Original Language
English
ISBN (PDF)
978-92-9268-821-9
Number of Pages
75
Reference Number
PUB2024/039/R
Date of upload

25 Apr 2024

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The State of Global Mobility in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic marked an unprecedented shock to human mobility, shuttering borders and restricting movements in ways not seen in our lifetime. This report reflects the first attempt to assess how human movements has changed in the wake of this seismic event, by analysing Flow Monitoring daa from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that surveys migrants at formal and informal border crossings. 
 

  • Executive Summary
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 COVID-19 and the Global Reopening in 2022
    • Travel Measures Drop and Mobility Rebounds
  • 3 Reinvigorated and Diversifying Movement to the Arabian Peninsula 
    • A. Asian Migration to Gulf Cooperation Council Countries Rebounds
    • B. More East Africans Migrate to the Gulf, while Forced Returns Grow
  • 4 Growing Climate Mobility Challenges in East Africa and Pakistan
    • A. Droughts Trigger (Mostly Internal) Displacement in East Africa
    • B. Floods Compound Economic Collapse in Pakistan, Spiking Displacement
  • 5 Short-term Mobility, Crises and Tensions in Southern Africa 
    • A. Short-term, Intraregional Mobility Picks Up
    • B. Displacement Crises and Vulnerabilities Grow in Scale and Complexity
    • C. Labour Migration Rises Post-pandemic, as Does Anti-immigrant Sentiment
  • 6 Refugees from Ukraine and the Changing Face of Conflict-related Displacement 
    • A. Large-scale Displacement Occurs within, out of and back to Ukraine 
    • B. A Warm Welcome Hints at New Paradigms of Temporary Integration
  • 7 Revived Irregular Migration to Europe 
    • A. As Sea Arrivals Shift Towards the Central Mediterranean, Italy Looks to New Solutions
    • B. The Balkan Route Takes on Greater Significance
  • 8 Changing Migration Patterns to, from and within Afghanistan 
    • A. Takeover Shocks Intraregional and Interregional Outflows from Afghanistan
    • B. Forced Returns Decrease while Voluntary Returns Stabilize
    • C. Taliban Rise to Power Halts Internal Displacement but Triggers a Humanitarian Crisis
  • 9 Accelerating Crises and Mobility Transitions in the Americas
    • A. Mobility in the Americas Increases in Volume and Diversity
    • B. Venezuelan and Haitian Crises Have Long-term Effects on Mobility and Policy
  • 10 Conclusions
  • About the Authors
  • Acknowledgements