afrol News, 27 November - Côte D'Ivoire will see a drop up to 11.2 percent in the number of migrants by the end of 2010, the International Organisation for Migration has revealed in its latest report.

The report shows that although immigrants represented 12.3 percent of the population in 2005 (2.2 million people), that figure is expected to drop to 11.2 percent this year.

The latest of IOM's Migration Profiles projects that the numbers would drop due to a number 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 who have not returned to a country.

It further states that level of poverty which has left almost half of Côte d'Ivoire's 20 million people in abject poverty living on less than about USD 1.25 per day are some of the push factors to the projected decline.

Côte d'Ivoire had experienced an annual growth in immigration rates since independence in 1960 from 1.8 percent to 4.4 percent, according to national statistics office. The numbers have reportedly dropped to 0.3 percent as a result of the events in 2002 which also led to increased migration flows out of the country.

According to the report, Côte D'Ivoire suffers from the brain drain, which particularly affects the medical personnel. “Ivorian migrants working illegally are also employed in certain informal sectors of host economies, such as agriculture,” the report stated.

Further 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.

It also indicates that the west African state has not yet devised mechanisms to regulate departures or returns, nor has it found ways to encourage the participation of the diaspora in its development.

IOM recommends 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,” it said.

The profile, produced by IOM aims to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of migration trends and patterns to through and from Côte d'Ivoire.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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