IGAD Population and Migration Statistics Report Second Edition

As of 2022, the IGAD region was home to 6.8 million international migrants, up from 4.1 million in 2013, reflecting a 65.9 percent increase over the past decade. This growth was relatively balanced across sexes, with the number of male migrants rising from 2.1 million to 3.4 million, and female migrants from 2.0 million to 3.4 million over the same period. Working-age international migrants accounted for 63.3 percent of the total, with 2.1 million men and 2.2 million women falling within the 15–64 age range in 2022. The number of working-age migrants increased significantly from 2.7 million in 2013 to 4.3 million in 2022, representing a 56.8 percent increase. This trend was observed across both sexes.

Labour migration within the region also expanded. In 2022, IGAD recorded 2.5 million migrant workers, of whom 1.5 million were male and 1.0 million were female, indicating persistent gender gaps in employment- related migration.

The migrant labour force participation rate was 69.6 percent for men and 47.6 percent for women in 2022, a gap of over 22 percentage points. Similarly, young international migrants (aged 15–35 years) in the labour force rose to 1.2 million in 2022, with over 60 percent being male. These disparities point to systemic barriers limiting women’s access to labour mobility and underscore the importance of integrating gender equality into labour migration governance. Furthermore, these trends signify increased migratory movements within the IGAD region, thus necessitating better migration governance for socio-economic development and management of migration issues.