In April 2025, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released updated figures on population movements in the Central Sahel and Liptako-Gourma regions, and in other West African countries.
The Central Sahel encompasses parts of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, specifically central-eastern Mali, northern and eastern Burkina Faso, and southwestern to central-western Niger. The Liptako-Gourma region, which is shared by the same three countries and spans roughly 370,000 square kilometres, is a cross-border area of West Africa.
According to IOM, there were 3,315,545 displaced persons in the Central Sahel and Liptako-Gourma regions as of April 2025. Of this total, 2,670,331 were IDPs, representing 81% of the displaced population. The remaining 645,214 people were refugees, accounting for 19% of the total.
Again, according to IOM, Burkina Faso accounted for the largest share of IDPs, hosting 2,062,534 people (77%). This was followed by Mali with 378,363 people (14%) and Niger with 202,925 people (8%).
Beyond conflict-driven displacement, broader patterns of mobility persist across West and Central Africa. According to the Centre d’Etudes stratégiques de l’Afrique, approximately 70% of regional migration, whether temporary, seasonal or permanent, involves labour migration. Popular destinations include major economic hubs such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. Côte d’Ivoire alone is home to over 8 million migrants from Burkina Faso, 402,000 from Mali and 112,000 from Guinea.
These migration patterns are fuelled by a combination of economic hardship and environmental degradation. Job losses linked to overfishing and unregulated fishing are particularly damaging. Such issues cost the region an estimated 0.26% of its GDP, undermining livelihoods and exacerbating poverty.In addition to these economic factors, climate change is emerging as a critical push factor. According to the environmental news site Mongabay, northern Ghana and Nigeria face some of the region’s most acute climate risks. Yet environmental degradation is rarely cited as a primary reason for migration — at least for now. However, Mongabay warns that climate-related pressures are expected to intensify sharply by 2050, particularly in these vulnerable areas.