1. VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava
Migration from Sub-Saharan Africa´s Countries to the EU Member States: Do the Prospects for Better Economic Well-Being Matter?
Eva Kovářová
Faculty of Economics
VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava
Czech Republic

2. Introduction
Mobility is one of the universal features of human species. People have been migrating since the beginning of time.
Because of existence of international borders, migration is not considered a matter of course in presence as in the past. Policy and economic barriers existing in current world constrained natural human ambition to reach better living conditions.
If people are mobile in industrial countries, one usually speaks enthusiastically about flexible labour markets (Ellis, 2003), and whole migration between developed countries is considered to be natural process. However, migration to developed countries from the less developed ones is usually interpreted in negative terms.
If the international migration is discussed by the general public, it is usually understood in terms of migration from developing countries to rich countries in Europe and North America. This misleading interpretation is based on the fact that on average three quarters of international migrants come to a country with a higher level of human development than their country of origin has.
South-North migration flows represent only one third of international migration.

3. Research Motivation and Objectives
In recent years, the number of immigrants coming to Europe has increased in dramatic way – including both refugees and economic migrants (Nová, 2016). They come from two regions, located not far from Europe – Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Immigrants coming from the former one are usually considered (with regard to the actual insecurity there) refugees that need special treatment.
Those coming from the latter one are usually considered economic migrants wanting to obtain social benefits offered in the European Union Member States. However, in many cases, people coming to the EU from Sub-Saharan Africa are eligible to obtain refugee status.
The main objectives of my research are to identify fundamental patterns of Sub- Saharan Africa-EU migration flows and to examine relations between the number of asylum applicants registered in EU Member States and existing institutional, political, economic and social framework in EU countries hosting the largest proportion of Sub-Saharan Africa´s immigrants.

4. Definitions
Asylum Applicant - First Time Asylum Applicants - APs First-time asylum applicants for international protection (as defined by Article 2(h) of Qualification Directive 2011/95/EU) are persons who lodged an application for asylum for the first time in a given Member State during the reference period. The term 'first-time' implies no time limitation and therefore person can be recorded as first-time applicant only if he or she had never applied for international protection in the reporting country in the past, irrespective of the fact that he is found to have applied in another Member State of the European Union. Sub-Saharan Africa – SSA Sub-Saharan Africa is quite frequent term used in various circumstances. However, each researcher covers different number of states with this regional or socio- economic designation. Eurostat does not recognize explicitly for statistical purposes Sub-Saharan Africa. In the paper, own definition of SSA is applied and this term covers 49 countries (all African countries besides Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco). Economic Well-Being GDP per capita, incomes, jobs and earnings … material living conditions (see definition of well-being index introduced by OECD or the report of Stiglitz, Sen, Fitoussi).

5. Asylum Applicants in the EU
Total number of asylum applications registered in the EU 28 Member States has increased in recent years. However, in the 1990s, the EU faced similar phenomenon. Because of political crises and armed conflicts, number of new asylum applications started to grow in 1987, where the peak was reached in 1992 when EU 15 Member States registered about 700 thousand applications. In the second half of the 1990s, number of application permanently declined.
Between years 1998 and 2003, EU 15 Member States recorded from 300 to 400 thousands asylum applicants annually. Since 2004, significant drop was monitored and the EU 27 Member States registered 192 300 new asylum applications in 2006.
Between years , total number of asylum applications submitted in the EU Member States was growing slowly because of increased migration especially from unstable Middle East, and poor Sub-Saharan Africa. Year over year changes in the number of registered asylum seekers started to grow in 2013.
In 2014, the EU recorded more than 600 thousand asylum applicants and in 2015 their number doubled to 1,300 thousand. However, beginning of the refugee crisis was evident worldwide. In 2015, every minute 30 people had to flee from their homes. 55 % of all refugees worldwide came from three countries – Syria (5.5 million), Afghanistan (2.5 million) and South Sudan (1.4 million).

6. Asylum Applicants in the EU
Number of Asylum Applicants in EU countries
Asylum Applicants from SSA and Total Number of Asylum Applicants from Third Countries
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Total number of APs
Number of APs
from SSA
68 595
75 650
61 660
84 435
72 925
97 000
Percentage share
30.47 %
28.67 %
23.77 %
27.32 %
21.75 %
22.50 %
24.28 %
12.65 %
17.41 %
Source: Eurostat (2017), own data processing

7. First Time Asylum Applicants in the EU from SSA
Total Number of First Time Asylum Applicants Coming to the EU Member States from SSA Countries
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing

