The Arab region, lying at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe, has long witnessed the ebb and flow of international migration, one of the main factors driving social and economic changes in the Arab region. 

The 2015 Situation Report on International Migration is published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with member agencies of the Working Group on International Migration in the Arab Region. 

The study aims to address a deficit in knowledge about migration issues in the Middle East and North Africa by providing a multidisciplinary and comprehensive overview of migration trends and its economic and social consequences in the Arab region. 

Within the report, three key trends are discussed: (a) regular and irregular migration; (b) forced migration; and (c) mixed migration flows. Demographic and policy data have been compiled through extensive review of data available from a diverse range of sources, while policy recommendations highlight the need to coordinate holistic responses to forced migration across areas, such as health, education, environmental sustainability, labour markets, human capital, remittances and social cohesion.

This publication has been issued without formal editing by IOM.