World Migration Report 2022

The World Migration Report (WMR) is IOM’s flagship publication, having been produced biennially since 2000. The WMR responds to a clear and growing need for rigorous, balanced and evidence-based research and analysis on migration at a time of heightened interest in the topic.

The World Migration Report 2022 is the eleventh in the flagship series. In Part I of the report, readers can examine the key data and information on migration globally. The thematic chapters of Part II provide an evidence-based analysis of complex and emerging migration issues.

With these contents, the Report is able to meet the needs of those with a general interest in migration as well as those needing more in-depth analysis, including people who work in migration policy, practice, research and communications. Recent editions have been widely utilized by policymakers, media outlets, academics, students, and migration practitioners.

This flagship World Migration Report has been produced in line with IOM's Environment Policy and is available online only. Printed hard copies have not been made in order to reduce paper, printing, and transportation impacts.  

The World Migration Report is produced by the Migration Research and Publications Division (MRPD), in collaboration with some of the leading academic and applied researchers and other migration experts from across the world. Learn more about the Division.

Evaluation of the World Migration Report

The World Migration Report series was recently evaluated by IOM's Officer of the Inspector General (OIG). The evaluation, which focused on the last three years of publication (2015, 2018, 2020), examined if the WMR series has been successful at meeting a growing need for high quality, balance research, and analysis on migration. Read the full evaluation here. 

The Team

Click here to see the core team that works on the World Migration Report. 

Media mentions

The East African

Amina Wako, 21 January 2022, Armed conflict, climate change fan Africa’s refugee crisis, available here. 

“According to the IOM World Migration Report 2022, an increase in terrorist attacks in parts of Southern and Eastern Africa remained a significant driver of displacement.”

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Süddeutsche Zeitung

Andrea Bachstein, 30. Dezember 2021, Vertrieben, verzweifelt, abkassiert, available in German here.

“Die Pandemie hat Flucht und Migration aus den Nachrichten verdrängt, gebremst hat sie sie nur zeitweise. 540 Seiten braucht der Weltmigrationsbericht 2022 der Internationalen Organisation für Migration (IOM), um die globale Lage abzubilden. Die Auslöser für Flucht und Migration werden nicht weniger, schon wegen des Klimawandels.”

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The New Humanitarian

3 December 2021, Omicron selfishness, record humanitarian needs, and a new republic: The Cheat Sheet, available here.

“The world is experiencing a mobility paradox due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to IOM’s annual World Migration Report 2022, released on 1 December. The number of people internally displaced due to climate disasters, conflict, and violence increased from 31.5 million in 2019 to 40.5 million in 2020. Meanwhile, the number of people who migrated internationally in 2020 was around 2 million lower than it would have been without the pandemic, the report found.”

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Devex

Teresa Welsh, 2 December 2021, Disasters, climate drive migration from Latin America, report finds, available here.

“The report, released every two years by the International Organization for Migration, examines global trends in migration across regions and thematic areas. Released Wednesday, the most recent version examines migration trends in 2020 and 2021.”

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France 24

Andrés Granadillo, 2 December 2021, La migración y los desplazamientos crecieron en 2020 pese a la pandemia, según la OIM, available in Spanish here.

“En su informe anual, la Organización Internacional para las Migraciones (OIM) destacó que la migración en el mundo tuvo un aumento en 2020 con respecto a 2019, sin importar las restricciones causadas por la pandemia de Covid-19. El número de desplazados internos también se ha disparado debido a una serie de conflictos, violencia y desastres naturales.”

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Associated Press (AP)

Jamey Keaten, 1 December 2021, UN migration agency: COVID has ‘radically altered’ mobility, available here.

“The International Organization for Migration released Wednesday its World Migration Report 2022, a vast compendium of the latest trends in human movement of all types — from people fleeing war to workers seeking jobs abroad — and a recap of the last two years of mobility. It cited the impact, for example, of a plunge in air travel last year as the pandemic was raging.”

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La Nation

1 de diciembre de 2021, La cifra de migrantes internacionales equivale ya al 3,6 por ciento de la población mundial, available in Spanish here.

“El 'Informe sobre las Migraciones en el Mundo 2022' echa la vista atrás para examinar, en esta edición, las consecuencias que han tenido para distintos tipos de viajes una crisis sanitaria que motivó el cierre indiscriminado de fronteras. La cifra de pasajeros que se movieron por aire descendió en un solo año un 60 por ciento, de los 4.500 millones de 2019 a los 1.800 millones de 2020.”

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The Hill

Olafimihan Oshin, 1 December 2021, UN: Pandemic appears to have accelerated 'hostile rhetoric' against migrants, available here.

“The report pointed to the “dramatic increase” in internal displacement as migrants' movement within countries due to natural disasters, conflict and violence including COVID-19 restrictions have shut down borders across the globe since the beginning of the pandemic and spread over the last two years."

