In 2015 there were 21 million migrants in Africa, 18 million from Africa and the rest largely from Europe, Asia and North America. Though much public attention has been on African migration flows to Europe, around 80% of migration takes place in Africa, within African regions and between African regions. Most of the intra-regional migration is within West, Southern and East Africa, while much of the inter-regional movement is from Central Africa to Southern and West Africa, from the Horn of Africa and East Africa to Southern Africa, and from West Africa to Southern Africa.

Yet such intra-continental migration tends to be disruptive because it is poorly managed migration. This is not helped by the state of research on migration, which is mostly focused on refugees and human rights. The NSI will review the current data on migration in South Africa and in Africa, including on civil registration and documentation of identification, management of information on criminal and security risks, management of cooperative agreements to exchange relevant information between African countries. We will review the impact of current policies, initiatives and practices, with a view to propose better ways of managing borders and migration in South Africa and on the African continent.