Surveys of public opinion on migration are common in many countries. Typically, these polls tend to ask questions about the population’s general views on immigration and immigrants. Public opinion on migration can shape and influence migration policy, although the public may not have an accurate understanding of the number and type of migrants residing in their country. Some evidence suggests it is policy that drives public opinion on migration. Public opinion on migration may also influence the degree to which a migrant integrates into their receiving community. Data on public opinion on migration can be a useful indicator of how open receiving societies are towards immigration and ethnic diversity and can sometimes also indicate different attitudes than what the media suggest.

On 19 September 2016, Heads of State and Government from the 193 UN Member States came together at the UN General Assembly to discuss topics related to migration and refugees at the global level. The adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants recognized the need of a comprehensive approach to migration. As a result, UN Member States agreed to cooperate in the elaboration of a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, expected to be adopted at an intergovernmental conference on international migration on 10-11 December 2018 in Morocco. The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants also set in motion a separate negotiation process for the Global Compact on Refugees.

The growing interest in comparative analyses of migration has led to a variety of attempts to assess and compare countries’ migration policies and governance, including immigration, emigration and integration. This effort is now also enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In SDG target 10.7., United Nations (UN) Member States commit to facilitate by 2030 the “orderly, safe, and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies” (UN, 2015).  Data that assess migration policies are commonly based on experts’ evaluations of existing laws and regulations and provide insight into aspects of countries’ governance. However, these data are limited because individual data sources, mostly migration policy indices, do not cover all policy aspects where migration is implicated. Data on migration governance also mostly focus on certain regions or time periods. Although this page focuses on data that assess migration policies, it is important to note that data that inform policy making on migration are also limited.