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United Press International

Simon Druker, 1 December 2021, N.: COVID-19 has made moving more difficult for migrants on multiple fronts, available here.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is making several facets of life increasingly tough for millions of migrants across the globe, according to a United Nations report on Wednesday. The International Organization for Migration's World Migration Report 2022 breaks down how travel and other COVID-19 restrictions have increased problems for migration worldwide.”

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The Independent

1 December 2021, UN migration agency: COVID has 'radically altered' mobility, available here.

“The U.N. migration agency says the coronavirus pandemic has “radically altered” mobility around the world, projecting in a new report that the growth in the number of international migrants is likely to remain weaker as long as travel and other restrictions remain.”

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Axios

Erin Doherty, 1 December 2021, COVID-19 "radically altered mobility" globally, UN says, available here.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has "radically altered mobility" worldwide, the United Nations migration agency said in its World Migration Report 2022 released Wednesday."

Member State mentions

The report has been produced every two years since the year 2000, providing detailed analysis of global migration data and trends. It provides important clarity on global migration issues during a challenging time in our collective histories. Read more here.

Statement by the Assistant Minister for Customs Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs, Government of Australia, Hon. Jason Wood MP at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

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The report has high utility and impact, being used as a fact-checking tool to counter misinformation on migration and migrants and has helped governments to manage migration more effectively by providing accurate, reliable, and rigorous information and analysis on key migration topics, including policy challenges raised by emerging migration issues. Read more here.

Statement by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Hon. Pholile P. Shakantu at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

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This report forces us to stress how critical it is to get facts right as talking about migration and its effects can drastically change public opinion and reactions on such a generally perceived controversial issue. Read more here.

Statement by Minister for Security, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hon. Samuel Cikotić at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

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Nous félicitons l’OIM pour la dernière édition du Rapport État de la migration dans le monde, dont la publication arrive au bon moment. Les évènements récents illustrent une fois de plus la polarisation croissante du débat sur la migration. Pour concevoir des politiques fondées sur des éléments factuels, il est essentiel que soit mené un débat factuel, et ce rapport y contribue. En savoir plus ici.

Statement by the Head of the Peace and Human Rights Division, Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Ambassador Simon Geissbühler at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

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…We are looking forward to the launch of World Migration Report 2022. Within this session, which we believe will be an instrumental document for global migration community in defining future approaches.

Statement by Azerbaijan at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

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Par ultimo, Senora Presidenta, damos la bienvenida a la presentaci6n en este Consejo del "Reporte sabre las Migraciones en el Mundo 2022", que constituye una importante contribuci6n de la OIM para mejorar el diagn6stico de la migraci6n, y contar con datos que permitan informar las narrativas y polfticas publicas en esta esfera.

Intervención en México, 112° Consejo de la OIM, 2021.

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Madame Chair, we thank IOM for a new edition of the World Migration Report. Norway strongly encourages IOM to emphasize the collection and use of sex- and age- disaggregated data to adapt programming to the specific needs of women, girls, boys and men.

Statement by Norway, at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

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Excellencies, Director-General, Deputy Director General, the IOM is an organization with a wider reach, wider mandate and has a capacity for greater contribution to humanity than was perhaps envisioned when it was created as a logistics operation in 1951. We welcome in this regard the World Migration Report. Now with 174 Members and 8 Observers the recognition of the IOM as a leader in migration discourse is nearly universal. The Philippines stands with you, as it has for decades, as the IOM grows even further.

Statement by the Philippines, at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

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While we acknowledge the findings of the 11th IOM World Migration Report, we particularly welcome the evidence-based   analysis of complex and emerging migration issues with direct impact on mobility throughout the world.

Statement by the Republic of Moldova, at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

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Allow me to add my voice in congratulating the Director General and his team as we celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the organization and the launch of the World Migration Report 2022. We acknowledge and appreciate the achievements that the organization has made over the years assisting and improving lives of migrants in need mostly under very difficult circumstances.

Statement by Kenya, at the 112th Session of the IOM Council, 2021.

Partner Mentions

“The 2022 issue is really excellent, so well written, so lucid and clearly presented and so well focused on cutting edge topics. As before I am using several chapters in my Kennedy School graduate migration class (well over 100 students this year!).  Many thanks for producing a public good of such extremely high quality!”

Jacqueline Bhabha, Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

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Academic Mentions

When you read the report, even if you are an experienced researcher in the field, you feel like you learn something new, as the report relies on various forms of new and diverse data in a user-friendly way and explores the complex and emerging migration issues in the most recent time. Watch here. 

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I have used the World Migration Report in many ways- in my teaching and in my workshops, when I need up-to-date information and data on global migration and on new trends… it has been a companion for my teaching and my research. Watch here

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Donor List

The biennial flagship World Migration Report is produced with limited core funding, as outlined in the Organization’s annual budget. Additional funding support has been provided by the following donors:

 

Partner List

IOM partners with a wide range of academic and applied researchers and other migration experts on the World Migration Report (including as co-authors and peer-reviewers) from a variety of institutions globally.