World Migration Report

World Migration Report 2024

Author	International Organization for Migration
Language	English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, and Russian
Published	Published biannually since 2000
No. of books	12
Website	www.iom.int/wmr/

The flagship publication series of the International Organization for Migration, the World Migration Report presents data and information on human migration together with analysis of complex and emerging migration issues.

Released biennially, the World Migration Report 2024 is the twelfth edition in the series.

The World Migration Report was first published by IOM in 2000 with the aim of promoting "a better understanding of the main migratory movements that are occurring across the globe." The first edition sought to achieve this aim by providing "an authoritative account of contemporary trends, issues, and problems in the field of international migration," presenting together a "review of trends in international migration in each major region of the world" with "a discussion of some of the main migration policy issues facing the international community."^[1]

The subsequent seven editions, published between 2003 and 2015, were published with specific thematic interests. The 2018 edition of the World Migration Report, the first published by IOM as the United Nations Migration Agency, restructured the report into two parts. The first part provides "key information on migration and migrants" through an exploration of the statistical data available on migration. The second part features several chapters that each provide a "balanced, evidence-based analysis of complex and emerging migration issues."^[2]

The World Migration Report 2024, the twelfth in the series, maintains the same structure as earlier editions, and has been produced “to contribute to increased understanding of migration and mobility throughout the world.^[3]

The first part of the report consists of three chapters, which presents key data and information on migration at the global and regional levels, while the second part includes thematic chapters on highly topical migration issue:^[4]

• Growing migration inequality: What do the global data actually show?

• Migration and human security: Unpacking myths and examining new realities and responses

• Migration as a stepladder for opportunity

• Gender and migration: Trends, gaps and urgent action

• Climate change, food insecurity and human mobility: Interlinkages, evidence and action

• Towards a global governance of migration? From the 2005 Global Commission on International Migration to the 2022 International Migration Review Forum and beyond

• A post-pandemic rebound? Migration and mobility globally after COVID-19

The World Migration Report 2022, the eleventh in the series, retains the same structure as its predecessors, and has the aim “to set out in clear and accurate terms the changes occurring in migration and mobility globally.” ^[5] The first part of the report consists of four chapters, which provide updated migration statistics at the global and regional levels, while the second part considers the following thematic migration issues different to those in previous reports: ^[6]

• COVID-19's impact on migration and mobility
• Peace, security and migration
• Migration as a stepladder for opportunity
• Disinformation about migration
• Migration and the slow-onset impacts of climate change
• Human trafficking in migration pathways
• Artificial intelligence, migration and mobility
• Migrants' contributions to societies

The World Migration Report 2020, the tenth in the series, similarly has the aim of contributing to increased understanding of migration throughout the world. The first four chapters are the same as in the 2018 edition, which provide updated migration statistics at the global and regional levels, while the second part considers a range of different migration issues:^[7]

• Migrants' contributions to societies
• Migration, inclusion and social cohesion
• Migration and health
• Children and unsafe migration
• Migration and adaptation to environmental change
• Migrants caught in crises
• Recent developments in global migration governance

Unlike the seven preceding reports which centered around a specific theme, the World Migration Report 2018 seeks to provide "both overview information that helps to explain migration patterns and processes, as well as insights and recommendations on major issues that policymakers are or will soon be grappling with".^[8]

The first part of the report consists of four chapters produced institutionally by IOM. It draws primarily upon analyses by IOM experts, practitioners and officials around the world, and compiles a wealth of data, information, and analysis with the aim of increasing the understanding of migration at both the global and regional levels. Conversely, the second part is authored by applied and academic researchers working on migration and mobility, and presents balanced, evidence-based analyses of complex and emerging migration issues. Specifically, the second section comprises the following chapters:^[2]

• Global migration governance frameworks: Existing architecture and recent developments
• Mobility, migration and transnational connectivity
• Understanding migration journeys from migrants' perspectives
• Media reporting of migrants and migration
• Migration, violent extremism and social exclusion
• Migrants and cities: Stepping beyond World Migration Report 2015

The seven editions of the World Migration Report released between 2003 and 2015 are organised around a core theme:

• World Migration Report 2015: Migrants and Cities, New Partnerships to Manage Mobility.^[9]
• World Migration Report 2013: High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development.^[10]
• World Migration Report 2011: Communicating Effectively about Migration.^[11]
• World Migration Report 2010: The Future of Migration: Building Capacities for Change.^[12]
• World Migration Report 2008: Managing Labour Mobility in the Evolving Global Economy.^[13]
• World Migration Report 2005: Costs and Benefits of International Migration.^[14]
• World Migration Report 2003: Challenges and Responses for People on the Move.^[15]

Like the most recent editions of the World Migration Report, the 2000 edition is divided into two parts.

The first examines the scale of migration and characteristics of international migrants, including: the types of movements underway; the factors which contribute to migration; and the policy issues associated with these trends. In nine separate chapters, the second part reviews migration trends and recent policy developments in the major migration regions of the world. Alongside this discussion is an analysis of the integration of migrants, the consequences of irregular migration, and the extent of interregional cooperation between states.^[1]

The World Migration Report 2024 has been referenced in several media outlets, including CNN, the Guardian, Euronews, Inter Press Service, El Universal, the Times of India, among others. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]}

As previous editions, the World Migration Report 2024 has been cited by several journals, including the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and the Environmental Science & Policy. ^[22][23][24]

The World Migration Report 2022 has been mentioned it in several media outlets across the world such as the East African, France 24, La Nación, Associated Press (AP), the Independent, among others. ^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

The report has been cited in prestigious journals, including the Journal of Asian and African Studies, the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, the Comparative Migration Studies Journal and the Cambridge University Press, among others.^{[30] [31][32][33]}

