An authoritative and myth-busting analysis that tells us 22 essential facts about migration - and why we've been wrong about it


Global migration is not at an all-time high.Climate change will not lead to mass migration.Immigration mainly benefits the wealthy, not workers.Border restrictions have paradoxically produced more migration.

These statements might sound counter-intuitive or just outright wrong - but the facts behind the headlines reveal a completely different story to the ones we're told about migration. In this ground-breaking and revelatory book, based on more than three decades of research, leading expert Professor Hein de Haas explodes myths from left to right that politicians, interest groups and media regularly spread about migration.

Comparing trends and perspectives from Western 'destination countries' (UK, US and Europe) as well as 'origin countries' in Asia, Africa and Latin America, de Haas equips readers with essential knowledge on migration based on the best evidence and data, showing migration not as a problem to be solved, nor as a solution to a problem, but as it really is.

Above all, How Migration Really Works offers a new vision of migration based on facts rather than fears, and a paradigm-altering understanding of this perennially important subject.