E.g., 07/09/2026
E.g., 07/09/2026
Diaspora Engagement

Diaspora Engagement

_ChinatownLondon

Governments at both ends of the migration cycle increasingly recognize the value that diaspora populations bring to development efforts and are seeking ways to magnify the human capital and financial resources that emigrants and their descendants contribute to development in their countries of origin. Beyond the remittances they generate, diaspora members fulfill a key development role in their countries of origin: as major direct investors in critical and emerging industries, generous philanthropists and first movers in the growth of important sectors such as tourism, and in the development of human capital.

 

Recent Activity

Cover image for From Exile to Return
Reports
April 2026
From Exile to Return: Rebuilding Lives and States after Conflict
By  Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Susan Fratzke
A crowd in Benin City, Nigeria. (Photo: IOM/Agara Barinedum)
Articles
April 8, 2026
Nigeria Aims to Capitalize on Regional Integration amid Evolving Emigration Patterns
By Samuel Okunade
People of Albanian heritage at a parade in New York City.
Articles
February 5, 2026
Diaspora as Diplomacy in Albania
By Joniada Barjaba
A doctor talks to a patient in Nigeria.
Articles
January 20, 2026
Remittances by Another Measure: The Economic Value of Migrants’ Time Supporting Their Homelands
By Temidayo Akenroye, Taiwo V. Ojapinwa, and Adé Oyedijo
A woman receives a cash transfer in Sierra Leone.
Articles
November 5, 2025
Government Efforts to Boost Diaspora Remittances Earn Mixed Results
By Sarah Dahanni
An Eritrean refugee in Ethiopia.
Articles
April 9, 2025
Severe Repression in Eritrea Has Prompted Decades of Exodus
By Amanda Poole and Jennifer Riggan
At the central train station in Lviv, a growing number of displaced people are returning to Ukraine rather than fleeing it
Multimedia
November 13, 2024
To Stay or Go: Factors Shaping Ukrainian Refugees’ Intentions Whether to Return to Ukraine
Cover image for Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine
Reports
December 2024
Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine: Data Insights and Policy Responses
By  Ravenna Sohst, Tino Tirado, Lucía Salgado and Jasmijn Slootjes
More
Cover image for From Exile to Return
Reports
April 2026
From Exile to Return: Rebuilding Lives and States after Conflict
By  Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Susan Fratzke
Cover image for Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine
Reports
December 2024
Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine: Data Insights and Policy Responses
By  Ravenna Sohst, Tino Tirado, Lucía Salgado and Jasmijn Slootjes
Cover image for The State of Global Mobility in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reports
April 2024
The State of Global Mobility in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic
By  Meghan Benton, Lawrence Huang, Jeanne Batalova and Tino Tirado
Cover image for Mobility Shutdown
Reports
March 2024
Mobility Shutdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Asia and the Pacific
By  Lawrence Huang
Cover image for Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean
Reports
March 2023
Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review
By  Valerie Lacarte, Jordi Amaral, Diego Chaves-González, Ana María Sáiz and Jeremy Harris
cover image for Destination-Country Policies to Foster Diaspora Engagement in Development
Reports
April 2022
Destination-Country Policies to Foster Diaspora Engagement in Development
By  Kathleen Newland
Cover image for Deepening Labor Migration Governance at a Time of Immobility: Ghana and Senegal
Policy Briefs
July 2021
Deepening Labor Migration Governance at a Time of Immobility: Lessons from Ghana and Senegal
By  Camille Le Coz and Kate Hooper
New Approaches to Climate Change and Migration: Building the Adaptive Capacity of Mobile Populations
Reports
December 2020
New Approaches to Climate Change and Migration: Building the Adaptive Capacity of Mobile Populations
By  Carol Farbotko
More
A crowd in Benin City, Nigeria. (Photo: IOM/Agara Barinedum)
Profile
April 8, 2026
Nigeria Aims to Capitalize on Regional Integration amid Evolving Emigration Patterns

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and one of its largest economies, sits at the crossroads of the continent’s migration landscape. As both a regional immigration hub and an origin for significant emigration, the country contends with a wide range of migration issues that have evolved over time. This country profile situates Nigeria's migration trends and policies.

People of Albanian heritage at a parade in New York City.
Feature
February 5, 2026
Diaspora as Diplomacy in Albania

Albania's diaspora has been an asset for the government's ambitions to join the European Union, grow its economy, and increase its international standing. As the government has sought to build closer ties with Albanians living abroad and others with ancestral ties to the homeland, it has seen the diaspora as a tool for public diplomacy, the advancement of cultural traditions, and more.

A doctor talks to a patient in Nigeria.
Feature
January 20, 2026
Remittances by Another Measure: The Economic Value of Migrants’ Time Supporting Their Homelands

The time that immigrants and other diaspora members spend volunteering to support their homeland is rarely considered to be a measurable remittance. That oversight ignores the large value of these contributions, which can come from medical professionals, academics, and many others. This article explores the possibility of assigning a numeric value to these types of investments.

A woman receives a cash transfer in Sierra Leone.
Feature
November 5, 2025
Government Efforts to Boost Diaspora Remittances Earn Mixed Results

Some countries with large diasporas have sought to maximize incoming remittances and channel them into particular sectors. Diaspora engagement policies are not always successful, but research shows that they are generally accompanied by increased remittance sending. This article explains the connection and explores some of the factors affecting remittance levels.

An Eritrean refugee in Ethiopia.
Feature
April 9, 2025
Severe Repression in Eritrea Has Prompted Decades of Exodus

Eritreans account for a disproportionately large share of the world’s refugees. But fleeing the harshly repressive country is rarely easy. This article provides a primer on the situation in Eritrea and the conditions that refugees and other emigrants have encountered abroad.

