Global trends in south-south migration

Abstract

Over one-third of all international migration is between countries of the Global South, a greater share than South-North migration in 2020. This chapter reviews global, regional, and county-level trends in South-South migration between 1990 and 2020 using the most geographically comprehensive database available on international migrant stocks (UN DESA, 2020). It shows most migrants from the Global South move to countries within their home region, particularly in areas like Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South America. However, extra-regional migration is on the rise as more international migrants travel further distances. Migration from South Asia to the Middle East is now the largest South-South migration corridor in the world.