The latest of IOM's Migration Profiles of non OECD countries released today on Côte D'Ivoire shows a country that is projected to see a further drop in the number of migrants by the end of 2010.
The profile, produced by IOM with the financial support of the European Union, the Swiss Federal Office for Migration (FOM) and the Belgian Development Cooperation, aims to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of migrations trends and patterns to, through and from Côte d'Ivoire. It shows that although immigrants represented 12.3 per cent of the population in 2005 (2.2 million people), that figure is expected to drop to 11.2 per cent this year.
This is due to the fact that many of the migrants, mostly Burkinabe, Malians, Guineans and Ghanaians, who left Côte d'Ivoire in 2003 and 2004 in the aftermath of a 2002 political, military and economic crisis, haven't returned to a country where living conditions are worsening due to an economy that continues to be in recession.
Slightly under half of Côte d'Ivoire's 20 million people are now below the poverty threshold, living on less than about US$1.25 per day - up from 38.4 percent in 2000 and the highest in 20 years, according to results recently released by the national statistics institute (INS).
Côte d'Ivoire had experienced an annual growth in immigration rates since independence in 1960 from 1.8 per cent to 4.4 per cent. This has now dropped to 0.3 per cent as a result of the events in 2002 which also led to increased migration flows out of the country.
The report also notes that since 2000, an estimated 177,000 Ivoirians have emigrated to France (26 per cent), Burkina Faso (20 per cent), Benin (7 per cent), Germany (6 per cent), Guinea (5 per cent), Ghana (5 per cent), Italy (4 per cent) and the United States (4 per cent).
Almost half of the total number of Ivorian emigrants had a poor level of education whilst some 30 per cent had a higher education level.
Key employment sectors in OECD countries are manufacturing (26 per cent), distribution (13 per cent), service activities for communities (11 per cent) and heath (9 per cent).
According to the report, Côte D'Ivoire suffers from the brain drain, which particularly affects medical personnel.
Ivorian migrants working illegally are also employed in certain informal sectors of host economies, such as agriculture.
The report underlines that the 2002 Ivorian crisis has caused refugee movements in the region and around the world. In 2008, the number of refugees was estimated at some 22,000, with 66 per cent living in African countries and 25 per cent in Europe.
Although Côte D'Ivoire faces increasing emigration flows, the report notes the country has not yet established mechanisms to regulate departures or returns, nor has it found ways to encourage the participation of the diaspora in its development. For instance, national development strategies based on the Millennium Development Goals and on Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers do not specifically integrate migration.
Finally, the report underlines that more coordination is needed between various Ivorian ministries with overlapping competences in migration management. This and more reliable data is needed to ensure a better understanding of migration dynamics in Côte D'Ivoire.
IOM's country reports bring together existing information from different sources in a structured manner, and provide a comprehensive overview of key international migration and socio-economic development trends in selected West and Central African countries (Cameroon, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal).
For further information, please contact Frank Laczko at IOM Geneva, Tel +41 22 717 94 16, email flaczko@iom.int
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