Defining and measuring circular migration

Circular migration – a repetition of migration by the same person between two or more countries – is a topic of growing importance, on which information is needed for policy development. To meet this demand, tools must be established to better measure the extent to which existing international migration patterns become more (or less) circular over time and to evaluate policies aiming at facilitating (or restricting) such migration. Comparisons between different countries and their policies regarding circular migration, both countries of destination and of origin, are similarly relevant for policy development and evaluation purposes. There is therefore a need to establish an international statistical definition of what circular migration is and how it can be measured and compared between different reporting countries.


This publication presents the results of the work of the UNECE Task Force on Measuring Circular Migration in addressing this need, including a proposal for a common international statistical definition of circular migration.