Estimating Global Bilateral Refugee Migration Flows from 1990 to 2015

Abstract

Comprehensive data on refugee migration flows over space and time only exists for a limited number of countries and is prone to various problems, including quality issues, completeness, and different collection methods. This paper addresses these obstacles by presenting global bilateral five-year refugee migration flows between 1990 and 2015 that are derived from available stock data. The estimates, which reflect short-term rather than long-term movements captured by stock data, provide valuable insights into past refugee migration patterns. The results suggest a substantial worldwide decline in refugee migration flows after the early 1990s and a focus shift from African to Asian countries. Furthermore, the data show that global refugee migration flows are highly spatially concentrated and fluctuate between 0.11 and 0.33 percent of the world's population.