Migration Profile Shows 6.9 Million Affected by Migration and 
Displacement in Sudan

Sudan - A new IOM migration country profile of Sudan shows that out of a 
population of 39.2 million, an estimated 6.9 million people in the 
country are affected by migration and displacement. These include 4.9 
million internally displaced persons (IDPs), 750,000 foreign migrants 
and refugees living in Sudan and at least 1.2 million Sudanese living 
abroad.

According to the profile, which recommends the adoption of a 
comprehensive migration management strategy involving government, civil 
society organizations and international institutions to cope with the 
challenge, most of Sudan’s migration flows originate from or go to 
neighboring African and Arab countries.

The profile was developed jointly by IOM and the Sudanese Centre for 
Migration, Development and Population Studies and is part of a broader 
project funded by IOM’s 1035 Facility to support the Sudanese government 
in producing migration data and using it to inform current and future 
migration policies.

It was produced with the support of a Technical Working Group that 
brought together all national agencies working on migration and 
migration-related issues, including the Secretariat for Sudanese Working 
Abroad, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of 
Labor, the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Commission for Refugees.

In spite of large scale IDP returns in Sudan over the last ten years, 
following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and other 
regional peace accords, Sudan is recognized as still having the second 
largest number of internally displaced persons in the world, according 
to the profile.

Future developments arising from the outcome of the recent referendum on 
South Sudan suggest that managing internal displacement and internal 
migration will continue to be a significant challenge, it notes.

In contrast, the number of foreign-born refugees in the country has 
roughly halved over the past 20 years due to voluntary and organized 
repatriations. Sudan now hosts some 685,000 refugees, mainly from 
Eritrea, Chad and Ethiopia.

The country also hosts some 35,000 migrant workers, mainly from China, 
India, the Philippines and Turkey. The majority work in companies set up 
by foreign investors.

The profile estimates that between 1.2 and 1.7 million Sudanese citizens 
and people of Sudanese origin are currently living abroad.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries host approximately a million 
Sudanese migrant workers. Remittances are an important source of income 
for thousands of Sudanese families and communities of origin, although 
remittances via formal channels are significantly lower per capita than 
in most other Arab countries.

According to the profile, up to 390,000 Sudanese refugees are also still 
living in neighboring countries, including Chad, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya.

While the data in the report confirms that irregular migration of 
Sudanese to the EU is very limited, the report highlights that a large, 
unidentified number of migrants transit irregularly through Sudan en 
route to Libya, Egypt and other destinations, including Europe.

Speaking at a workshop in Khartoum on 23 February to launch the profile, 
Ahmed Kermeno Ahmed, State Minister of the Council of Ministers, 
representing the Vice President and Chairman of the Supreme Council of 
Migration said: "The Government of Sudan will translate the information 
in this Migration Profile into policies to promote socio-economic 
development and ensure that Sudan benefits from migration."

The Sudan Migration Country Profile can be accessed at:
http://bit.ly/fCS3sI

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