Migration trends in Sudan
Africa
3.8M people from Sudan have built lives abroad. That's 7.5% of the country population, spread across 58 different countries
50.4M
Population
2.3M
Immigrants
3.8M
Emigrants
−1.4M
Outflow
1 in every 14 people born in Sudan now lives abroad
The #19 largest source of emigrants worldwide
Top corridors
The largest migration routes in Sudan
Where people move to
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
1.4M immigrants · 466K emigrants
1995
- Uganda replaced Saudi Arabia as the main destination for those leaving
- An accelerating exodus — the diaspora abroad grew by 42%
- Immigration contracted — the foreign-born population fell 26%
- Slipped out of the 3 biggest immigrant destinations in Africa
2000
- Eritrea overtook Ethiopia as the largest source of new arrivals
- Immigration from Ethiopia declined sharply — 373.3K fewer migrants from there
2005
- The country became a place of departure — more people leaving than arriving
- An accelerating exodus — the diaspora abroad grew by 51%
- Immigration contracted — the foreign-born population fell 34%
- Surge of departures to Chad — 219K people left
2010
- South Sudan overtook Eritrea as the largest source of new arrivals
- Saudi Arabia replaced Uganda as the main destination for those leaving
- Emigration to Uganda declined sharply — 175.6K fewer migrants there
- A significant migration corridor emerged from South Sudan — 212.9K new residents
2015
- An accelerating exodus — the diaspora abroad grew by 85%
- Rose into the 3 biggest countries by emigrants in Africa
- The outflow deepened — net losses doubled to 1.6M
- South Sudan became a significant new destination — 562.4K residents had moved there
2020
- Surge of immigrants from South Sudan — 611.6K new arrivals
- The foreign-born population passed 1M residents
Today
- Chad replaced Saudi Arabia as the main destination for those leaving
- Entered the world's 20 largest diasporas
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 74%
- Rose into the 3 biggest immigrant destinations in Africa
- Since 1990: 975.1K more foreign-born residents and 3.3M more citizens living abroad