Most African Migrants Stay Within the Continent

A total of 41.4 million Africans currently live in a country other than the one they were born in. However, data shows that most Africans emigrate to neighbouring countries rather than move to different continents. 

In 2024, the United Nations Population Division found that out of the 41.4 million African emigrants, 18.7 million moved to other Sub-Saharan African countries, 13.2 million moved to Europe and North America, and 8.4 million moved to North Africa and Western Asia. 

The regions with the lowest number of African immigrants include Oceania with only 2,693 Africans, Central and Southern Asia with 10,461 Africans, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 54,698 Africans, and Latin America and the Caribbean with 59,630 with 59,630 Africans. 

Egypt has the highest number of emigrants in Africa, with 4.9 million people living in other countries. Most of these emigrants moved to Western Asia and other North African countries. Sudan has the second-highest number of emigrants, with 3.8 million people living elsewhere. Interestingly, 1.95 million Sudanese citizens migrated to other Sub-Saharan African countries, while 1.7 million moved to North Africa and Western Asia. 

Morocco has the third-highest number of emigrants, with 3.6 million, most of whom moved to Europe and North America. This could be attributed to its proximity to Europe. 

Morocco, Nigeria, and Algeria dominate the share of African emigrants living in Europe and North America, with 1.7 million Algerians and 1.2 million Nigerians moving to that region. 

South Africa dominates the share of emigrants to Australia and New Zealand, with 630,834 people moving to that region. 

African countries with few emigrants include the less populous Djibouti, Mayotte, Eswatini, Botswana, and Seychelles. 

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About the dataset

This article uses 2024 data from the UN Population Division, detailing African emigrants by country of origin and destination. Destinations are grouped into regions including Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa and Western Asia, Europe and Northern America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Southern Asia, Oceania, and Australia and New Zealand.

Find the clean full dataset here

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Cover Photo by Andrew Stutesman on Unsplash