ABSTRACT
Migration is a topic of huge interest to policymakers around the world, but counting migrants and measuring migration from one country to another, and globally, are difficult endeavours. Migration status can often change in response to shifts in government policies. Some migrants may enter a country irregularly and gain legal status only after a shorter or longer stay within a country. Despite widespread agreement on the importance of data to design, implement and evaluate migration programmes and policies, the current availability of reliable and comparable data on many different aspects of migration is still very limited. In recent years, the international community has begun to focus much more on how to improve international migration data, as high-profile calls for better migration data have gained momentum. The recent global pandemic made policymakers and practitioners more aware of the potential of using such data sources.
