E.g., 02/28/2021
E.g., 02/28/2021

Africa (sub-Saharan)

Africa (sub-Saharan)

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.

Riders on a bus in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Articles

Africa Moves Towards Intracontinental Free Movement for Its Booming Population

While intraregional migration is a pillar of the African Union's focus on enhancing regional integration and economic development, visa-free travel or visas upon arrival are a reality for only about half of the countries on the continent. Progress towards free movement for Africans has occurred mostly at a subregional level, as this article explores.

2018 African Union Ministerial Conference on Migration
Articles

Africa Deepens its Approach to Migration Governance, But Are Policies Translating to Action?

While migration once was a lower-priority topic for African governments, the last decade has seen a deepening in governance. Policymakers have integrated migration into their national development strategies and mainstreamed it across policy domains such as health and education. The actions are promising on paper, yet questions remain about the extent to which they will translate to more effective migration management.

Three Congolese migrants walking
Articles

A Growing Destination for Sub-Saharan Africans, Morocco Wrestles with Immigrant Integration

Long a country of emigration and a springboard for migrants aiming to reach Europe, Morocco has emerged as a destination for many sub-Saharan Africans. As more migrants remain in Morocco, the kingdom has implemented policies to aid with integration. But challenges remain, with most of the estimated 700,000 sub-Saharan Africans living in precarious conditions and irregular status despite some legalization programs.

Recent Activity

Reports
September 2010
Diaspora Philanthropy: Private Giving and Public Policy
By  Kathleen Newland, Aaron Terrazas and Roberto Munster
Reports
September 2010
Heritage Tourism and Nostalgia Trade: A Diaspora Niche in the Development Landscape
By  Kathleen Newland and Carylanna Taylor
Reports
August 2010
Diaspora Investment in Developing and Emerging Country Capital Markets: Patterns and Prospects
By  Aaron Terrazas
Reports
August 2010
Connected through Service: Diaspora Volunteers and Global Development
By  Aaron Terrazas
Articles
June 30, 2010
Nigeria: Multiple Forms of Mobility in Africa's Demographic Giant
By Blessing U. Mberu, Roland Pongou
Multimedia
June 9, 2010
Discussion on Possible Solutions for Refugees and IDPs
Articles
April 22, 2010
Show Me the Money (and Opportunity): Why Skilled People Leave Home — and Why They Sometimes Return
By Alex Glennie, Laura Chappell
Articles
March 4, 2010
Climate Change and Migration: Sorting through Complex Issues without the Hype
By Carolina Fritz

Pages

Profile
March 1, 2006
Ghana: Searching for Opportunities at Home and Abroad
Perhaps best known for its brain drain and the related success of its diaspora, Ghana also has an important role in West African migration patterns, past and present. Micah Bump of Georgetown's Institute for the Study of International Migration takes a detailed look at a country in transition.
Feature
July 1, 2005
Ethiopians Who Survived the Famine: A Repatriation Success Story

In the early 1990s, Ethiopians who had been living in refugee camps in Sudan began to return home. As Laura C. Hammond of Clark University explains, they created a new community in an unfamiliar part of Ethiopia that is thriving 12 years later.

Feature
July 1, 2005
Trafficking in Women from Nigeria to Europe

In search of a better life, thousands of Nigerian women have signed emigration "pacts" with smugglers before going to Europe, where they are coerced into prostitution. Jørgen Carling of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo explains.

Feature
June 1, 2005
Surrounded: Women and Girls in Northern Uganda
The ongoing conflict between the government and a rebel army has displaced the majority of Northern Ugandans. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable, as MPI's Erin Patrick reports.
Feature
September 1, 2004
Liberia: The Challenges of Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Beverlee Bruce of the Social Science Research Council provides a field-based look at Liberia's post-conflict reconstruction.

Pages

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Recent Activity

Reports
September 2010

Heritage Tourism and Nostalgia Trade: A Diaspora Niche in the Development Landscape

This report explores how nostalgia trade and heritage tourism can involve diaspora populations in transactions that ease the integration of their homeland economies, while helping maintain their ties to their countries of origin or ancestry.

Reports
September 2010

Diaspora Philanthropy: Private Giving and Public Policy

This report analyzes the evolving role of diaspora philanthropy in countries of origin, and examines the emergence of nongovernmental development actors and new trends in global philanthropy, such as strategic giving and use of online platforms to harness small donations.

Reports
August 2010

Connected through Service: Diaspora Volunteers and Global Development

Nearly 1 million U.S. residents spend time volunteering abroad each year, including nearly 200,000 first- and second-generation immigrants. As skilled migration and the number of U.S. youth with ancestors in the developing world grow, this report shows the potential for diaspora service volunteers to assist with development in a number of countries.

Reports
August 2010

Diaspora Investment in Developing and Emerging Country Capital Markets: Patterns and Prospects

A growing body of evidence suggests that diasporas play a critical role in supporting sustainable development by transferring resources, knowledge, and ideas back to their home countries, and in integrating their countries of origin into the global economy.

Articles
June 30, 2010

Nigeria: Multiple Forms of Mobility in Africa's Demographic Giant

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.

Video, Audio
June 9, 2010

Discussion on Possible Solutions for Refugees and IDPs

Breakfast briefing with T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, and Kathleen Newland.
Articles
April 22, 2010

Show Me the Money (and Opportunity): Why Skilled People Leave Home — and Why They Sometimes Return

Five factors, including wages and professional development, drive skilled people to migrate, and three reasons encourage them to return. Laura Chappell and Alex Glennie of ippr in London look at all of these factors and how motivations vary across different contexts and groups of migrants.

Articles
March 4, 2010

Climate Change and Migration: Sorting through Complex Issues without the Hype

Numerous researchers and organizations have predicted that climate change will trigger historically unprecedented waves of mass migration. MPI's Carolina Fritz examines the complex links between climate change and migration, how and where these links influence current and future migration patterns, and some of the problems with predicting future flows.

Pages