Migration Information Source
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The number of international migrants globally has roughly doubled since 1990. Yet because the world's overall population has grown, the share of all people living outside their country of origin is only slightly higher than it was then. This useful, data-rich article puts the global migrant population in context, offering current and historical statistics about the cross-border movements of workers, students, refugees and asylum seekers, and others.
Migration governance in Africa's Sahel region has been been pulled in different directions, torn between security-focused border restrictions and economic visions for free movement. New complexity was added after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew from the regional ECOWAS bloc. This articles provides insight on the migration and policy trends in a dynamic region.
Central Americans comprise one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States, and now account for nearly one in every ten immigrants. Most Central American immigrants come from either El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. Notably large shares are in the U.S. labor force and arrived since 2010. This article provides useful current and historical data and other information about this population.
Many countries have sought to encourage immigrants’ participation in sports as a pathway to integration. These efforts have followed broader social policy shifts and evolved as policymakers have reconsidered the process of integration. This article examines how sports programming has been used to aid newcomers' settlement in their communities.
U.S. immigration enforcement is undergoing a marked transformation, as state and local law enforcement authorities—once largely on the sidelines—have become central partners to the Trump administration. State and local participation is growing in size and scope, including the signing of hundreds of 287(g) deputization agreements, opening of Florida's Alligator Alcatraz, and Texas's multibillion-dollar Operation Lone Star.
Worldwide, more international students head to the United States than any other country. These students contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and account for about 6 percent of U.S. college and university enrollment, but trends may be changing amid new U.S. restrictions and a shifting global landscape. This article offers data about international students enrolled in U.S. higher education.
Whether as migrant-sending or migrant-receiving locations—or both—many countries have rich, complex international and internal migration histories. MPI's online journal, the Migration Information Source, offers resources on more than 100 nations. Written by leading scholars, these articles delve into countries' migration histories, demographics, policymaking, and more.
The number of international migrants globally has roughly doubled since 1990. Yet because the world's overall population has grown, the share of all people living outside their country of origin is only slightly higher than it was then. This useful, data-rich article puts the global migrant population in context, offering current and historical statistics about the cross-border movements of workers, students, refugees and asylum seekers, and others.
Find essential statistics about U.S. immigration, immigrants, and the immigration system today and throughout history. This perennially popular article compiles the latest available data on the size and shape of the immigrant population, immigrant families, refugees and asylees, unauthorized immigrants, temporary visitors, and more. It also examines legal immigration processing and immigration enforcement.
Severe weather, rising seas, and other consequences of global climate change are affecting the way people live, work, and move around the planet. While there is no clear, direct line between the impacts of climate change and changing human movement, there are indications that the warming planet is indirectly creating or altering patterns of migration. Our podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration dives deep into the intersection of climate change and migration to separate fact from fiction.
Recent Articles
The number of international migrants globally has roughly doubled since 1990. Yet because the world's overall population has grown, the share of all people living outside their country of origin is only slightly higher than it was then. This useful, data-rich article puts the global migrant population in context, offering current and historical statistics about the cross-border movements of workers, students, refugees and asylum seekers, and others.
Migration governance in Africa's Sahel region has been been pulled in different directions, torn between security-focused border restrictions and economic visions for free movement. New complexity was added after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew from the regional ECOWAS bloc. This articles provides insight on the migration and policy trends in a dynamic region.
Las personas de América Central representan casi uno de cada diez inmigrantes en los Estados Unidos, una población en rápido crecimiento. La mayoría de los inmigrantes centroamericanos provienen de El Salvador, Guatemala o Honduras. Este artículo proporciona información sobre la población inmigrante centroamericana en los Estados Unidos.
Central Americans comprise one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States, and now account for nearly one in every ten immigrants. Most Central American immigrants come from either El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. Notably large shares are in the U.S. labor force and arrived since 2010. This article provides useful current and historical data and other information about this population.
Many countries have sought to encourage immigrants’ participation in sports as a pathway to integration. These efforts have followed broader social policy shifts and evolved as policymakers have reconsidered the process of integration. This article examines how sports programming has been used to aid newcomers' settlement in their communities.
The number of international migrants globally has roughly doubled since 1990. Yet because the world's overall population has grown, the share of all people living outside their country of origin is only slightly higher than it was then. This useful, data-rich article puts the global migrant population in context, offering current and historical statistics about the cross-border movements of workers, students, refugees and asylum seekers, and others.
Migration governance in Africa's Sahel region has been been pulled in different directions, torn between security-focused border restrictions and economic visions for free movement. New complexity was added after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew from the regional ECOWAS bloc. This articles provides insight on the migration and policy trends in a dynamic region.
Many countries have sought to encourage immigrants’ participation in sports as a pathway to integration. These efforts have followed broader social policy shifts and evolved as policymakers have reconsidered the process of integration. This article examines how sports programming has been used to aid newcomers' settlement in their communities.
