The fifty-first session of the Commission on Population and Development, held in 2018, was on the theme of “Sustainable cities, human mobility and international migration”. This report was prepared to inform the Commission’s deliberations on the theme, as part of the Commission’s ongoing follow-up and review of relevant sections of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1994.

In this report, the latest trends in urbanization and internal migration, human mobility and international migration are analysed primarily on the basis of estimates and projections prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat. The factors driving the growth of cities and the relationship between migration and economic development are also assessed. Following an overview of current policies in these various domains, critical gaps in data and evidence to inform policymaking are described. The report concludes with a set of recommendations.