Demographic and Social Statistics

The 4th International Forum on Migration Statistics (IFMS 2025) is organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Statistics and Population Divisions, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

International migration is a policy priority for many countries, yet despite recent progress in data collection, analysis, and dissemination, the supply of migration statistics has not kept pace with demand. Basic data on migrant stocks and flows, the social and economic characteristics of migrants, and the drivers and impacts of migration remain scarce in many nations. Additionally, differing methodologies across countries significantly hinder international comparability and the generation of regional and global insights.

As in the previous three forums (2018, 2020 and 2023), IFMS 2025 will bring together experts from a wide range of disciplines—including statistics, political science, economics, demography, geography, sociology, geospatial and data science, and information technology—to enhance global understanding of international migration. Participants will explore innovative ways to measure population mobility and generate timely statistics, aiming to foster synergies among different communities and perspectives, including representatives from countries of origin, transit, and destination. The meeting will provide policymakers with a unique opportunity to interact with migration data experts and analysts, and to benefit from their expertise in evaluating policy frameworks and comparing policy options.

The event will take place in Malmö, Sweden, from 16 to 18 June 2025, with support from the Malmö University and the Government of Sweden.

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This sprint, the second in a series of online events organized by the Friends of the Chair Group on Social and Demographic Statistics, in collaboration with the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), is an opportunity to take stock of and review essential elements for developing and maintaining population data systems fit for current and future data demands. Indeed, countries are expected to significantly transform their data collection and processing systems, by adopting digital-first, multi-mode methods, increasing utilization of geospatial information and administrative data sources, and developing strategies to address and adapt to potential shocks and disruptions. Against this background, this sprint will discuss both current and emerging practices to enhance the quality of population statistics and will address ongoing challenges and the growing need for integrated data sources, innovative methods, and techniques to meet diverse data demands effectively.

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The workshop aims to address the gaps in the availability of reliable and timely migration data, crucial for designing effective operational and policy responses in alignment with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The objectives of the workshop include to: 1) facilitate knowledge exchange, 2) discuss implementation issues and 3) build statistical capacity in the production and use of relevant, high quality and disaggregated statistics on international migration.

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The 3rd International Forum on Migration Statistics (IFMS 2023) is organized by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Statistics and Population Divisions, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Calls to improve migration data to formulate evidence-based migration policies and inform public discourse have become increasingly strong. However, basic data on the stocks, flows, and characteristics of international migrants, as well as on the causes and impacts of international migration remain scarce or are not utilized to their full potential in many countries. The IFMS 2023 will provide a unique opportunity to discuss ways to improve the collection, analysis, and use of migration data worldwide, to fill existing migration data gaps and to better inform policy making.

As in the two previous fora, this event will mobilise expertise from a range of disciplines, such as statistics,economics, demography, sociology, geospatial science, and information technology. The IFMS 2023 will bring together producers and users of migration statistics from national and international statistical offices, other government agencies, international organizations, academia, civil society, and the private sector.

The Forum will be hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile, from 24 to 26 January 2023 as an in-person and hybrid event.

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This Expert Group Meeting is convened in the framework of the second revision of the United Nations Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration, as requested by the Statistical Commission in its decisions 50/117 (2019) and 52/109 (2021), where the revised conceptual framework for statistics on international migration was endorsed. This meeting will bring together the group of experts on migration statistics, established by the Statistical Commission at its forty-ninth session in 2018. The outcome of this meeting is expected to be reported to the Statistical Commission for discussion.

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United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on International Migration Statistic, to be held virtually on 4-5 and 8-9 June 2020.

The Expert Group Meeting will be convened in the framework of the second revision of the UN Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration, as requested by the Statistical Commission at its fiftieth session in 2019 in its decision 50/117. It will bring together the group of experts on migration statistics, established by the Statistical Commission at its forty-ninth session, with the main objective of agreeing on the conceptual framework, and accompanying definitions, data and indicators that will make the foundation of the revision of the current recommendations on statistics of international migration. The outcome of the meeting is expected to be reported to the Statistical Commission for discussion.

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The International Forum on Migration Statistics (IFMS) is a unique, global platform devoted to improving data on migration in all its dimensions. Organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the IFMS offers space for dialogue for a broad range of actors, from national and regional authorities, NGOs, international agencies and the private sector. More information about the event is available at: https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/events/international-forum-migration-statistics-2020.

