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Economic Development in Africa: Migration for Structural Transformation
- International migration in Africa: An overview
In the last 27 years, international migration in Africa has grown rapidly. In 2017, there were about 41 million international migrants from, to, or within Africa. Of these, 19 million resided in Africa, 17 million were resident outside of the continent, and 5.5 million were immigrants from the rest of the world.
Migration in Africa has been characterized by outflows primarily to other countries on the continent, and to some extent to extra-continental destinations. Out-migration is a dominant pattern of international movements in Africa as countries that are net senders exceed net receivers.
Sending countries in 2017
37 countries in Africa were net migrant-sending countries in 2017. While outflows from these countries were primarily to intra-African destinations, for the top net-sending countries, outflows were to extra-continental destinations.
Egypt (2.9 million), Morocco (2.8 million), Algeria (1.5 million) and Tunisia (700,000) were among the top net sending countries. Other net sending countries in 2017 included Somalia (1.9 million), Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Mali (in descending order).
With economic migration being a key feature of international migration in Africa, the search for economic opportunities is an important driver of mobility in the majority of net sending countries. While distress-push factors, notably, high youth unemployment influence movements from Northern Africa to Europe and the Middle East, demand-pull factors, in particular, employment, trade and investment opportunities in neighbouring economies drive mobility, for instance, from Burkina Faso to Côte d’Ivoire and from Mozambique to South Africa.
Political instability in Somalia, and conflict in the Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic are important drivers of emigration from these countries on the continent. Climate change and the growing competition for natural resources are also driving migration within the Sahel region, with the distress-push factors influencing movements from Mali and Niger.
Receiving countries in 2017
In 2017, 17 countries in Africa were key net migrant-receivers. South Africa (3.1 million), Côte d’Ivoire (1.2 million), Uganda (900,000), Libya (629,000), Kenya (577,000), Ethiopia (426,000), Chad (242,000), Gabon (213,000), Cameroon (206,000) and Tanzania (168,000) were the top net receiving countries.
Demand for labour in key economic sectors has been a driver of migration to South Africa (domestic service, mining and construction) and Côte d’Ivoire (agriculture), both of which are hubs on the continent. Similarly, demand for labour in Gabon’s lumber and mining sectors, oil in Equatorial Guinea and in diversified economies such as Kenya, has influenced movements primarily from neighbouring countries to these economies.
Conflict has been a driver of migration to Uganda and Kenya, both of which host a large number of refugees from South Sudan, and to Chad, which hosts refugees primarily from the Sahel region. Cameroon hosts refugees from the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania hosts refugees from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Libya – a top net receiving country, and Mauritania are transit countries that receive migrants en route to Europe primarily from West Africa, and from Eastern Africa.
Trends in international migration in Africa
Since 2000, international migration in Africa has increased significantly, rising by 67% from 15 million in 2000 to 25 million in 2017 (annual average growth of 2.8 per cent per year). In addition, international migrants as a share of total population in Africa increased from 1.8 per cent in 2000 to 2 per cent in 2017.
- In 2017, out of 100 immigrants[1] in Africa, 79 were from Africa.
- International migration in Africa occurs primarily in the same African region. In 2017, 4 out of 5 international migrants residing in Eastern, Middle and Western Africa were from the same African region, underscoring intra-regional migration’s importance. However, since 1990, intra-regional migration has declined across all African regions.
- Among Africa’s migrants of working age, the proportion aged 25-64 years rose from 49% in 1990 to 57% in 2017. Conversely, the share of young migrants, aged 15-24 years declined from 21 % to 16% during the same period.
- Female migration is growing in importance in Africa. Since 1990, the number of international female migrants increased from 7.4 million to 11.6 million in 2017. This trend is reflected in the corresponding increase in Africa’s female population, which rose from 318 million in 1990 to 629 million in 2017.
- At the regional level, trends in female migration vary markedly. International female migrants as a share of the total female population doubled in Southern Africa from 2.5 per cent in 1990 to 5.8 per cent 2017, and rose slightly in Middle Africa. In Northern and Eastern Africa, and to a lesser extent, in Western Africa, international female migration declined during the same period.
- Africa’s population is projected to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050. By then, the continent will have the largest population growth of any global geographical region. In 2050, 25 per cent of the world’s working age population will live in Africa, up from 8 per cent in 1950. Given these demographic projections, the continent will need to generate 55,000 jobs a day according some estimates, in order to absorb the additional labour.
