The League of Arab States and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have formally launched the Arab Migration Data Network, the first Arab network dedicated to migration data. The launch took place at a signing ceremony at the headquarters of the League's General Secretariat in Cairo, where the Network's first Action Plan (2026-2028) was first adopted.
The Network is a regional mechanism for technical cooperation led by Arab States. For the first time, it brings together national statistical offices and government entities responsible for migration data across all 22 Arab States within a permanent framework for joint action.
The 22 Arab States host approximately 44.5 million international migrants, around 14.7 per cent of the global total, while 37.2 million people from Arab countries live outside their countries of origin, about half of them in other Arab States. Yet migration data remain spread across multiple institutions and continue to face challenges in coverage, timeliness and comparability.
The Network will help Arab States harmonize concepts and methodologies, exchange expertise, and build a clearer picture of migration across countries of origin, transit, destination and return.
The Action Plan was signed by H.E. Minister Plenipotentiary Abeer Al-Jalahma, Director of the Statistics and Databases Department at the League of Arab States, and Mr. Justin MacDermott, IOM Deputy Regional Director for Operations for the Middle East and North Africa. The ceremony was attended by ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions, directors-general of national statistical offices, senior government officials, and regional and international partners.
It concluded a two-day Senior Officials Meeting on Strengthening Migration Data in the Arab Region (27-28 October), which brought together high-level representatives from 13 Arab States: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen. Participants discussed priorities for joint action and helped shape the Action Plan ahead of its adoption.
"The launch of the Arab Migration Data Network marks a milestone in the journey of joint Arab statistical cooperation. For the first time, our countries are coming together around a permanent platform dedicated to migration data, led by Arab States and driven by their priorities. What we have built today is not simply a new initiative, but a shared Arab statistical language that serves decision-makers and reflects the realities of our people," said H.E. Minister Plenipotentiary Abeer Al-Jalahma.
For IOM, Justin MacDermott noted: "The launch of the Arab Migration Data Network is not the culmination of our efforts; it is the beginning of a new chapter in regional cooperation, built on trust, shared knowledge, national ownership and collective action."
Under the Action Plan, the Network will:
- coordinate the work of national focal point teams in statistical offices and relevant government entities;
- harmonize concepts, methodologies and classifications, and develop a common indicator framework aligne with the 2025 United Nations Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration;
- strengthen national capacities, including in administrative data, geospatial analysis and the responsible use of artificial intelligence; and produce joint regional analyses and strengthen data protection and responsible data sharing.
Arab States showed clear commitment from the outset, with 10 countries already designating national focal points. Delegations also presented practical proposals to further develop the Network's working mechanisms.
