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Fact SheetsOctober 2025By Julia Gelatt, Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and James D. BachmeierStay - Events
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Migrants, Migration, and Development
The termination of what MPI estimates is up to $2.3 billion in yearly U.S. foreign aid earmarked for migration and displacement projects leaves a vast gap that other international donors are unlikely to fill, particularly as European countries are themselves cutting their assistance. This short read posits three scenarios that may emerge, including one in which these funding shocks unleash long-discussed innovations and efficiencies in migration management and displacement programming.
Remittances are a vital lifeline for migrants’ families around the world and an important source of revenue for many low- and middle-income countries, especially in times of crisis. As more people turn to digital financial technologies for these money transfers, this shift holds the potential to shake up the rigid remittance industry and boost development benefits. But it also brings new challenges, as this report explores.
With more people moving abroad for work and events such as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar highlighting the risks migrant workers can face, questions about how international recruitment occurs have received increased scrutiny. This policy brief explores the notable progress that has been made in establishing fair and ethical recruitment standards, and identifies key areas for future attention by governments, employers, and recruiters.
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have long histories of emigration, but are seeing increasing transit and return migration as well. This report explores the stories told within these three countries about migration in all its forms, how these narratives intersect with (and at times, contradict) each other, and how they influence policy decisions and public opinion.
Migrant workers can pay a range of costs when they are recruited and relocate for jobs abroad, accruing significant debt. While many countries, international organizations, and other stakeholders have sought to reduce or eliminate recruitment costs, the pandemic has exacerbated and added to these expenses. This policy brief explores how the costs migrant workers face have changed, and what these developments mean for efforts to promote fair and ethical recruitment.
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have emerged as major players in responding to climate change, investing in sustainable infrastructure and climate resilience. But while many MDBs have shown interest in projects with positive impacts for climate migrants and host communities, they sometimes struggle to maximize these effects. This report examines MDBs’ role in responding to climate-related migration and displacement to date and opportunities to scale up their work.
Recent Activity
 Short Reads April 2025 By Lawrence Huang, Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Susan Fratzke |  Policy Briefs March 2025 By Lawrence Huang and Samuel Davidoff-Gore |
 |  Policy Briefs December 2023 By Kate Hooper |
 |  Policy Briefs September 2023 By Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst |
 Policy Briefs June 2023 By Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst |  Reports June 2023 By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas |
Policy Briefs March 2025 By Lawrence Huang and Samuel Davidoff-Gore | |
Policy Briefs December 2023 By Kate Hooper | Policy Briefs September 2023 By Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst |
Policy Briefs June 2023 By Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst | Reports June 2023 By Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas |
 Policy Briefs November 2022 By Kate Hooper |  Reports November 2022 By Lawrence Huang, Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz |
The discovery of massive oil reserves off the Guyana coast will bring immense riches to this small South American country. This windfall will draw migrant labor and the return of some diaspora members to Guyana, which has one of the world's highest emigration rates. It also could accelerate climate displacement in a country where 90 percent of the population lives in coastal areas below the sea level. This article explores the changes ahead.
Looking for some of the most often-sought information on global migration? This statistics-rich article draws on the most current data sources to offer a primer on international migration, highlighting its types, the size of the migrant population and growth over time, and major sending and receiving countries and regions. Beyond looking at labor and humanitarian migrants and international students, the article examines remittances and more.
Southeastern Europe is experiencing one of the sharpest depopulations in the world, with countries such as Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia on pace to see their populations shrink by at least 15 percent in coming decades. To counter this trend, governments in the region, NGOs, and the private sector are increasingly, if unevenly, tapping into large diaspora communities to spur economic growth and strengthen cultural ties.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest migrant-origin countries, and money sent home by its workers abroad is crucial to an economy that has become one of the more vibrant ones in South Asia. Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 pandemic has injected turmoil into the economy as Bangladeshi migrants have lost their jobs, families are seeing reduced remittances, and would-be migrant workers have had to shelve their plans to work abroad.
Questions of how, when, and under what conditions migrants and asylum seekers can be returned to their origin countries have featured prominently in international discussions of migration in 2018. Crucially, so too has an increased interest on the part of both destination and origin countries in making reintegration assistance more effective to help ensure that return is sustainable.
