THESIM: Towards Harmonised European Statistics on International Migration

Published in 2006, this book provides an overview of  statistical data sources on international migration and asylum in the European Union (EU). It serves as a handbook to support the work of data suppliers in EU Member States and Eurostat to produce reliable, harmonised and comparable data on migration and asylum. It complements the statistical work of the United Nations’ Population and Statistical Divisions and UNHCR.

The book is a resource for data suppliers and policy makers, as well as for all users of migration and asylum statistics, whether statisticians, journalists, students, researchers, lawyers, NGOs or interested general public.

This book results from the THESIM Project, a 6th Framework Research Project financed by DG Research (EU) to improve the quality, coverage and comparability of international migration data in Europe and to create the basis of a system for the production of EU statistics on migration and asylum. It is an example of how the academic community, national officials and EU policy makers can develop strong collaborative working links and take action to improve the current situation and to support policy decisions.