West Africa: the dynamics and trends of international migration

OECD countries receive a little less than half (97 million in 2000) of the world’s total migrants, of which 3.8 million are from Northern Africa and 1.2 million are from West Africa. West African migration is on the rise, due mainly to an increase in intra-regional mobility (7.5 million). Within the OECD, North America receives the most West African migrants, followed by Europe. This article explores further some current trends in West African migration and outlines some of the issues that could affect this migration in the future, including climate change and demographic concerns in Europe. A European-North African-West African dialogue is proposed to address these future issues and help promote more structured means of cooperation.