Sudan’s civil war has created the world's largest and fastest-growing displacement crisis, one that has been largely overshadowed by conflicts and political tensions elsewhere around the globe. As major international donor countries pull back humanitarian aid funding, the crisis is only expected to worsen. This article examines the dramatic scale of displacement and its place in Sudan's history.
As the number of defections from North to South Korea has declined, South Korea has struggled to respond to a new trend: a rising number of children born during defectors' long stays in China or other third country. As this article explains, these children automatically become South Korean citizens upon arrival but are not eligible for the range of government benefits designed to support defectors, leaving many to fall through the cracks.
Las personas de América Central representan casi uno de cada diez inmigrantes en los Estados Unidos, una población en rápido crecimiento. La mayoría de los inmigrantes centroamericanos provienen de El Salvador, Guatemala o Honduras. Este artículo proporciona información sobre la población inmigrante centroamericana en los Estados Unidos.
Central Americans comprise one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States, and now account for nearly one in every ten immigrants. Most Central American immigrants come from either El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. Notably large shares are in the U.S. labor force and arrived since 2010. This article provides useful current and historical data and other information about this population.
Worldwide, more international students head to the United States than any other country. These students contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and account for about 6 percent of U.S. college and university enrollment, but trends may be changing amid new U.S. restrictions and a shifting global landscape. This article offers data about international students enrolled in U.S. higher education.
Historically close cultural and economic ties have prompted Canadians to move to the United States for generations. Canadians once accounted for one-tenth of all U.S. immigrants, although this share is now much smaller. This article offers easy-to-access statistics on the current and historical Canadian immigrant population in the United States.
Guatemalans account for about 3 percent of all immigrants in the United States, but the money that they and others send back to loved ones in Guatemala as remittances forms a pillar of the country's economy. This article provides a wealth of data to understand this understand this growing immigrant group.
Canada has long been viewed as a global leader in creating welcoming immigration policies. But amid pressures on housing and services, as well as a surge in admission of temporary migrants, most Canadians now say there is too much immigration. With the government lowering its targets for new arrivals, this country profile examines the factors behind Canada's policy evolution.
Denmark has gradually moved to a restrictive approach toward humanitarian protection, in a shift that has made it something of a leader for other countries—and an anomaly as it has done so under a center-left government. As this country profile explains, Danish policymakers have pioneered policies that limit protection, including making it temporary.
Norway has transformed from a historically homogeneous society to one where one-fifth of residents are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Economic opportunities, a strong welfare state, and humanitarian commitments have been instrumental for immigration, which has been both a driver of growth and a source of debate. This article provides an overview of the history and key trends in Norway.
New Zealand, once chiefly a destination for British and Irish settlers, has become a destination for temporary labor and student migration from Asia and beyond. Immigrants comprised 29 percent of the population as of 2023, but many have temporary statuses that do not offer full residence rights. This article provides a wide-ranging overview of the country's past and present trends and policies.
Immigration has shaped modern Switzerland, at times in ways different than expected. Its foreign-born population share is larger than that of many other European countries or the United States. Yet the Swiss public has repeatedly expressed anxiety about newcomers, and periods of increased immigration have often coincided with efforts at restriction. This article provides an overview of Switzerland's migration trends, policies, and tensions.
U.S. immigration enforcement is undergoing a marked transformation, as state and local law enforcement authorities—once largely on the sidelines—have become central partners to the Trump administration. State and local participation is growing in size and scope, including the signing of hundreds of 287(g) deputization agreements, opening of Florida's Alligator Alcatraz, and Texas's multibillion-dollar Operation Lone Star.
The Trump administration has launched an ambitious campaign to encourage “self-deportation” as a complement to its muscular immigration enforcement operations. While a somewhat similar U.S. attempt in 2008 was considered a failure and international "pay-to-go" programs have occurred on a smaller scale than envisioned by Trump officials, the administration is hoping it can now succeed through an unmatched combination of carrots and sticks, as this article details.
In its bid to ramp up deportations, the Trump administration is granting ICE access to a swath of government databases that were previously off limits for immigration enforcement, including sensitive tax and Social Security records. This article details the growing digital arsenal of government and commercial databases that ICE can tap to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, and how this unprecedented data sharing has its roots in the post-9/11 era.
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has issued a flurry of actions that represent the most sweeping immigration policy changes in decades, reshaping enforcement, border security, legal immigration, humanitarian protection, and foreign policy. This article provides an overview of the myriad changes in the first 100 days of the second Trump term and assesses the challenges ahead.
The Trump administration is tapping ancient war-time and national security laws, including the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and 1940 Alien Registration Act, in unprecedented ways for general immigration enforcement. This article examines how the administration is deploying these archaic authorities, previously used for actions including World War II internments and the Cold War-era campaign against communists.