During this MPI webinar, climate experts and regional authorities outline the challenges related to climate change and human mobility that local communities, national governments, and the IGAD region are confronting.
Organized on the margins of the first International Migration Review Forum, this official side event looks at effective practices and programs to build socially cohesive and inclusive societies—including lessons from post-conflict settings on how to build intergroup trust. Discussants focus on successful development interventions and offer examples of why some promising ideas may have fallen short in practice.
Do host communities respond differently to people migrating because of environmental impacts compared to refugees fleeing war or migrants seeking work? Research discussed on this episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration suggests the answer is yes.
Colleagues from around the world gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of Demetrios G. Papademetriou, who was MPI's first president and the founder of MPI Europe.
Held during Migration Week 2022, this webinar features policymakers and practitioners from Africa, Asia, and Europe in a conversation on the progress made in the past three years to better integrate gender into reintegration programs for returned migrants, the ongoing challenges, and how the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) in May offers a critical moment to promote good practices.
Recent Activity
The termination of what MPI estimates is up to $2.3 billion in yearly U.S. foreign aid earmarked for migration and displacement projects leaves a vast gap that other international donors are unlikely to fill, particularly as European countries are themselves cutting their assistance. This short read posits three scenarios that may emerge, including one in which these funding shocks unleash long-discussed innovations and efficiencies in migration management and displacement programming.
As the scale and costs of climate change and environmental disasters grow, so do their impacts on migration and displacement. Tackling climate mobility will thus require well-designed investments. This issue brief examines the landscape of bilateral government funders and multilateral funds working to address this challenge, how funding is being used, and opportunities to grow the resources available for climate mobility solutions.
Remittances are a vital lifeline for migrants’ families around the world and an important source of revenue for many low- and middle-income countries, especially in times of crisis. As more people turn to digital financial technologies for these money transfers, this shift holds the potential to shake up the rigid remittance industry and boost development benefits. But it also brings new challenges, as this report explores.
With more people moving abroad for work and events such as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar highlighting the risks migrant workers can face, questions about how international recruitment occurs have received increased scrutiny. This policy brief explores the notable progress that has been made in establishing fair and ethical recruitment standards, and identifies key areas for future attention by governments, employers, and recruiters.
During this MPI webinar, climate experts and regional authorities outline the challenges related to climate change and human mobility that local communities, national governments, and the IGAD region are confronting. The speakers discuss priorities within the region to address climate-related displacement, the engagement of various stakeholders, efforts to facilitate safe and orderly migration, and potential solutions.
Reintegration after return is often a challenge, and doubly so for migrants returning to communities affected by climate change and environmental degradation. This brief explores the emergence of "green" approaches to providing reintegration assistance, including project types implemented to date, common challenges, and strategies for building a stronger case for climate-responsive reintegration programming.
When migrants return to their countries of origin, their reintegration is often most successful in communities that are welcoming, have functional public services, and where livelihood opportunities are available. In recognition of these facts, there has been a growing push to connect reintegration assistance programs with efforts to support local development. This issue brief explores common approaches to building such links.
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have long histories of emigration, but are seeing increasing transit and return migration as well. This report explores the stories told within these three countries about migration in all its forms, how these narratives intersect with (and at times, contradict) each other, and how they influence policy decisions and public opinion.
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The Migrants, Migration, and Development Program focuses on the intersection of migration and development policies and trends, moving beyond simple notions that development is a “cure” for migration or that migration is a recipe for development.For more on the program, click here.
In the Spotlight
Migration Information SourceSpecial Issue: Climate Change
Explore a special series of articles and a related podcast,Changing Climate, Changing Migration, about migration and climate change, featuring analysis and country case studies from top experts.
Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development: A Handbook
The user-friendly guide, a project of MPI and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), offers a strategic road map for governments to build a constructive relationship with diasporas and examines the success and failure of policies, programs, and initiatives undertaken to date.
Free Book Download:Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy
The volume, which examines the development impact of diasporas in six critical areas—entrepreneurship, investment in country-of-origin capital markets, heritage tourism and trade, philanthropy, volunteering, and advocacy—is now available to download for free in its entirety.
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