Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM) – Algeria Office
Publication: Consolidated Migrant Country Profile – 2025 Edition
Long perceived as a mere transit territory on the Central Mediterranean route, Algeria is now establishing itself as a fully-fledged destination and a space for prolonged stays for thousands of West African migrants. In a new consolidated analysis note, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Algeria draws an uncompromising portrait of trajectories from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Guinea – four countries whose migration drivers are diversifying and becoming increasingly complex.
Evolving Profiles: Towards a Shift to Northern Algeria
Long dominated by circular and seasonal migration, particularly from Mali and Niger, the routes to Algeria are undergoing profound change. The snapshot taken by IOM reveals a notable increase in migrants from Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire, reflecting an unprecedented geographical diversification.
Above all, the temporality is changing: the average length of stay has now reached three years, compared to just a few months previously. Northern cities – Bordj Bou Arréridj, Algiers, Oran – are attracting a workforce that is gradually abandoning southern border towns (Tamanrasset, Bordj Badji Mokhtar), now reduced to stopover and logistical functions.
Two Corridors, Two Distinct Logics
Mali Corridor: Gateway for Guinean and Burkinabè Migrants
Tamanrasset remains a major Saharan hub. But flows there are now largely dominated by Guineans (21% of movements between Mali and Algeria), even surpassing Malian nationals. For them, as for Burkinabè fleeing security violence (22.5% in the Sahel region), Algeria represents an economic horizon, via small-scale mining or informal construction jobs.
Niger Corridor: The Cascading Legislative Effect
The profile here is different: 76% of migrants are Nigerien, predominantly men engaged in short-term circular migration. This corridor was deeply disrupted by Niger’s 2015 anti-smuggling law (repealed in 2023), which had caused a massive shift of flows towards Algeria. Since its repeal, a portion of departures has shifted towards Libya, but Algeria remains a major destination. A key concern: systematic forced expulsions (refoulements) from Algeria to Niger are common.
Guinea, a Laboratory for Structural Migration
Between January and September 2025, over 363,000 movements were recorded in Guinea, 46% of which were outbound. While migration remains largely regional (towards Mali and Senegal), a growing number of Guineans continue their journey to Algeria via the Malian corridor.
Once in Algeria, their journey is marked by a triple precarity:
- Housing: Overcrowding in unsanitary collective housing (foyers).
- Work: Low-paid informal economy (construction, trade).
- Legal insecurity: Constant fear of police raids and expulsions.
Thus, in 2025, Guineans were the most affected by refoulements from Algeria to Niger (3,786 individuals). Paradoxically, Algeria has also become the primary departure country for Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) for Guineans: 2,283 in 2025, up from 1,750 in 2024 and 743 in 2023. An essential condition for those concerned: effective reintegration assistance (training, income).
Why Do They Leave? An Equation of Structural Vulnerabilities
IOM insists: no single determinant explains these migrations. However, converging fragilities emerge:
- Mali: Multidimensional poverty (68.3%), food insecurity, climate shocks.
- Niger: 99.5% of migrants cite economic reasons.
- Burkina Faso: Security violence is becoming a growing driver.
- Guinea: Despite robust GDP growth (5.4% in 2024), 66.2% of the population is poor according to the multidimensional index, and over 60% are under 25 facing a non-existent formal job market.
« Migration is not a symptom of immediate collapse, but a forward-looking economic strategy in response to chronic constraints, » the report summarizes.
Recommendations: Protect, Understand, Reintegrate
Without making blunt prescriptions, the Consolidated Migrant Country Profile implicitly calls for:
- Better consideration of the interaction between economic, security, climatic, and demographic factors.
- Context-sensitive programs, particularly in areas of origin.
- Strengthened protection for migrants in Algeria, against forced expulsions, police raids, and exploitation in foyers.
- Credible reintegration policies to ensure that voluntary return is not a dead end.
As Algeria stands at the crossroads of the Sahel and the Mediterranean, this report recalls an all-too-often forgotten reality: before they are flows, migrants are life trajectories caught in systems of vulnerabilities that border controls alone will never resolve.
Read the complete Consolidated Migrant Country Profile (IOM Algeria, 2025) on the IOM Migration Data Portal.
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