Data and Research

The Mixed Migration Monitoring Mechanism Initiative (4Mi) of the Mixed Migration Centre is a low-cost and innovative practices to collect and analyse data, initially out of the Horn of Africa, through mobile phone applications and community-based reporting. Through a network of thirty locally-recruited monitors in strategic migration hubs in Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa, Southern and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, the 4Mi project tracks Eritrean, Ethiopian, Djiboutian and Somali people on the move.

Thailand developed a comprehensive data collection system to support migration policies, including integrating migration and child-focused topics in censuses and making the best possible use of administrative data.

The project on “Supporting Migrants and Potential Migrants from Egypt through Information” was launched in 2001 at the initiative of Egypt's Ministry of Manpower and Emigration (MME) and with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The promotion of employment, improvement of labour market and mobility of skills in ECOWAS region fall within the framework of the implementation of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in its three stages - entry, residence, and establishment - the details of which are set out in four additional protocols.

Somalia is experiencing a remarkable recovery from decades of war and instability. Moving forward it is essential for the country to develop a strong and sound financial system which is up to international standards in terms of  efficiency, transparency and regulation. One key element of the Somali financial system is mobile money. Mobile money allows Somalis to store money, as well as to receive and make payments. This is a major development for a country that lacks a strong currency, remains unsafe in many regions and in which 90% of the population does not have a bank account.

The ILMS Database is the first of its kind in the region. It gathers together official government data from a number of statistical sources on international migrant workers’ stocks and flows within the region as well as on countries’ nationals living or working abroad. In doing so it fills an important knowledge gap, creating a powerful research tool through which policymakers and others can profile and monitor the international migrant labour force within the region.

The Free Movement and Migration (FMM) West Africa project seeks to support the development of standardized procedures to collect and process migration-relevant data. The project also  supports the ECOWAS Commission in the development of a regional migration profile, providing an overview of migration data and trends in the ECOWAS region.

In 2014, the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), initiated a three-and-a-half-year project, co-financed by the EU Thematic Programme on Migration and Asylum. The project assesses the economic contribution of labour migration in developing countries as countries of destination. It seeks to arrive at a reliable and evidence-based understanding of how immigration affects the economies of a number of low- and middle-income countries, focusing on particular on:

This contribution is a chapter of the World Migration Report 2018.

This chapter examines the significant role of cities in shaping migratory trajectories and in the governance of migration, highlighting key challenges and areas where migration management can be improved.