deepens its Approach to Migration Governance, But Are Policies Translating to Action? By Camille Le Coz and Antonio Pietropolli	Articles November 6, 2019 Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States By Carlos Echeverria-Estrada and Jeanne Batalova
Articles August 22, 2019 A Tightening Grip Abroad: Authoritarian Regimes Target Their Emigrant and Diaspora Communities By Gerasimos Tsourapas	Articles August 1, 2019 African Countries Relax Short-Term Visa Policies for Chinese in Sign of Increased Openness to China By Loksan Harley
Articles July 2, 2019 A Growing Destination for Sub-Saharan Africans, Morocco Wrestles with Immigrant Integration By Driss El Ghazouani	Articles May 23, 2019 After Deportation, Some Congolese Returnees Face Detention and Extortion By Maybritt Jill Alpes

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Reports September 2006 From A Zero-Sum to a Win-Win Scenario? Literature Review on Circular Migration By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza	Reports January 2006 The New 'Boat People': Ensuring Safety and Determining Status By Joanne van Selm and Betsy Cooper
Books October 2005 Emigration, Brain Drain and Development: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa By Arno Tanner	Policy Briefs July 2004 How Many People Have to Die Before We Care? The Role of the International Community in Darfur By Erin Patrick

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Top Ten

December 14, 2016

For Every Step Forward on Refugee Protection, Two Steps Back amid Record Displacement

With global displacement at a post-World War II high, the international community made some advances on refugee protection in 2016, but there were also steps backward. The United Nations held the first-ever refugee summit and some countries, including the United States and Canada, increased their resettlement commitments. Meanwhile, conflict intensified in some hotspots and publics turned against refugees, as this Top 10 article explores.

Top Ten

December 5, 2016

While Mobility Comes under Assault in Europe, Other Regions Forge Ahead

In stark contrast to a Europe that is erecting new barriers and reinstituting border controls, other regions around the world are moving toward greater mobility for intraregional travelers and migrants. Regional blocs in South America and Southeast Asia have been working to ease intraregional movements of workers, and the African Union in 2016 launched a new biometric African passport.

Feature

May 18, 2016

Kenyan Migration to the Gulf Countries: Balancing Economic Interests and Worker Protection

Kenyan migration to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has been on the rise over the last few decades, spurred by rising unemployment and instability in Kenya combined with the GCC region's economic growth and proximity. While both sending and origin countries benefit economically from this new migration, it presents significant challenges for these governments, particularly in the area of labor rights, as this feature article explores.

Profile

April 20, 2016

Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Migration History Marked by Crises and Restrictions

One of the least developed countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced significant migration outflows and inflows tied to political and economic crises in recent decades. While most Congolese migrants head to neighboring countries, destinations have diversified, with an uptick in those leaving for opportunities in Europe and beyond. This country profile explores historical and contemporary patterns of migration to and from DR Congo.

Feature

April 7, 2016

Who Belongs? Statelessness and Nationality in West Africa

At least 10 million people worldwide are stateless, including 1 million in West Africa, though experts believe the true number may be much higher. West Africa's colonial heritage and nationality laws have increased the risk of statelessness, particularly for vulnerable social groups including migrants and their descendants, refugees, and children. Governments across the region have recently initiated action plans to eradicate statelessness, as this feature explores.

Recent Activity

Articles

October 21, 2015

The Emigration of Health-Care Workers: Malawi’s Recurring Challenges

The emigration of health-care professionals from Malawi led to drastic labor shortages in the impoverished nation in the early 2000s. To combat this brain drain, the government launched an action plan that has largely stabilized the outflow. However, human resource challenges to Malawi's health-care system remain acute and complex, as discussed in this feature article.

Reports

October 2015

The Academic Engagement of Newly Arriving Somali Bantu Students in a U.S. Elementary School

Refugee students with interrupted or limited formal education (LFE) face particular difficulties in adjusting to U.S. schools. This study illustrates the difficulties faced by Somali Bantu refugee students who came to the United States with no schooling, and the pressures placed on teachers and other staff in a Chicago elementary school.

Articles

February 20, 2015

Following the Money: Chinese Labor Migration to Zambia

Migration has begun to follow the flow of capital after years of Chinese investment in major infrastructure projects in Zambia. This feature article, based on original research including the coding of 25,000 Zambian entry permits, examines the emerging migration pattern from China to Zambia, as Chinese migration to the country has increased 60 percent since 2009.

Articles

December 18, 2014

World Confronts Largest Humanitarian Crisis since WWII

The number of people around the world forcibly displaced by conflict or persecution reached its highest total since World War II, with more than 51.2 million fleeing their country or displaced within it, the UN refugee agency reported in 2014. An estimated 13.6 million people have been displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq alone, constituting what the UN High Commissioner for Refugees dubbed a mega-crisis.

Articles

December 16, 2014

Building Borders around Ebola

Fears regarding the spread of the deadly Ebola virus following an outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone prompted governments around the world to regulate travel from and within West Africa. Travel bans, airport health screenings, closed borders, and traveler quarantines were among the policies implemented. International organizations argue such restrictions drive possibly symptomatic travelers to illegally bypass borders and encourage dishonesty in the exit screening process.

Articles

July 2, 2014

Temporary Protected Status in the United States: A Grant of Humanitarian Relief that Is Less than Permanent

From a massive typhoon in the Philippines last November to the ongoing civil war in Syria, recent global events demonstrate that natural disasters and political strife occur suddenly and often without warning. This article examines the U.S. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program that grants humanitarian relief to nationals of certain countries embroiled in violent conflict or recovering from natural disaster.

Articles

June 19, 2014

A Forgotten Crisis: Displacement in the Central African Republic

The humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Central African Republic (CAR) has received scant world attention, even as more than 20 percent of the population of 4.25 million has been displaced as a result of deadly sectarian violence. This article examines the causes of the violence, the international community response, and the impacts of large-scale displacement within the country and beyond its borders.

Commentaries

October 2013

The Lampedusa Tragedy Prompts the Question: Does the UN Have Any Impact on the World’s Migrants?

As hundreds of migrants were drowning in the Mediterranean, the United Nations General Assembly was hours from gathering for only the second time in its history to address international migration. The juxtaposition threw a question into sharp relief: does the world body have any impact on the world’s migrants?

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Africa (sub-Saharan)

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