INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION STATISTICS

The challenges and the solutions

UNESCWA / DESA /ALO MEDSTATRegional Training Workshop on International Migration StatisticsCairo – Egypt30th June – 3rd July 2009

Ann Singleton

The context

There is a growing need for good quality statistical data on migration and asylum

…which is not being met because…

Problems of quality and comparability stemming from

different:

Definitions Legislative arrangements Data collection systems

– within countries– between countries

The context: problems with the data

The causes of these differences

The difference between concepts and definitions used

Who/what is an international migrant?

- according to the United Nations

- according to each country

- according to each data collection agency

BE 3 months LU No time criterion

BG permanent HU 3 months /1 year (EEA/non-EEA)

CZ 1 year MT permanent

DK 3 or 6 months NL 4 in the last 6 months

DE No time criterion AT 1 year

EE 3 months PL permanent

EL 1 year PT 1 year

ES No time criterion ROPermanent

FR 1 year SI 3 months

IE No time criterion SK permanent / 3 months

IT No time criterion / 1 year for (EEA/EEA) FI 1 year

CY 1 year SE 1 year

LV 1 year UK 1 year

LT 1 year    

Time criteria defining an immigration examples from European Union countries (Poulain and al., 2006)

The causes of these differences

Sources have been created or exist for administrative, fiscal or planning purposes (other than the collection of migration data)

…they respond to various administrative and policy needs of the national administration or government not necessarily to the need for harmonised migration data

– Consequently…… There is no single source of statistics Data from different sources have to be brought

together

What is international migration?

It includes the following categories and concepts– Asylum– Labour– Temporary– Permanent– International, internal – Citizenship (nationals, non-nationals, acquisition of

citizenship)– Dependants/family members

These categories overlap in the statistics

Data sources

Asylum applications and decisions – Ministries of the Interior

Labour (work permits/residence permits/visas)– Ministries of Interior and Employment

Temporary (Work permits/residence permits/visas)– Population registration systems, Ministries

Permanent migration (Population censuses, surveys)– Statistical offices

Citizenship Ministries of Justice and Interior

Illegal immigration (Border control, police and immigration data) Estimates

Returns Ministries of the Interior

Different types of migration data

‘Stocks’ Flows: immigration and emigration (short and

long-term) Asylum Labour migration Family reunification ((re-) formation)

Data variables

Minimum variables needed:- Previous country of residence- Citizenship- Sex- Age

Estimating the size and composition of the foreign and migrant population

Surveys in-country Censuses Residence permits databases Population registers and/or registers of

foreigners and/or censuses and registers Estimates of undocumented migration

Data sources

Censuses Administrative registers

– Population registers– Other administrative databases relating to:

Residence permits/permits to stay Asylum procedures

Surveys Large-scale national surveys (eg LFS) Customs data; surveys at the borders

Estimating migration flows: data sources

In-country survey– Ireland

Border survey– Cyprus, UK

Customs– Bulgaria

Databases on residence permits– France, Portugal, Greece, Romania

Population registers and/or registers of foreigners– A,B,CZ,D,E,H,I,FIN,DK,NL,SK,S (+CH, IS, N)

Estimating stocks of foreign population: data sources

Survey in-country Census Residence permit databases Population registers and/or registers of the

foreign population and/or cenusus + register

Problems for the users

Incompatability of concepts and definitions Data quality is often mediocre and coverage is partial Double counting Untimely production and dissemination Unreliable Lack of transparency and confidence in the data Lack of reliability, accuracy Lack of clarity about what the data measure

Problems for policy-makers

The difficulty of:– Monitoring the implementation of legislation and

the effectiveness of policy– Anticipating and planning for public service

provision– Planning for the needs of the local and national

labour market

What was the solution ?

Closer collaboration between Ministries and statistical offices

Documentation of the databases Funding of projects to correct the databases With the collaboration (amongst others) of:

– Universities– Statistical Offices– Ministries– Research Institutes

What was the limitation of these measures ?

– Diversity of data collection systems– Absence of a single harmonised definition, – Lack of political will

Reluctance of authorities to admit the unreliablity and poor quality of some data

Reluctance of authorities to release statistical data on asylum applications and decisions and illegal immigration

What might be the solution ?

More transparency; more data users; more user feedback

Timely dissemination of compiled, checked and documented data

Regular Public reports (monthly, quarterly, annual) Use of the internet, simple Excel sheets, online

databases Where appropriate: acknowledgement of the need to

introduce legislation on statistics on migration and asylum

What might be the solution ?

Knowing the strengths and the limitations of obtaining statistical data through voluntary agreements

Acknowledgement of the need to introduce legislation on community statistics on migration and asylum