A survey conducted by Gallup has indicated that more than a third of Africans want to move permanently to live somewhere else. African youths are the most likely to migrate, driven by the belief that they will find better opportunities and a more promising future outside of Africa.
Africans migrate for various reasons, including economic, political, social, and environmental factors. One major driver is economic hardship, with many seeking better job opportunities abroad to escape poverty and provide for their families.
However, this migration trend is not unique to Africa, as citizens from other regions, including migrant-receiving countries like the United States and Canada, are also seeking better opportunities elsewhere.
The report noted that there has been a significant increase in the desire to migrate among people globally, with the most substantial increases observed in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in the United States and Canada, compared to a decade ago.
The percentage of individuals pushing to migrate was 29% as at 2012. The percentage has increased significantly to 37% as at last year according to the survey which interviewed nearly 146,000 adults in 142 countries and areas.
From the data, the top countries with highest push for migration in Africa are in West Africa. The survey noted that in the six countries, at least half of the population desired migration to another region.
The data provided by Gallup and analyzed by Semafor presents the top 10 African countries where more citizens are pushing to migrate;
| Rank | Country | % Citizens |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Liberia |
76 |
|
2 |
Sierra Leone |
75 |
|
3 |
Ghana |
65 |
|
4 |
Congo |
54 |
|
5 |
Nigeria |
51 |
|
6 |
Gambia |
50 |
|
7 |
Comoros |
48 |
|
8 |
Togo |
45 |
|
9 |
Eswatini |
45 |
|
10 |
Guinea |
44 |
Migration levels in Africa are relatively modest compared to other parts of the world. In fact, the continent has some of the lowest migration rates globally.
This is despite the fact that Africa is home to many countries facing political instability, conflict, and economic hardship, which are typically drivers of migration.
In 2021, Just about 21 countries accounted for about 50.0% of the world’s migrants.
The top ten countries with the greatest shares of migrants leaving were India (6.4% of the world’s migrants), Mexico (5.0%), Russia (4.1%), China (3.9%), Bangladesh (2.9%), Syria (2.7%), Pakistan (2.3%), Ukraine (2.3%), Philippines (2.2%) and the UK (1.9%).
The African country on the list – Egypt was ranked 19th in the world.