This edition was also used in publications issued by international organizations, such as the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the World Economic Forum, and by think tanks such as the Migration Policy Institute, the Center for American Progress, and the Mixed Migration Centre, among others. ^{[34] [35][36]}

Media outlets such as CNN Español, the World Economic Forum and Reuters have published articles that utilize the World Migration Report 2020 as a resource to discuss contemporary migration trends.^[37][38][39]

The academia has also used the 2020 report in articles published by Oxford University Press, the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, the International Migration Review, to mention a couple of examples. ^{[40][41][42][43]}

Several international organizations cited the report, including the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the United Nations Development Programme, the African Union, among others. ^{[44] [45] [46]}

The World Migration Report 2018 has been referenced in a wide range of peer-reviewed research outputs. The report has featured in articles released in the academic journal The Lancet on five occasions,^[47][48][49] as well as books released by Cambridge University Press^[50] and Oxford University Press.^[51] It has also been attributed as a source in reports produced by the Finnish government^[52] and Save the Children,^[53] The SAGE Handbook of International Migration,^[54] the United Nation's 2018 World Happiness Report^[55] and an Oxford Research Encyclopedia focusing on migrants and refugees in Africa.^[56]

In their guide "Immigration Data Matters," the Migration Policy Institute recommended the report as a source of "current and historical estimates of international migrants by destination and/or origin."^[57]

The 2018 Report was employed as a fact-checking resource against xenophobic claims on social media.^[58]

The World Migration Report 2024, the first-ever IOM report available in HTML, is the twelfth edition of the IOM's flagship World Migration Report publication series. It explores recent developments in migration and mobility globally and was launched by IOM Director General, Amy Pope  on 7 May 2024 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.^[59]

The World Migration Report 2024 has 9 chapters, the first of which presents an overview of the report and discusses how migration continues to be part of the solution for many economies, societies and families around the world. The other 8 chapters aim to inform current and future policy deliberations and discussions by providing key data, a clear identification of the key issues, a critical overview of relevant research and analysis and a discussion of the implications for future research and policymaking.^[60]

Chapter 2 draws upon global sources of data to provide an overview of key figures and trends regarding the stocks and flows of international migrants, as well as remittances. After an initial review of overall migrant stocks and flows, the chapter looks at these trends for specific migrant groups, including migrant workers, international students, refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons. ^[61]

Chapter 3 focuses on key regional dimensions of, and developments in, migration in six world regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern America, and Oceania. An overview and brief discussion of key population-related statistics, and a description of “key features and developments” in migration, is provided for each of these regions. ^[62]

Chapter 4 first appeared in the World Migration Report 2022. It examines the questions of “who migrates internationally, and where do they go?” It analyses diverse statistical data and draws upon some of the existing body of research on migration determinants and decision-making. It shows a growing “mobility inequality”, with most international migration now occurring between rich countries to the increasing exclusion of poorer countries.^[63]

At a time when misinformation and disinformation about migration and migrants are both increasing and increasingly effective, chapter 5 analyzes the interaction between migration, mobility and inhuman security in contemporary settings.  It draws upon conceptualizations of the topic that have evolved over recent decades.^[64]

Chapter 6 provides an overview of the interactions between migration and gender across diverse geographies worldwide. It covers family migration, marriage migration and displacement, with a particular focus on labour migration, one of the main – and highly gendered – types of migration. It explores how gender influences migration experiences, including displacement, throughout the migration cycle.^[65]

Chapter 7 explores the interlinkages between climate change, food insecurity and human mobility, highlighting the complexities of their relationships in multiple scenarios across the globe. The analysis is nuanced and goes beyond the simplistic view of human mobility as a natural consequence.^[66]

Chapter 8 delves into the implications of global migration governance as a multi-stakeholder regime under the guidance of the United Nations, building on chapters from the two previous World Migration Reports. It traces the evolution of international cooperation on migration from the Global Commission for International Migration (2005) to the 2022 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF).^[67]

The ninth and last chapter of the report examines the transformative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on global migration and mobility, providing an update to the chapter on COVID-19 in the World Migration Report 2022. It addresses the following questions: “How have travel and movement restrictions changed since the last Report? How have migration and mobility patterns evolved across the same period? And what are the most important long-term implications of these trends?”.^[68]

Upon release, the 2024 World Migration Report received widespread praise.

The report was well received by newspapers, academics and think tanks. Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute said that “[the World Migration Report 2024] is the fundamental sort of book for data, basic information [and] basic understanding on migration that everyone should have... [It is] the best resource on migration data and trends out there.”^[69]

The Migration Policy Centre has acknowledged its relevance describing it as “a gold mine of information and analysis”. ^[70]

The report is a highly collaborative venture, drawing on expertise of IOM staff specialising in migration programme delivery, policy development and migration research and analysis, as well as leading migration researchers from around the world. The report was peer reviewed by IOM experts and senior migration academics, including:^[71]

• Dr Maruja AB Asis, Scalabrini Migration Center

• Prof Michael Clemens, George Mason University

• Prof Jonathan Crush, Wilfrid Laurier University

• Prof Elizabeth Ferris, Georgetown Ferris  

• Prof Luisa Feline Freier, Universidad del Pacífico  

• Jenna Hennebry, Wilfrid Laurier University

• Prof Ahmet İçduygu, Koç University

• Dr Binod Khadria, Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism

• Prof Rainer Muenz, Central European University  

• Prof Marta Pachocka, Warsaw School of Economics  

• Prof Nicola Piper, Queen Mary University of London  

• Prof Joseph Teye, University of Ghana  

• Prof Brenda Yeoh, Asia Research Institute

• International Organization for Migration
• Human migration

• World Migration Report