Top 10 largest migrant corridors from Africa to other continents

Migration has been a part of human history for centuries. Whether driven by the search for better opportunities, safety from conflict, or simply the desire for a fresh start, people have always sought new places to call home.

In 2020, Africa was home to an estimated 25.1 million international migrants, making up 9% of the global migrant population. However, it’s not just the influx of people into African countries that tells the full story, it’s also the significant outflow of people seeking opportunities elsewhere.

As of 2020, around 40.4 million Africans had left their countries, primarily moving to other continents in search of better prospects. This accounts for about 3% of Africa’s total population. As a result, the continent has experienced a negative migrant stock balance, with more people leaving Africa than arriving.

Emigrants outnumber immigrants by 15.2 million, which represents 1.1% of Africa’s population. North Africa, in particular, stands out with the highest proportion of emigrants (4.9% of the population) and the lowest proportion of immigrants (1.3%), resulting in a significant negative migrant stock balance of -3.6%.

In contrast, other regions of Africa exhibit relatively balanced and smaller numbers of both immigrants and emigrants.

African migration to other continents is shaped by a mix of economic factors and historical and cultural connections. Established social ties, whether due to a common language—like Egypt with Saudi Arabia and the UAE—or shared political histories, such as Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia with France, support and ease migration flows.

However, Africa itself attracts relatively little immigration from other continents, with the only notable corridor being from the Occupied Palestinian Territory to Libya, according to the second edition of the Africa Migration Report (AMRII).