The integration of immigrants in domestic labour markets

The scale of global mobility is staggering: according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), there were 258 million international migrants in the world in 2017, equivalent to almost 3.5% of the global population (GMDAC and IOC 2018). Another 66 million adults had plans to move permanently to another country in 2015. People leave their home countries for a host of reasons, often in combination and often for different reasons at different points along the journey: in search of a better life for themselves and their families; to support families back home through remittances; for a better education; or, for the 25 million refugees in the world today, to escape violence, war, and persecution. For many of these people, their journeys are costly, hazardous, or even deadly: in 2017, at least 6,000 migrants lost their lives or went missing during their journey. Thousands more are vulnerable to abuse, detention, harassment, trafficking, and modern slavery. One study on Darfuri migration to Europe documented systematic abuse, exploitation, discrimination, and physical violence at every stage of the journey from Sudan (Jaspars and Buchanan-Smith 2018).

Sustainable Development Goals:

Gender Equality

Reduced Inequalities

Partnerships for the Goals