Migration Governance Insights: Informing People-centred Migration Policies – Executive Summary

How is migration governed across the world? What are the key trends? What are the insights to help governments develop policies and systems that promote safe, orderly and regular migration, and to harness its potential? This publication addresses these questions based on Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) data from 100 national and 69 local-level assessments, carried out between 2016 and 2023. It also showcases examples of migration policy responses in different contexts, emphasizing potential complementarities across different policy areas and highlighting the central role played by local governments in shaping people-centred migration policies. 

This publication is structured around three policy goals that echo IOM’s strategic priorities (saving lives and protecting people, addressing climate-related mobility and displacement, and facilitating pathways for labour migration), as well as three policy enablers, i.e. the elements that underpin the development of sound policies (empowering migrants, promoting migration policy coherence and building relevant partnerships). These are further broken down into 13 key policy areas. 

The MGI programme is IOM’s flagship initiative on migration governance. Established in 2016, the MGI process has become a powerful tool to advance evidence-based and people-centred migration policies. When informed by high-quality, timely and reliable data, these policies can effectively serve to facilitate pathways for regular migration, drive solutions to displacement and ultimately save lives. To date, MGI assessments have been rolled out in 110 countries and 95 local jurisdictions, demonstrating a truly global footprint and establishing the process as the largest source of data on migration governance globally. With extensive national and local coverage, the MGI programme stands out as a unique data source to inform policy development due to its alignment with international frameworks, comprehensive methodology and consultative process. 

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