Reliable, comprehensive, and timely migration data is the foundation of effective migration governance. Policymakers cannot design programs to manage labour flows, protect migrants, or respond to displacement without understanding who is moving, where they are going, why they are moving, and what happens to them along the way. Yet across the Caribbean, migration data remains fragmented, inconsistent, and often incompatible between national systems — a significant obstacle to evidence-based policy at both national and regional levels.
The Caribbean faces a particular set of challenges in migration data collection. Many territories are small, with limited statistical capacity and data collection infrastructure. Movement between islands is frequent and often informal. Irregular migration — by definition — does not appear in official records. Diaspora populations are rarely counted systematically. The result is that migration statistics often fail to capture the full scope and character of mobility in the region, making it difficult to assess the scale of labour market needs, remittance flows, or protection gaps.
Migration data in the Caribbean is drawn from multiple sources, each with significant limitations. Border crossing records capture only legal entries and exits, missing irregular flows. Population censuses provide snapshots of the stock of migrants at one point in time but may miss recent arrivals and are conducted only every 10 years in most countries. Household surveys can capture migration intentions and recent history but require large samples to yield statistically robust estimates for small populations. Administrative data from immigration authorities, labour ministries, and social services is often not compiled or shared in formats useful for policy analysis.
Remittance data — often used as a proxy for understanding diaspora size and location — has improved significantly as central banks and financial regulators have required reporting from money transfer operators, but informal transfers through informal value transfer systems (IVTS) and hand-carried cash remain largely invisible to official statistics.
One of the primary goals of the CMC Migration Data Thematic Network is advancing the harmonization of migration statistics across Caribbean territories, enabling regional comparisons and trend analysis that individual country data cannot provide. Harmonization requires agreement on common definitions, measurement methodologies, and data sharing protocols — technically achievable goals that nonetheless require sustained political commitment and investment.
IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) and UNHCR's population statistics systems provide some of the most comprehensive available data on forced displacement in the Caribbean, but coverage is uneven and data from smaller territories is often missing or outdated. Building national statistical capacity to contribute to and use regional data systems is a priority of the network.
Collecting data is only valuable if it is used. The CMC Migration Data Network works not only to improve data collection but to strengthen the capacity of policymakers, civil society organizations, and journalists to access, understand, and apply migration data in their work. Data visualization tools, accessible reports, and capacity-building workshops help translate raw statistics into insights that can drive better migration governance across the Caribbean region.