CERIFR Research — Migration Scenario Engine

Data catalogue

17 primary data sources spanning migration, climate, economy, governance, conflict, demography, gravity, policy, socioeconomic projections and physical displacement. All combined into a 316,020-observation dyad-period panel (230 countries × 52,670 bilateral corridors × 6 historical periods, 1990–2015) with 99.57% completeness on core predictors.

Panel summary
  • 316,020 directed dyad-period observations
  • 230 countries · 52,670 bilateral corridors · 6 periods (1990–2015)
  • 99.57% completeness on core variables
  • 109 harmonised predictors in 12 thematic groups

Source table

#PillarSourceVariablesPeriodCoverageLicense
1Migration FlowsAbel & Cohen (2019)Bilateral flow estimates1990–2015230 countriesCC BY 4.0
2Migration FlowsUN DESA IMS 2024Bilateral stock matrices, diaspora calibration1990–2020232 countriesUN ToU
3ClimateCRU TS 4.09 (Harris et al. 2020)tmp, pre, tmx, tmn, dtr, vap, wet, SPEI1901–20220.5° grid, global landOGL v3
4ClimateCMIP6 ScenarioMIP (5 GCMs)tas, pr → anomalies (4 RCPs)2015–2100GlobalCMIP6 ToU
5ClimateWMO (2017)Baseline normals 1961–1990ReferenceGlobalWMO
6EconomicWorld Bank WDI (2024)gdp_pc_ppp, urban_pct, agr_va_pct, sec_enroll, poverty_rate1960–2024217 countriesCC BY 4.0
7GovernanceWGI (Kaufmann et al. 2011)wgi_ge, wgi_rl1996–2023215 countriesCC BY 4.0
8ConflictUCDP v25.1 (Davies et al. 2023)Battle-related deaths1989–2023GlobalCC BY 4.0
9VulnerabilityND-GAINClimate adaptation score (0–100)1995–2023192 countriesCC BY-SA 4.0
10DisastersEM-DAT (Guha-Sapir et al.)Natural hazard events1900–presentGlobalAcademic
11EducationBarro-Lee v3 (2013)yrs_school_mean, sec_complete, tert_complete1950–2010146 countriesFree
12DemographyUN WPP 2024Population by age-sex1950–2100237 countriesCC BY 3.0 IGO
13GravityCEPII GeoDist (Mayer & Zignago)log_distw, contig, comlang_off, colonyStatic~40,000 dyadsFree
14PolicyDEMIG VISA (de Haas et al.)visa_required (0/1)2000–2015214 countries bilateralAcademic
15SocioeconomicIIASA SSP Database v3.1Future GDP, population, education2020–2100197 countries × 4 SSPsCC
16DisplacementNASA SEDAC LECZ v3Coastal population <5 m, <10 m1990, 2000, 2015234 countriesCC BY 4.0
17DisplacementIPCC AR6 WG1 Table 9.9Sea level rise projections2020–2150Global, 4 SSPsIPCC

Notes on the panel

Panel: 316,020 directed dyad-period observations (230 countries × 52,670 dyads × 6 periods, 1990–2015). 99.57% completeness on core variables.

GCM ensemble (CMIP6): ACCESS-CM2, GFDL-ESM4, IPSL-CM6A-LR, MIROC6, MPI-ESM1-2-LR. Selection rationale: documented performance, independence across 5 research centers, availability across all 4 RCPs.

Anomaly baseline: WMO 1961–1990; projections calibrated via model-specific 1995–2014 reference.

SSP→RCP mapping: SSP1 = ssp126, SSP2 = ssp245, SSP3 = ssp370, SSP5 = ssp585.

Missing data: core predictors < 0.1% missing. Time-invariant bilateral variables (distance, colonial ties) need no imputation. Slowly evolving variables (GDP, governance) use linear interpolation.

License & access

The harmonised projections and indicator panel produced by the Migration Scenario Engine are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). Raw third-party inputs remain under their respective upstream licenses (see the table above).

Free downloads (country-level scenario projections for all 5 scenarios, indicator panels, OOF predictions, SHAP feature attributions) are available from the interactive dashboard at migrationengine.org. Dyad-level data are available on request via rogalski.academic@pm.me.

How to cite

Rogalski, C. (2026). Migration Scenario Engine: Global Bilateral
Migration Projections under Climate Scenarios, 2020–2100.
CERIFR Research. https://migrationengine.org

Machine-readable: citation.cff