Sampling and data collection

In late 2018, Xchange conducted fieldwork to obtain first-hand data from migrants transiting Niger. The cross-sectional survey took place in Agadez, Niger, between November 5 and December 4, 2018. The data were collected using a purposive sampling technique, where only ‘returning’ migrants were targeted and sampled. Here, a ‘returning’ migrant is defined as any African migrant who had reached either Libya or Algeria, and who – irrespective of whether their intention was to continue travelling outside of the African continent or not – ended up in Agadez. Xchange aimed to include a diverse group of respondents to capture a broad picture of the migratory routes reaching a sample size of 189 migrants. The collected spatial data allowed for the mapping of 185 journeys. Not all respondents departed from their city or even country of origin. In particular, 22% departed from another city from within their country of origin and 3% departed from a country other than their country of origin.