Africa is often depicted in the media as a continent of mass exodus. Images of desperate Africans on overcrowded boats bound for Europe, or those of stranded migrants in transit countries such as Libya, are plastered across our television and computer screens. The often sensational and one-dimensional reporting on African international migrants has played a role in invoking fears of the so-called ‘flood’ of migrants to Europe’s shores.

These images, quite rightly, have drawn our collective attention to serious human rights abuses, as well as highlighting the dangerous situations that migrants can face when undertaking irregular migration. However, these images are increasingly at risk of being viewed as the norm. A more balanced examination of African migration is a pressing priority. The latest statistical estimates of international migrants produced by the UN can help.One of the most striking aspects about international migrants in Africa is that most move within the region. Contrary to much media coverage, the majority of Africans do not leave the continent. They largely move to neighbouring countries.Between 2015 and 2017, for example, the number of African international migrants living within the region jumped from 16 million to around 19 million. Within the same period, there was only a moderate increase in the number of Africans moving outside the continent, from around 16 million to 17 million.