About the Migration Governance Indicators (MGI)

Informing policy change since 2016

The MGI helps governments, upon request, take stock of their migration policies and strategies to identify good practices and areas with potential for further development. By focusing on government ownership of the process, the MGI supports governments at the national and local levels to gradually improve their migration management systems.

Read more Local MGI

Migrant's Rights

Indicators in this domain look at:

  • Migrants’ access to basic social services and social security
  • Family reunification
  • Right to work
  • Long-term residency and path to citizenship
  • Civil participation
  • Signature and ratification of international conventions
  • Bilateral agreements

Indicators in this domain assess the extent to which migrants have the same status as citizens in terms of access to basic social services such as health, education, and social security. It also describes the rights of migrants to family reunification, to work, and to residency and citizenship. The ratification of the main international conventions is also included within this domain.

 

Whole of Government Approach

Indicators in this domain look at:

  • Institutional framework
  • Migration strategy
  • Legal framework
  • Institutional transparency and coherence
  • Migration data

Indicators in this domain assess countries’ institutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks related to migration policies. Domain 2 also reviews the existence of national migration strategies that are in-line with development, as well as institutional transparency and coherence in relation to migration management. This domain also investigates the extent to which governments collect and use migration data.

Partnerships

Indicators in this domain look at:

  • Regional cooperation
  • Global cooperation

This domain focuses on countries’ efforts to cooperate on migration-related issues with other states and with relevant non-governmental actors, including civil society organizations and the private sector. Cooperation can lead to improvements in governance by aligning and raising standards, increasing dialogue and providing structures to overcome challenges.

Mobility Dimensions

Indicators in this domain look at:

  • Crisis resilience and preparedness
  • Emergency response
  • Post-crisis actions
  • Inclusiveness of migrants

This domain studies the type and level of preparedness of countries when they are faced with mobility dimensions of crises, linked to either disasters, the environment and/or conflict. The questions are used to identify the processes in place for nationals and non-nationals both during and after disasters, including whether humanitarian assistance is equally available to migrants as it is to citizens.

Well-being of Migrants

Indicators in this domain look at:

  • Labour migration management
  • Skills and qualification recognition schemes
  • Student migration regulation
  • Bilateral labour agreements
  • Migrant remittances

This domain includes indicators on countries’ policies for managing the socioeconomic well-being of migrants, through aspects such as the recognition of migrants’ educational and professional qualifications, provisions regulating student migration and the existence of bilateral labour agreements between countries. Indicators equally focus on policies and strategies related to diaspora engagement and migrant remittances. 

Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

Indicators in this domain look at:

  • Border control and enforcement
  • Admission and eligibility criteria
  • Return and reintegration policies
  • Measures to combat human trafficking and smuggling

This domain analyses countries’ approaches to migration management in terms of border control and enforcement policies, admission criteria for migrants, preparedness and resilience in the case of significant and unexpected migration flows, as well as the fight against trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants. It also assesses efforts and incentives to help integrate returning citizens.

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Click on the wheel to learn more about the six dimensions of migration governance included in the MiGOF and MGI.

MGI Global Coverage

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Governance Profiles

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Participant countries and local jurisdictions

Central African Republic

The report is not yet available online.

Djibouti

The report is not yet available online.

Senegal

The report is not yet available online.

South Africa

The report is not yet available online.

Tunisia

The report is not yet available online.
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Key Characteristics for Process
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Launch of the MGI

Ensuring government buy-in through a presentation of the process and possible impact of the project.

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Data collection and analysis

This is done with the Economist Impact through desk research and key informant interviews to answer all 90+ questions.

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Inter-ministerial consultation

Discussion of the findings and identification of ways forward to address gaps.

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Publication of the report

The Country Profile is endorsed by the government and published in the Migration Data Portal.

How does the MGI contribute to better migration governance?
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Generate a government-wide dialogue on migration governance

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Use the findings to inform policy change

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Establish baselines to track and report progress on national and international commitments, such as the GCM and SDGs

Highlights
Success Stories
The Migration Governance Indicators Success Stories 2024

The third edition of MGI Success Stories celebrates the efforts of governments and IOM to improve migration governance by using the findings from the MGI assessments. From developing national migration policies to shaping local initiatives, this booklet showcases 27 inspiring stories, highlighting positive impacts on the lives of migrants and communities.