Source: unctad.org
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Biden reverses Trump’s travel ban on Nigeria, Yemen, Eritrea, others
Mr Biden has now nullified the entry ban on citizens from over a dozen countries, including Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, and Sudan.
Newly sworn-in American president, Joe Biden, on Wednesday, issued an executive order nullifying a travel ban imposed on citizens of some Muslim-majority countries by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Before his exit from White House on Wednesday, Mr Trump-led administration was notorious for its harsh policies against immigrants and asylum seekers, one of his many election campaign promises.
He tightened the policies amidst the coronavirus pandemic which rocked the globe, claiming his decision was to protect American populace.
However, Mr Biden, immediately after his inauguration on Wednesday, issued a number of executive orders undoing some of the policies and projects of his predecessor.
Reversals
Mr Biden has now nullified the entry ban on citizens from over a dozen countries, including Nigeria, Eritrea, Yemen, and Sudan.
“There’s no time to waste.
“These are just all starting points,” he said before signing the 17 executive orders in the White House, a statement that connotes the possibility of many more to come.
Mr Trump’s strict immigration policies have been condemned by leaders and civil groups in the past.
The American Civil Liberties Union, on Wednesday lauded Mr Biden’s decision berating his predecessor’s travel policy a “cruel Muslim ban that targeted Africans.
Culled from Premium Times
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Frightened residents brace as Cyclone Eloise approaches Mozambique
IOM is assisting the Government of Mozambique’s preparations for the arrival of Cyclone Eloise, moving people to safety in accommodation centers in Buzi. Photo: IOM 2021
Roughly 160 International Organization for Migration (IOM) staff in central Mozambique are working to prepare local communities for the imminent arrival of Cyclone Eloise, which is currently packing winds of at least 150 km/h.
“The people are scared,” said Cesaltino Vilanculo, an IOM Mobile team leader in the provincial capital Beira, who helped hundreds of families evacuate from unsafe temporary settlements to two accommodation centers.
“The water is rising in their zones and people are frightened, bracing for yet another storm.”
Eloise is expected to make landfall in Beira late Friday or early Saturday. By mid-afternoon today shops across the city are closed and flooded streets, empty.
IOM personnel will be ready to respond immediately with specialists in camp coordination and management, shelter, the distribution of non-food items, health and protection services and data mapping under IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM).
The Port of Beira is set to close on Friday for a period of about 40 hours in expectation of dangerous winds and rain from the afternoon of 22 January through the morning of 24 January. Beira is the main entry point for goods bound for north coastal Mozambique.
A limited supply of emergency non-food items had been stockpiled in Beira, including tarps and water tanks. However, resources are stretched, as IOM is actively responding to the crisis across Northern Mozambique.
At the same time, over 900 people are already displaced in Beira City due to recent heavy rains and the impact of Tropical Storm Chalane, which hit nearby Sofala Province on 30 December.
“The government is working, identifying the safe places to bring the people who are most vulnerable,” explained Aida Temba, a protection project assistant with IOM Mozambique.
“The rain is coming, and the water is rising and it’s not easy to reach all the people who need assistance. But we do our best to respond.”
Hundreds of families were evacuated to two accommodation centres, sheltered in tents provided by Mozambique’s National Institute for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction (INGD). One accommodation center was today closed, in favor of moving families to schools, which provide more stable structure. Those families’ needs include food, potable water, hygiene kits and soap.
IOM Mozambique also has reported that due to heavy rainfall and the discharge of water from the Chicamba dam and the Mavuzi reservoir—both in the Buzi District west of Beira—over 19,000 people have been affected and hundreds are being moved to accommodation centers. Their needs include food, hygiene kits, and COVID-19 prevention materials.
IOM staff are supporting the Government of Mozambique with the movements in both Beira and Buzi and actively working to improve drainage ways in resettlement sites in preparation for further rains.
IOM’s DTM, working jointly with Mozambique’s INGD, is poised to produce a report on displacement and damages within the first 72 hours of the cyclone’s arrival.
Tropical storms historically are common in these early months of rainy season. Cyclone Idai struck the country in March 2019. It is considered one of the worst tropical cyclones to hit Africa on record, claiming hundreds of lives, and affecting three million people across wide swaths of Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi and Zimbabwe. A second powerful storm, Cyclone Kenneth, hit Mozambique just weeks later.
Total property damages from Cyclone Idai have been estimated at some USD2.2 billion. Almost two years later, roughly 100,000 people remain in resettlement sites, which also have been battered by the recent rains.
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