Recent Developments on Migration Statistics in Lebanon

Lara BADRE MEDSTAT II Migration National Coordinator

Central Administration for Statistics - Lebanon

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MEDSTAT II – ESCWA regional workshop on migration statistics

Cairo, June 30 to July 3, 2009

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Recent Developments on Migration statistics in Lebanon

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Data sources and current projects

1- Administrative data

Measuring migration flows using individual border crossing data

2- Surveys

Migration module within the MICS3 SURVEY

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Part 1 – Administrative data

Measuring migration flows using individual border crossing data

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Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

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Background

Cooperation between the Central Administration for Statistics (CAS) & the General Direction of the General Security (GDGS), the proposals in two different meetings held under MEDSTAT II and technical assistance provided by the Programme led to establish a pilot project for measuring migration flows using the individual border crossing data available at the GDGS.

Pilot project objectives and steps

•Testing a new methodology provided by the MEDSTAT II expert M.Poulain

•Started in 2007 using selected number of movements & applying the calculation for testing the feasibility of the methodology

•Poulain approving the work of the Lebanese team

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Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

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Concept and methodology

•This new methodology for measuring international migration flows is based on the international recommendations of the UN and Eurostat

This measurement is based on:

• The concept of stay or residence in a country during the last 12 months

•The country were the person has lived continuously for most of the last 6 months (excluding temporary absence)

•International migration means changing borders of the usual country of residence

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Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

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Concept and methodology

Hence:

•The length of usual residence/ stay in a country should be >= 6 months per year (183 days/year)

•Calculating the duration of residence in a cumulative period of 12 months from the date of movement (M)

•Using previous movements to M (M-183 days) to identify his usual residence or stay in the country

•Systematic identification of international migration movements over the many paths of individual border crossings (Sequence in /out)

•Nature of migration defined as the type of movement: the entry into the country is immigration and the exit is emigration

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Concept and methodology

Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

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Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

Concept and methodology

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Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

After identifying that this person was IN for more than 6 months/ per year, we need to look at his situation for the 6 month previous the M movement

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Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

After identifying that this person was IN for more than 6 months/ per year,

we need to look at:

• His situation for the 6 month previous the M movement (M -183)

to identify if he is an emigrant or not according to his duration of stay or residence within the same country

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Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

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Recommendations

To be able to apply this methodology the country should have:

•Electronic data base for all movements for all citizens and foreigners

•All border crossings have to be recorded by date, type of movement, sex, date of birth, citizenship, country of birth….

•Use anonymous data for individual movements

•Create a link between all movements for each person crossing the borders…

•Concretely this methodology does not allow to register more than one immigration or one emigration during a calendar year.

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Administrative data - using individual border crossing data

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Recommendations

•Unfortunately, we have to wait until the end of the second year T+1 in order to identify all international migrations to be enumerated during the first calendar year T.

•In some cases you should validate the data before applying this methodology (in case of illogical path such as Out- Out or In- In or single path such as In only or Out only)

•In Lebanon we created with Poulain ‘rules of similarity’

•To do this you should know and identify the reasons for such cases

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Part 2- Surveys

Migration module within the MICS3 SURVEY

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Surveys- Migration module

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Background

•The Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) prepared a module on migration within the ‘Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey, Round 3’ (MICS3)

•MICS3 is conducted in partnership with the UNICEF

•MEDSTAT II project provided technical assistance to Lebanon

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Surveys- Migration module

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Survey objectives and techniques

•Providing indicators on women & children’s health, employment, migration, housing..

•Sample size is 16500 Household

•Currently conducting the survey using PDA’s for data collection for the first time

•3 questionnaires: Household, Women, Under Five

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Surveys- Migration module

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Concepts and methodology

Challenging issues related to migration

•Identify Household’s member that have emigrated•Identify Household’s that have emigrated as whole•Identify immigrants

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Surveys- Migration module

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Concepts and methodology

In order to be able to collect information related to migration we did inquire on:

•Reference period 5 years previous to the survey

•Emigration linked to the head of the household only

•If the emigrated person was/ was not living within the same household with the head of the household before emigration

•Information and characteristics of the migrants at the time of migration

•Change of address during the last 5 years ( for all household’s members aged 5 years and above)

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Surveys- Migration module

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Expected Outputs and results:

•Results should provide data on :

•General characteristics of emigration for the past 5 years

•Profile and characteristics of emigration such as age, sex, occupation, level of education, cause of migration, hosting country…

•Internal migration

•Potentially a partial information on the characteristics of immigration for the past 5 years

•Previous country of residence, reason for changing address…

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Central Administration for StatisticsKantary, Army street, Finance & Trade building.Beirut, Lebanon

Phone and Fax: + 961- 1- 373 160

Email: lara_badre@yahoo.com

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