Potential benefits of investing in data and improving data coverage

Decision-makers need to be convinced of the value that migration data can deliver. IOM and McKinsey (2018) published a report demonstrating how policy-makers and decision-makers can reap the benefits of collecting and analyzing migration data. A key message is that stakeholders should develop a tailored migration data strategy enabling them to identify data that are directly relevant to their national migration situation before embarking on a campaign to improve the reliability, timeliness, comparability and accessibility of data. Developing a migration data strategy, which begins with the initial stage of issue identification and definition (IOM, 2024b), will prevent stakeholders from investing time and resources into data without having any clear expectations for how the data will or can be used. In many cases data are available but coverage is limited, especially for certain migrant groups such as female migrants, temporary, seasonal and circular migrants or internal migrants. As will be highlighted in Part II of the Essentials of Migration Data, countries can design programmes and initiatives addressing the needs of hard-to-reach populations by exploring innovative data sources, learning new estimation methodologies, disaggregating by migratory status and relevant socio-demographic and economic indicators, incorporating new questions or modules into existing data collection operations and addressing sampling biases associated with administration and fielding procedures.

The McKinsey report outlines 7 dimensions (emigration, immigration, integration, journey, arrival, return and reintegration and development) in which effective usage of data can yield value for both migrants and non-migrants in origin, transit and destination countries, examples of which are provided below:

• Emigration: data on the number of jobs unfilled per occupation compared with the number of emigrants per occupation can be used to identify and respond to human capital losses by pointing to areas where schemes incentivizing high-skilled citizens to remain in-country should be targeted.
• Immigration: employment rates and number of unfilled vacancies per occupation can pinpoint labour market needs and facilitate the development of target skill profiles while the count of persons with the target skill profile in key emigrant countries can show where migrant workers with the relevant skills are located. For example, Australia’s Skills Priority List releases an annual report identifying which occupations are in shortage while also providing an assessment of future demand.  Between 2005 and 2015, Australia increased the number of job vacancies filled by employer-sponsored migrants with relevant skills by approximately 14 per cent each year. Similarly, in Germany, every six months the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) publishes an analysis of needs for skilled workers, which assesses the situation of skilled workers in Germany with regards to occupational groups. The assessment provides the basis for the so-called “white list”. People from outside the EU can generally take up employment in Germany, if their foreign qualifications have been recognized as equivalent to the German reference qualifications and their occupations are on the “white list” (IOM, 2019a).
• Integration and contribution: the number of housing units available for rent and the number of healthcare professionals per 1,000 inhabitants can show whether there is sufficient capacity to cater to the basic needs of incoming migrants.
• Development: data on the skills set of diaspora communities can help policymakers identify communities with the skills and knowledge most needed back home that can be incentivized to return. For example, between 2011 and 2017, around 3,000 Malaysians returned through the Returning Expert Programme, which encourages the return of highly-skilled Malaysians with relevant expertise from the diaspora through targeted incentives.
• E-Journey: real-time data on mobile phone usage can increase identification rates of missing migrants or victims of trafficking in persons, keeping data privacy and protection in mind. The US-based NGO Polaris uncovered almost 8,000 cases of Trafficking in Persons, which is a different crime from migrant smuggling and should not be confused with missing migrants,  based on in-depth analysis of hotline and text message data.
• Arrival: a single centralised database for data collected through comprehensive registration procedures, available to all relevant actors in the asylum application process, can reduce duplicate applications.
• Return and reintegration: the share of refused asylum seekers who return to their country of origin by return type (e.g., forced or voluntary) and the assistance provided (e.g., financial, psychological, etc.) can inform the design of effective return policies by showing what strategies work. The Uruguayan Government has a Manual for Returnees (2019) that explains in detail the procedures that nationals returning to Uruguay should follow, including how to access available benefits. For example, Uruguayans returning from abroad after a stay of more than two years outside the territory can apply to the Return and Reception Office for entitlements resulting from agreements that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has signed with other public entities, such as the right to full, free public health coverage for one year; landline, mobile and Internet plans for 90 days; and a rental guarantee (IOM, 2022).

Figure 1: 7 examples of how migration data delivers real-life benefits

(IOM and McKinsey, 2018)

Note: see Appendix of the IOM and Mckinsey (2018) report for an extended list of the types of questions that might be answered within each of the 7 dimensions identified as well as the key data required to answer those questions.