Original Language
English
Number of Pages
75
Reference Number
ENG0182
Date of upload

07 Oct 2015

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Guide to Enhancing Migration Data in West and Central Africa

The Guide to Enhancing Migration Data in West and Central Africa has been developed in the framework of the project Migration in West and Central Africa: National Profiles for Strategic Policy Development, implemented by IOM in 2008-2010 with the financial support of the European Commission, the Swiss Federal Office for Migration and the Belgian Development Cooperation. Migration Profiles bring together existing information from different sources in a structured manner and provide a comprehensive overview of key international migration and socio-economic development trends in the target countries. Migration Profiles are conceived as being more than just statistical reports: they are also intended to be government-owned tools for facilitating policy development. 

This guide aims to improve the quality of the statistical report and to promote the sustainability of the whole Migration Profile process, which is key to transforming Migration Profiles into an effective information tool for policymaking. It is designed to assist countries in West and Central Africa in implementing the UN recommendations  for 2010 round of population censuses and also considers the possible future use of administrative data sources.

Part I presents the basic concepts and definitions related to the measurement of international migration; Part II discusses different types of data sources used to measuring international migration stocks and flows in West and Central Africa; and Part III provides a set of recommendations aimed at improving the current data collection process with a view to generating reliable and comparable data that can be used to support effective policy development.

  • Acronyms
  • List of Tables
  • List of Textboxes
  • Foreword
  • Resumé
  • Executive Summary
  • Introduction
  • Part I – Harmonization of Main Concepts, Definitions and Terms used for the Production of International Migration Statistics
    • 1. Key definitions and concepts relating to international migration
    • 2. Classification of population groups relevant to international migration
    • 3. Challenges involved in identifying population groups relating to international migration and their policy relevance
  • Part II – Data Sources Relevant to International Migration Statistics
    • 1. Censuses
    • 2. Other data sources
    • 3. Relevance of data sources
  • Part III – Data Collection in West and Central Africa : Assessment and Recommendations
    • Recommendation 1: Introduce questions in the census to collect information on international migration
    • Recommendation 2: Publish, disseminate and analyse the census results and produce detailed metadata
    • Recommendation 3: Make better use of administrative data sources
    • Recommendation 4: Include a migration module in household surveys
    • Recommendation 5: Exchange data on bilateral and multilateral bases and mine international databases
  • Bibliography