Migration Governance Insights: Informing People-centred Migration Policies

This publication analyses how migration is governed across the world, based on MGI data from 100 national and 69 local-level assessments, carried out between 2016 and 2023. It showcases examples of migration policy responses in different contexts, and highlights the role of local governments in shaping people-centred migration policies. It also provides a set of recommendations for policy makers and practitioners to improve migration governance at the national and local levels.

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Booklet
The Migration Governance Indicators Success Stories 2023

Featuring 24 countries and cities that have recently taken advantage of the MGI process, this booklet highlights how the MGI has been instrumental in strengthening migration frameworks through the development of new policies and laws, and action plans to achieve goals outlined in global commitments. This booklet offers concise insights that can inspire other governments to use the MGI to harness the power of migration.

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National MGI Report
Migration Governance Profile: Republic of Malawi

This Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) profile presents a summary of well-developed areas of migration governance in Malawi as well as areas with potential for further development, as assessed through the MGI. The MGI is a standard set of approximately 90 indicators to assist countries in assessing their migration policies and advance the conversation on what well-governed migration might look like in practice.

Report
Migration Governance Indicators Data and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: A Baseline Report

This document analyses global, regional and thematic trends that emerge from MGI data in relation to the general commitment and the range of associated actions for each of the 23 Global Compact for Migration objectives. Grounded on the mapping of MGI indicators against Global Compact objectives, data analysis is based on MGI data collected between 2016 and 2021 for 84 countries that voluntarily conducted an MGI assessment and for which data are readily available as of March 2022. The core of the document consists of 23 data bulletins displaying global and regional summary statistics of the answers to the MGI questions mapped against the respective Compact objectives.

Guidance Note
The Migration Governance Indicators (MGI): A key tool for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration implementation

Created in 2016 by IOM, the Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) programme is a tool that supports governments in taking stock of the comprehensiveness of their migration policies, as well as in identifying gaps and areas that could be strengthened. The MGI framework is aligned with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration as the indicators can be mapped out against all the 23 objectives of the Compact. This guidance note aims to illustrate the ways in which governments and other relevant stakeholders can use the MGI in the implementation, follow-up and review of progress towards the achievement of Global Compact objectives.

MGI Videos

Towards better migration governance

This video presents the Migration Governance Indicators (MGI), a framework developed by the

The Local Migration Governance Indicators – A look into the way local authorities govern migration

A look into the way local authorities govern migration

Latest Publications
LP - Publications

Migration Governance Insights on Regular Pathways: Delivering on the Promise of Migration

Regular pathways are essential to realizing the promise of migration. These pathways are the legal and policy frameworks that enable people to move to, enter, stay in, exit or re-enter States along their migration journey in an authorized manner. The impacts of migration depend on where and how people migrate, which in turn depend largely on the options available to them. More and better opportunities for people to move in a regular way are key to realizing the promise of migration.

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The Migration Governance Indicators Success Stories 2024

The third edition of MGI Success Stories celebrates the efforts of governments and IOM to improve migration governance by using the findings from the MGI assessments. From developing national migration policies to shaping local initiatives, this booklet showcases 27 inspiring stories, highlighting positive impacts on the lives of migrants and communities.

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Bridging the Gap: Migration Policies and People’s Policy Perspectives in Balti and Cahul (Republic of Moldova)

Migrant needs and the policies aimed at supporting them are often evaluated in isolation, making the formulation of effective policies that respond to the reality on the ground more difficult. Seeking to bridge this gap, two major IOM global initiatives have been identified as crucial data sources to enable a comprehensive assessment of the needs of migrants in order to inform policy and programmatic responses: the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) and the Migration Governance Indicators (MGIs). These two methodologies have been combined to develop an innovative approach in two municipalities of the Republic of Moldova – Balti and Cahul – selected based on their geographically strategic positions on main migration corridors, socioeconomic profiles and local authorities’ close collaboration with IOM. 

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Contact

We welcome any expression of interest or feedback regarding the MGI process.