The IFMS 2020 will explore innovative ways to measure population mobility and to generate timely statistics, by bringing together a broad range of participants to share and to discuss new data initiatives and examples of success in the field of migration data. The Forum will also provide a unique opportunity for policy-makers to have direct contact with migration data experts and to use their expertise to feed policy evaluations and to identify best policy options.

The focus on data capacity building comes from the recognition that implementing the commitments of international processes comes with significant challenges for National Statistical Offices, which often have limited capacities to collect, analyse and manage data relevant to migration.

Follow the discussion on Twitter: #IFMStats

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United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on Improving Migration Data in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The meeting will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, from 1-3 July 2019.

The main objectives of the Expert Group Meeting are to: (a) review the draft Technical Report on Measuring Migration-relevant SDG Indicators; (b) discuss the revision of the 1998 United Nations Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration, in particular the technical material developed by the Group’s task forces and agree on the outline and next steps/timeline for the revision; and (c) discuss a roadmap on improving national capacities on statistics on international migration, leading to a draft global programme on migration statistics.

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The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), in collaboration with the United Nations Population Division and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, is organising a regional workshop on strengthening the collection and use of international migration data for the achievement of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development for selected countries in Asia. The meeting is organized under the 11th tranche of the development account capacity building project.

The workshop aims to increase the capacity of participating countries to produce and analyze comprehensive national migration data that meets international standards, and to enhance understanding of the uses and limitations of migration data for policy purposes and for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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OECD, IOM and UNDESA (represented by UNSD and UNPD) propose to co-organise a regular International Forum on Migration Statistics. The first Forum will be hosted at OECD's conference centre in Paris. The location of the Forum will rotate between the three co-organising agencies. The Forum will also involve partner organisations that will contribute to relevant sessions.

This event will enhance the exchange of information, promote mutual learning and facilitate cooperation among relevant stakeholders. It will bring together producers, analysts and users of migration statistics, and will create a community of interest focused on migration measurement issues. It will mobilise expertise from a wide range of disciplines - such as political science, economics, demography, development studies, migration studies, geospatial science, sociology, statistics, and information technology - that can contribute to an improved global understanding of international migration in all its dimensions.

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The United Nations Statistics Division, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Division and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), will organise an expert group meeting on "Improving Migration Data in the Context of the 2030 Agenda". The meeting will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 20 to 22 June 2017. The objectives of the meeting are to: (a) discuss how "migratory status" can be defined in the context of SDG data disaggregation; (b) identify the SDG indicators that are directly related to international migration and indictors that should be further disaggregated by migratory status; and (c) assess data requirements for these indicators, identify gaps in exiting methodologies and propose strategies to overcome these gaps, including the use of innovative methodologies and non-traditional data sources. The outcome of the meeting will provide inputs to a technical report to guide the production and use of data for the migration-relevant SDG indicators by countries. The meeting will also formulate action-oriented recommendations on migration data collection and compilation for the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

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The workshop is jointly organised by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (represented by Statistics Division (UNSD) and Population Division (UNPD)) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (represented by the Statistics Division and the Social Development Division), for selected countries in South and South-East Asia. The workshop aims to increase the capacity of participating countries to produce comprehensive national migration data that meets international standards, and to enhance understanding of the uses and limitations of migration data for policy purposes and for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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The Population Division and the Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, are organizing a regional workshop for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa on the collection and use of international migration data for development. The workshop will take place at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 18 to 21 November 2014. The workshop will bring together experts from national statistical offices in charge of producing official statistics on international migration as well as experts from relevant ministries or agencies in charge of compiling and analysing migration data for policy purposes. Experts from international organizations will participate as resource persons.

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The United Nations Statistics Division seeks through this expert group meeting to assess requirements for international migration statistics in response to policy interest and the challenges faced by national statistical systems in measuring international migration flows and stock. The meeting will review national practices in the compilation of migration statistics and identify difficulties associated with the recommended concepts and definitions. It will explore ways to foster cooperation between policy machineries of governments and their data collection agencies, and develop a plan for the improvement of migration statistics. The outcome will help determine the scope and content of a handbook on statistics of international migration to be prepared by UNSD.

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