8. First Time Asylum Applicants in the EU from SSA
TOP 5 Countries of Origins of Asylum Applicant Coming to the EU from SSA
Year
Top 5 countries of origin of APs in EU
Total no. APs in EU
No. SSA countries with more than APs in EU
1st
No. Aps
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
2008
Somalia
15 255
Nigeria
8 970
Eritrea
6 930
Zimbabwe
4 730
Ghana
2 515
55 255 10
2009
16 865
7 825
7 735
4 990
Congo DR
4 180
64 020 14
2010
12 920
5 435
5 000
Guinea
4 440
4 325
53 440 12
2011
12 225
10 600
5 795
5 575
5 560
77 095 18
2012
12 850
7 475
6 725
6 235
4 480
65 385 16
2013
14 715
13 920
10 190
7 505
Mali
6 425
87 835
2014
36 250
18 895
14 805
12 790
Gambia
11 315
2015
33 115
30 025
19 610
Sudan
10 920 17
2016
46 255
33 370
18 975
15 725
13 465 20
2017
39 105
24 370
17 730
Côte d'Ivoire
14 020
12 730
67 390
60 595
///
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing

9. First Time Asylum Applicants in the EU from SSA
TOP 5 EU Countries Hosting Largest Number of Asylum Applicants
Coming from SSA
Year
Top 5 hosting countries of APs from SSA
Share of top 5 in total number of Aps
1st
No. Aps
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
2008
Italy
21 490
United Kingdom
12 150
Sweden
5 200
Netherlands
5 135
Belgium
3 150
85.29
2009
13 880
France
12 780
9 435
8 140
7 705
81.11
2010
14 810
8 285
7 835
Germany
5 875
5 295
78.75
2011
25 095
17 380
7 145
6 645
6 555
81.46
2012
17 055
10 235
7 730
6 785
6 575
74.03
2013
18 945
17 050
14 450
9 920
6 995
76.74
2014
40 645
33 280
20 510
17 250
9 445
84.19
2015
50 375
35 035
24 115
14 555
11 965
80.25
2016
84 075
68 825
26 420
7 785
4 140
90.72
2017
86 995
42 655
30 515
4 330
87.56
90 890
87 710
82.60
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing

10. First Time Asylum Applicants in the EU from SSA
Specified Groups of EU Member States
 Country group
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017 V4
110 80
105
185
360
2 905
1 520
5 935
625 85
11 910
EU6
32 635
37 480
34 350
57 085
40 170
58 250
EU15
52 425
61 395
52 925
75 075
62 875
81 955
EU13
2 825
2 640
535
2 045
2 475
5 820
2 485
6 370
1 805
1 245
28 245
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing
Czech Republic 70 50 45 35 10 15 40 25
Hungary
2 765
1 415
5 890
575 30
Poland 20
Slovakia 80
305 90

11. Is this relation significant at the first sight?
Relation Between Preconditions for better Economic Well-Being and Number of Asylum Applicants
Is this relation significant at the first sight?

12. Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing
Average value for EU28
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing

13. Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing
Average value for EU28
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing

14. Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing
Average value for EU28
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing

15. Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing
Average value for EU28
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing

16. Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing
Average value for EU28
Source: Eurostat (2018), own data processing

17. Brief Summary
In case of GDP p.c., median net income p.c., social benefits p.c., the largest number of asylum applicants is registered in countries with above EU28 average values of defined indicators, but not in countries with the highest values.
In case of poverty, the largest number of asylum applicants is not registered in countries with the lowest risk of poverty.
In case of activity rate, the largest number of asylum applicants is not registered in countries with the highest activity rates of their non-EU28 workers.
At the first sight, relation between the number of asylum applicants and preconditions for better well-being is not so significant – further research of the relation between preconditions for immigrants´ aspirations for better well-being will be examined – and it will be opened with the examination of the immigrants´ integration frameworks existing within the social systems in hosting EU countries.

18. References: Introductory and final photo:
UN Refugees and Migrants (2016). More than 28 million children „uprooted“ by conflict and face further dangers – UNICEF report [online]. [cit ]. Available at: further-dangers-%E2%80%93-unicef-report.
Data:
Eurostat ( ). Statistics [online]. [cit ]. Available at:
Background studies for research motivation:
Clemens, Michael (2014). Does Development Reduce Migration? Working paper No Washington: Center for Global Development.
De Hass, Hein (2010). Migration and Development: A Theoretical Perspective. International Migration Review, vol. 44, nr. 1, pp
De Hass, Hein (2011). Development lead to more migration [online]. [cit ]. Available at:
Ellis, Frank (2003). A Livelihoods Approach to Migration and Poverty Reduction. Paper commissioned by the Department for International Development (DFID), Norwich, UK.

19. Thank you for your attention.