African Emigration to Europe

Abstract

From the 1960s onwards , the main source countries for migration from Africa to Europe were Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, which led to the emergence of large diasporas originating in these countries at the end of the 20th century. In the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis, immigration controls in Europe were tightened. The result was not a reduction in migration from North Africa, but rather support for the permanent settlement of previously temporary migrants and related family migration. Much of this migration was from the Maghreb to France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Since the second half of the 1980s, destination countries for Maghreb migrants have expanded to include Spain and Italy due to increased demand for low-skilled labor in these countries. Spain and Italy imposed a visa requirement on migrants from the Maghreb in the early 1990s, resulting in an increase in illegal migration across the Mediterranean.