International Migrants Day
Discover open data on migration
On 18 December, it is International Migrants Day. On this occasion, the World Migration Report 2022 was recently published by the United Nations´ International Organization for Migration (IOM). The eleventh edition of this report aims to increase the understanding of migration throughout the world, by showcasing key data and information on migration as well as thematic chapters on complex and emerging migration issues.
According to the 2022 report, the number of international migrants has increased over the past five decades, with 281 million people currently living in a country other than their country of birth. Among the top receiving continents are Europe and Asia, which hosted respectively around 87 and 86 million international migrants, comprising 61% of the global international migrant stock.
One of the main reasons for European migration is better living conditions through employment opportunities. Another major reason is seeking asylum. Since February 2022, due to the military tension in Ukraine, Europe has received the largest number of people fleeing war since the World War II. In 2021, EU countries granted protection to around 275,000 people.
To complement the report, the IOM offers visualisations of the most important 2022 findings, including interactive maps of travel restrictions across the world, bubble graphs of the total numbers of international migrants per country, and flux diagrams representing the most common ‘corridors’ for international migration (i.e., departing countries and receiving countries).
At EU level, data-driven policymaking in the field of migration is considered key. Different open data on migrants and migratory trends can be found. Examples include the European Commission´s page dedicated to statistics on migration in Europe, as well as the Atlas of migration, an interactive tool and reference book making data on migration in 198 countries accessible for policymakers, researchers and the general public.
On data.europa.eu, we also offer access to several datasets focused on migration information collected across the 27 EU Member States and beyond. Curious to learn more? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, or subscribe to our newsletter.
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