More
Image of women and young children from Ukraine arriving at train station in Bucharest
Short Reads
October 2022
Why the European Labor Market Integration of Displaced Ukrainians Is Defying Expectations
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper
Image of Central American migrant caravan passing through Chiapas, Mexico
Short Reads
April 2022
Beyond the Border: Opportunities for Managing Regional Migration between Central and North America
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Photo of computer lab at the Jugaani village school in Georgia
Short Reads
June 2021
Achieving the “Partnership” in the European Union’s Talent Partnerships
By  Kate Hooper
graeme_hugo_highres
Short Reads
January 2015
The Field of Migration Studies Loses a Giant: Graeme Hugo
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
_LampedusaMigrants
Short Reads
October 2013
The Lampedusa Tragedy Prompts the Question: Does the UN Have Any Impact on the World’s Migrants?
By  Kathleen Newland
At the central train station in Lviv, a growing number of displaced people are returning to Ukraine rather than fleeing it
Video, Audio
November 13, 2024

To Stay or Go: Factors Shaping Ukrainian Refugees’ Intentions Whether to Return to Ukraine

Despite the ongoing war and heavy destruction across Ukraine, an estimated 1 million Ukrainians had returned to their country as of August 2024. On this webinar, experts discuss what shape refugees’ intentions to return or remain abroad.

Expert Q&A, Audio
August 24, 2023

Managing Changing Migration Dynamics and Policies in West Africa for Regional Gain

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses migration dynamics in West Africa and and how African leaders are responding to these trends with Leander Kandilige, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana.

Valerie Lacarte on Webinar
Video, Audio
March 9, 2023

Migration in the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities for a Changing Region

This expert conversation reviews migration in nine Caribbean countries, outlining challenges and opportunities for the integration of the migrant population and a successful engagement with diasporas to advance development, along with recommendations to strengthen the region’s capacity to accommodate changing patterns of migration.

Haiti School Children
Video, Audio
March 9, 2023

Migración en el Caribe: Desafíos y oportunidades para una región en transformación

En este webinar, expertos del Banco Interamericano (BID) y el Migration Policy Institute (MPI) presentaron las principales conclusiones de su nueva publicación sobre la realidad migratoria de la región y compartieron algunos de los desafíos y oportunidades para la integración de la población migrante y para capitalizar el potencial de sus diásporas como un impulso para el desarrollo.

Expert Q&A, Audio
November 17, 2022

Climate Change in the World’s Fastest Growing Economy

Guyana is a small country in South America that will be greatly transformed by the recent discovery of massive offshore oil reserves. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration discusses how the world’s fastest growing economy is confronting environmental change, particularly with economic growth and proximity to troubled Venezuela likely to drive significant immigration.

More

Recent Activity

Reports
April 2026

From Exile to Return: Rebuilding Lives and States after Conflict

The fall of Syria’s Assad regime has raised questions in high-income countries about when displaced Syrians will return home. Similar conversations are underway about the nearly 7 million displaced Ukrainians. This report examines the complexity of facilitating returns without imperiling reconstruction, fueling additional displacement, and uprooting well-integrated workers and members of host societies.

Articles
April 8, 2026

Nigeria Aims to Capitalize on Regional Integration amid Evolving Emigration Patterns

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and one of its largest economies, sits at the crossroads of the continent’s migration landscape. As both a regional immigration hub and an origin for significant emigration, the country contends with a wide range of migration issues that have evolved over time. This country profile situates Nigeria's migration trends and policies.

Articles
February 5, 2026

Diaspora as Diplomacy in Albania

Albania's diaspora has been an asset for the government's ambitions to join the European Union, grow its economy, and increase its international standing. As the government has sought to build closer ties with Albanians living abroad and others with ancestral ties to the homeland, it has seen the diaspora as a tool for public diplomacy, the advancement of cultural traditions, and more.

Articles
January 20, 2026

Remittances by Another Measure: The Economic Value of Migrants’ Time Supporting Their Homelands

The time that immigrants and other diaspora members spend volunteering to support their homeland is rarely considered to be a measurable remittance. That oversight ignores the large value of these contributions, which can come from medical professionals, academics, and many others. This article explores the possibility of assigning a numeric value to these types of investments.

Articles
November 5, 2025

Government Efforts to Boost Diaspora Remittances Earn Mixed Results

Some countries with large diasporas have sought to maximize incoming remittances and channel them into particular sectors. Diaspora engagement policies are not always successful, but research shows that they are generally accompanied by increased remittance sending. This article explains the connection and explores some of the factors affecting remittance levels.

Articles
April 9, 2025

Severe Repression in Eritrea Has Prompted Decades of Exodus

Eritreans account for a disproportionately large share of the world’s refugees. But fleeing the harshly repressive country is rarely easy. This article provides a primer on the situation in Eritrea and the conditions that refugees and other emigrants have encountered abroad.

Video, Audio, Webinars
November 13, 2024

To Stay or Go: Factors Shaping Ukrainian Refugees’ Intentions Whether to Return to Ukraine

Despite the ongoing war and heavy destruction across Ukraine, an estimated 1 million Ukrainians had returned to their country as of August 2024. On this webinar, experts discuss what shape refugees’ intentions to return or remain abroad.

Reports
December 2024

Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine: Data Insights and Policy Responses

The European response to displacement from Ukraine has been unprecedented. Yet as the war has stretched on, uncertainty has grown about whether and when refugees will be able to return home. This report examines a wide range of personal, host-country, and origin-country factors that contribute to refugees’ intentions to return or stay abroad, and what this means for the ongoing policy response in European host countries.

More