E.g., 04/16/2024
E.g., 04/16/2024
Africa (sub-Saharan)

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

CongoleseRefugee FNoy UNHCR
Articles
April 20, 2016
Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Migration History Marked by Crises and Restrictions
By Marie-Laurence Flahaux and Bruno Schoumaker
BurkinabeWomenGoldMine HeleneCaux UNHCR
Articles
April 7, 2016
Who Belongs? Statelessness and Nationality in West Africa
By Bronwen Manby
Cover Top10 2Displacement
Articles
December 17, 2015
Displacement Reaches Record High as Wars Continue and New Conflicts Emerge
By Susan Fratzke
Cover Top10 4Smuggling
Articles
December 15, 2015
Big Business of Smuggling Enables Mass Movement of People for Enormous Profits
By Elizabeth Collett
Cover Top10 7NatDisasters
Articles
December 10, 2015
Climate Change and Natural Disasters Displace Millions, Affect Migration Flows
By Liz Heimann
LHR RROQueue
Articles
November 5, 2015
Paying for Protection: Corruption in South Africa’s Asylum System
By Roni Amit
_SyrianBoys
Multimedia
October 27, 2015
Young Refugee Children: Their Schooling Experiences in the United States and in Countries of First Asylum
coverthumb Dryden Peterson
Reports
October 2015
The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum
By  Sarah Dryden-Peterson

Pages

Profile
May 2, 2012
Lesotho: From Labor Reserve to Depopulating Periphery?

Jim Cobbe of Florida State University discusses how the close ties between Lesotho (ethnically, almost wholly Basotho) and South Africa (with an even larger Basotho population) are expressed in a history of economic migration, and how new immigrants from China are changing the face of modern-day Lesotho.

Feature
January 4, 2012
Living In Between: The Chinese in South Africa

The past decade has brought tens of thousands of Chinese migrants to Africa, and well over half of all Chinese migrants to the continent head to South Africa. Yoon Jung Park of Rhodes University discusses the history of Chinese migration to South Africa, the various communities of Chinese currently residing in the country, and their levels of political, social, and economic integration.

Feature
June 29, 2011
Potential into Practice: The Ethiopian Diaspora Volunteer Program

Development practitioners have long been aware of the change-making potential of diasporas, but only recently have begun to design programs that convert their latent talent and enthusiasm into results. This article by Tedla W. Giorgis and Aaron Terrazas examines the Ethiopian Diaspora Volunteer Program (EDVP) as a powerful example of how diasporas, donors, and developing countries work together to build from individual strengths and address common challenges facing the developing world.

Profile
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.

Feature
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.

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Recent Activity

Articles
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.

Articles
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.

Articles
December 17, 2015

Displacement Reaches Record High as Wars Continue and New Conflicts Emerge

Global displacement reached a new high with nearly 60 million people worldwide displaced internally or externally in the greatest number since record-keeping began. The trend continued in 2015 as conflicts in places such as Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen drove millions of people to leave their homes and seek refuge in other communities or across borders.

Articles
December 15, 2015

Big Business of Smuggling Enables Mass Movement of People for Enormous Profits

Faced with a flexible, diverse, and seemingly ubiquitous smuggling industry, governments have struggled to respond. Smuggling and trafficking networks, while hardly new phenomena, were put under a harsh spotlight in 2015 for their role as intermediaries in shaping the scale and flow of migrants and asylum seekers around the world.

Articles
December 10, 2015

Climate Change and Natural Disasters Displace Millions, Affect Migration Flows

From earthquakes to drought, natural disasters and climate change played a key role in migration flows in 2015. Climate-induced migration surfaced as a concern at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (known as COP21) as international organizations and policymakers have begun to recognize the growing challenges, and potential protection obligations, of such movement.

Articles
November 5, 2015

Paying for Protection: Corruption in South Africa’s Asylum System

Systemic corruption has flourished in South Africa's asylum system due to large backlogs and rising demand. Though apartheid's end ushered in a progressive refugee law, inefficiency, administrative justice violations, and corruption have narrowed the humanitarian protection channel. Asylum seekers and refugees often face the stark choice of paying bribes to access services or risking deportation.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 27, 2015

Young Refugee Children: Their Schooling Experiences in the United States and in Countries of First Asylum

In this webinar, the authors of three papers on the experiences of refugee children present their findings, with a focus on how such experiences affect their mental health and education.

Reports
October 2015

The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum

The pre-resettlement experiences of refugee children can have significant ramifications on their relationships with teachers and peers and on their academic advancement once resettled. This report explores the educational histories of young refugee children in first-asylum countries and identifies elements that are relevant to postresettlement education in the United States.

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