Challenges with International Migration Data: An Analysis of the Experience of National Statistical Institutions

To gain a better understanding of migration patterns and trends, policymakers, researchers, and analysts require high-quality data on migration, including the number of migrants, their characteristics, and the reasons for migration. This information is crucial for developing effective migration policies and programs, and for monitoring and evaluating their impact. However, there have been significant gaps in international migration data for several decades. National statistical institutions (NSIs) have a crucial role to play in collecting and reporting data on international migration. They are responsible for ensuring the quality and completeness of migration data, which is essential for policymakers. Understanding the challenges faced by NSIs in collecting and reporting migration data can help improve the quality of data and inform policy decisions. However, the NSIs’ perspective is often overlooked in academic research. By introducing the “problem-centered institution questionnaire methodology”, this paper provides a cross-country analysis of the challenges that NSIs face in collecting and reporting international migration data. Drawing insights from 30 countries, the study finds that there are significant gaps in the quality and completeness of migration data, particularly in countries without legal responsibility for data collection. NSIs play a crucial role in improving the quality of migration data, but this requires time and political attention. The study suggests that shifting to administrative sources can help gather better data in a timely fashion. Experience sharing and cooperation across NSIs can also help address gaps in the data. In many countries, stock data are derived from censuses and large-scale surveys.