Evolution of migrant flows, 1960-2015

This diagram shows more than half a century of migratory flows by major regions of departure, identifying departures for other countries in the region or for other regions of the world. The five-year time scale enables irregularities in the curves to be seen, demonstrating the sudden nature and scale of certain movements (political and economic crises, conflicts). In Africa, Europe and the ex-USSR, the intra-regional flows are more substantial, or close to the numbers of departures out of the region. In Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America, departures from the region largely dominate, as they do to a lesser extent in South East Asia. In the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East (although involving very different numbers) the disruption shown is spectacular, with departures out of the region from 1990 on the first graph and, conversely, into the region from 2000 on the second.