Africans immigrate more to African countries than they do to Europe, Asia and the Americas
Forget Europe, the Americas and Asia; Africans are immigrating to other African countries more than they do to countries outside of the continent. As a matter of fact, a 2020 report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) disclosed that as much as 80% African respondents said they are not keen on leaving the continent at all.
Between 2008 and 2017, the number of intra-African immigration rose sharply from 13.3 million to 25.4 million, according to figures obtained from the African Union (AU). This points to the fact that there are just as many opportunities within the continent as there are in Europe, North America and elsewhere.
Business Insider Africa understands that intra-African immigration is particularly high in West Africa. However, the situation is not without some challenges, as you can see from the quote below by Rango Marzia, an IOM Global Data Analyst.
“We really have a very incomplete picture of the most recent trends and mainly also the number of people moving across countries. There’s a whole story of migration within Africa and across Africa, particularly across countries in the same regions such as West Africa, where interregional mobility is high, which we don’t really see in mainstream media,” he told German news outlet DW.
We will talk a little bit more about the other side of the migration story shortly…
Why are more Africans leaving their home countries to other African countries?
Africans are moving to other African countries for the same reasons they choose to move to foreign continents. There are two main reasons: economic and security reasons. As you may well know, quite a number of the world’s poorest of the poor are concentrated in Africa. But this does not, by any means, mean that the whole of Africa is poor. Africans know this, which is why they continue to move to other African countries where the economic opportunities are.
Speaking of need for security, there are a quite a number of conflict-torn African countries. And no one can thrive where there is no security. As a result, African is conflict-torn countries move to other countries where there is peace.
“People move from one country to the other for survival. Some also travel because they feel their homes are not okay, and they want to try another place,” said Ghanaian immigration official, Kobla Kekeli Zilevu.
Unfortunately, they are not always welcomed with open arms…
By now, you’ve probably heard of the frequent xenophobic attacks in South Africa. During such attacks, foreign African nationals are targeted, some of them killed and their shops looted. The locals do this out of jealousy and frustration, accusing the foreigners of coming to their lands and taking over their opportunities.
It’s important to stress that discrimination against foreign African nationals is not peculiar to South Africa. As a matter of fact, it can happen to anyone anywhere on the continent. DW quoted a Cameroonian man who fled conflict in the central African country to Equatorial Guinea to have said this:
“They don’t welcome strangers, but we have no choice but to live with it. They have this hate speech they use all the time and maltreat strangers.”
Recommendations
The current situation of intra-African immigration is not all gloomy and hopeless. Despite the obvious challenges that exist, many Africans have successfully moved permanently to other parts of the continent and are living peacefully there.
One thing that is recommended to those hoping to emigrate to other parts of the continent is to try as much as possible to do so legally, with all the necessary documentations. In the meantime, African governments and regional blocks can do more to make intra-African immigration more seamless, less complicated and stress-free.
