West and Central Africa, a region with a deep-rooted history of human mobility, is witnessing increasingly diverse, complex, and interconnected patterns of migration. From transhumance and economic migration to displacement driven by climate change or conflict, the region remains one of the continent’s main hub of human mobility. Yet this reality is often oversimplified in media and policy narratives, demanding a more nuanced and accurate understanding.
The Reality: Mostly Internal and Intra-Regional Flows
Contrary to the widespread belief that migration from West and Central Africa is primarily directed toward Europe or the Global North, recent data show that the vast majority of movements happen within the region itself. Over 77% of the estimated 11.3 million migrants living in the region are originally from another country within it. Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Chad host the highest numbers of regional migrants, while Burkina Faso, Mali, and Nigeria are key countries of origin.
These patterns reflect longstanding dynamics shaped by proximity, economic need, and cross-border community ties. Most of the migrants interviewed at IOM’s flow monitoring points in 2024 were young, unemployed men in search of opportunity. But women’s mobility is also rising—22% of those interviewed were women, migrating largely for economic or family reasons.
Work, Transhumance, and Borders: The Silent Drivers
The main driver of movement remains economic. Across 26 flow monitoring points, 72% of respondents reported migrating in search of employment—mostly in agriculture, trade, crafts, mining, and services. Destinations often vary by season and job availability.
Pastoral transhumance, which is one of the region’s oldest forms of mobility, is also undergoing major shifts. Insecurity, climate shocks, and rapid urbanization are disrupting traditional corridors and contributing to rising tensions. In 2024 alone, over 5,000 alerts related to transhumance-related incidents were relayed across the region.
This is a signal that our approaches for governing and managing this type of mobility ought to be revisited. This would entail, among other things strengthening the production and access to accurate data to support early warning mechanisms, but also investing in endogenous mechanisms to reduce and resolve transhumance-related conflicts.
Finally, it is worth noting that border areas account for a significant proportion of mobility across the region. They offer a strong potential for economic growth, notably through cross-border trade, but also present vulnerabilities that must be addressed through innovative border governance and investment.
Displacement Still Widespread Across the Region
As of late 2024, more than 8 million people were internally displaced across the region due to conflict or disasters, an increase from 7.9 million the previous year. At the same time, voluntary returns are growing: IOM supported nearly 50,000 returnees in 2024 through its return and reintegration programs. These realities call for coordinated action between humanitarian, development and peace actors. The solutions cannot be an ad hoc. Rather, they must be structural, rights-based and grounded in local realities.
Towards Evidence-Based Governance
“Migration and mobility are key factors in the region’s history and future,” said Sylvia Ekra, IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Our data shows clearly that mobility shapes community resilience, cross-border economies, and regional stability.”
In a time when migration is too often politicized or misunderstood, it is urgent to shift the narrative. That begins with recognizing the facts, valuing regional dynamics, and integrating mobility into public policy at local, national, and continental levels.
Regional and global frameworks already exist to guide this process. The ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) all offer strong platforms to make migration work for peace, and development.
They provide us concrete pathways to foster peace by investing in youth, the largest share of people on the move, through local opportunities; to support inclusive growth by boosting cross-border trade, which sustains countless communities; and to enable sustainable transformation by integrating migration into climate adaptation, territorial planning, and urban development strategies, so that mobility is not only managed but harnessed for the collective good.
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