A new IOM migration country profile of Sudan shows that out of a population of 39.2 million, an estimated 6.9 million people in the country are affected by migration and displacement. These include 4.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), 750,000 foreign migrants and refugees living in Sudan and at least 1.2 million Sudanese living abroad. According to the profile, which recommends the adoption of a comprehensive migration management strategy involving government, civil society organizations and international institutions to cope with the challenge, most of Sudan’s migration flows originate from or go to neighboring African and Arab countries. The profile was developed jointly by IOM and the Sudanese Centre for Migration, Development and Population Studies and is part of a broader project funded by IOM’s 1035 Facility to support the Sudanese government in producing migration data and using it to inform current and future migration policies. "CLEAR: right; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; BACKGROUND: rgb(153,204,255) 0% 50%; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; WIDTH: 200px; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid"> "PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; BACKGROUND: rgb(51,102,204) 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px">Download alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src= "/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&…" title="">Migration in Sudan: A Country Profile 2011 It was produced with the support of a Technical Working Group that brought together all national agencies working on migration and migration-related issues, including the Secretariat for Sudanese Working Abroad, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor, the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Commission for Refugees. In spite of large scale IDP returns in Sudan over the last ten years, following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and other regional peace accords, Sudan is recognized as still having the second largest number of internally displaced persons in the world, according to the profile. Future developments arising from the outcome of the recent referendum on South Sudan suggest that managing internal displacement and internal migration will continue to be a significant challenge, it notes. In contrast, the number of foreign-born refugees in the country has roughly halved over the past 20 years due to voluntary and organized repatriations. Sudan now hosts some 685,000 refugees, mainly from Eritrea, Chad and Ethiopia. The country also hosts some 35,000 migrant workers, mainly from China, India, the Philippines and Turkey. The majority work in companies set up by foreign investors. The profile estimates that between 1.2 and 1.7 million Sudanese citizens and people of Sudanese origin are currently living abroad. Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries host approximately a million Sudanese migrant workers. Remittances are an important source of income for thousands of Sudanese families and communities of origin, although remittances via formal channels are significantly lower per capita than in most other Arab countries. According to the profile, up to 390,000 Sudanese refugees are also still living in neighboring countries, including Chad, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya. While the data in the report confirms that irregular migration of Sudanese to the EU is very limited, the report highlights that a large, unidentified number of migrants transit irregularly through Sudan en route to Libya, Egypt and other destinations, including Europe. Speaking at a workshop in Khartoum on 23 February to launch the profile, Ahmed Kermeno Ahmed, State Minister of the Council of Ministers, representing the Vice President and Chairman of the Supreme Council of Migration said: "The Government of Sudan will translate the information in this Migration Profile into policies to promote socio-economic development and ensure that Sudan benefits from migration." The Sudan Migration Country Profile can be accessed on "paragraph-link-no-underline" href="https://sudan.iom.int/%3Ca%20href%3D"http://bit.ly/fCS3sI">http://bit.ly/fCS3sI" target= "_blank" title="">http://bit.ly/fCS3sI For further information please contact: Mark Richmond IOM Sudan Tel: +249922406634 E-mail:  "mailto:mrichmond@iom.int">mrichmond@iom.int