Introduction Sociological approaches of migrations from and in the MENA region: Algeria

Abstract

Debates on migration are stirring public opinions in European and Mediterranean countries. Migration policies diverge across the region. One
the one hand, the various crises regarding economic, political and security issues that many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
region have experienced, together with the large diasporas established abroad, are fuelling migration projects. United Nations estimates show that destination countries vary: Almost half of migrants from North Africa chose Europe as their destination, compared
with 22% of migrants from the Mashreq and 17% from those from the Gulf countries (UNDESA 2020; Zapata-Barrero et al. 2024).
While brain drain is an important issue (Hadibi and Musette 2023), governments in the MENA region are trying to capitalise on the windfall
of migration. Remittances have been the main source of external resource flows for the MENA region ($61 billion in 2023), exceeding the sum of FDI
and official development assistance (ODA) since 2010. In Lebanon, remittances represent 27.5% of GDP and more than 80% of all external resource
flows (sum of remittances, FDI and ODA). In Jordan, remittances amount to 9,9% of GDP (Ratha et al. 2023).