Many people from less developed African countries embark on the dangerous journey for Europe, in hopes of a better life. In parts of Africa, particularly North Africa (Morocco, Mauritania, and Libya), trafficking immigrants to Europe has become more lucrative than drug trafficking.

World regions with more African migrants 2020 Europe ranked as the leading destination for African migrants outside Africa in 2020. Around 11 million African-born migrants lived in European countries that year. Nearly five million Africans resided in Asia, while about three million lived in Northern America.

Europe has been the destination of 87% of North African emigrants. In the last decades, the emigration pattern of women, men, and children from Africa fluctuated due to Western countries' policy changes and the overtaking of the Persian Gulf labor jobs by Southeast Asia workers.