Definition of Household Membership in International Migration Surveys

Abstract

Using data from national surveys conducted within the scope of the Eurostat project titled "Push and Pull Factors of International Migration", analyses are presented using different definitions (narrow versus wide) of household membership in migrant-sending countries (Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Turkey) to see if different definitions are helpful in identifying and increasing the number of migrants who are or was a part of those households. When broad definition was used, the increase in the international migrant members was especially considerable in recent and current migrant households. The findings demonstrated that it was possible to trace an important number of international migrants back in their country of origin and to collect data using proxy interviews. However, it was still impossible to survey emigrants who left the country as a household, those who were not expected to return to the household, those belonging to some dissolved households, or those who died.