Laboratory

Migration and Mobility

At a Glance Projects Publications Team

Project

Combining Digital Trace Data and Representative Surveys to Estimate and Predict Migration Stocks and Flows

Maciej Danko, Emilio Zagheni, Jisu Kim; in Collaboration with Francesco Rampazzo (University of Oxford, United Kingdom), Ingmar Weber (Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany), Lee Fiorio, Jonathan Wakefield (both: University of Washington, Seattle, USA), Jakub Bijak (University of Southampton, United Kingdom), Agnese Vitali (University of Trento, Italy), Yuan Hsiao (University of Washington, Seattle, USA), Monica Alexander (University of Toronto, Canada)

We develop sound statistical frameworks for combining the timeliness of digital trace data and the representativeness of traditional sources in order to estimate and nowcast migration stocks and flows.  Detailed Description

The infographic describes the structure of a framework to estimate migrant stocks using digital traces and survey data

Based on the paper by Francesco Rampazzo, Jakub Bijak, Agnese Vitali, Ingmar Weber, Emilio Zagheni: A Framework for Estimating Migrant Stocks Using Digital Traces and Survey Data: An Application in the United Kingdom. Demography 1 December 2021. © MPIDR

Publications

Dańko, M. J.; Rampazzo, F.; Donzowa, J.; Kim, J.; Zagheni, E.:

Assessing bias in migration stock estimates from Facebook and Instagram using a social media-based survey

MPIDR Technical Report TR-2026-001. (2026)    

Rampazzo, F.; Bijak, J.; Vitali, A.; Weber, I. G.; Zagheni, E.:

Assessing timely migration trends through digital traces: a case study of the UK before Brexit

International Migration Review 59:1, 119–140. (2025)    

Yildiz, D.; Wiśniowski, A.; Abel, G. J.; Weber, I. G.; Zagheni, E.; Gendronneau, C.; Hoorens, S.:

Integrating traditional and social media data to predict bilateral migrant stocks in the European Union

International Migration Review 59:1, 90–118. (2025)    

Hsiao, Y.; Fiorio, L.; Wakefield, J.; Zagheni, E.:

Modeling the bias of digital data: an approach to combining digital with official statistics to estimate and predict migration trends

Sociological Methods and Research 53:4, 1905–1943. (2024)    

Alexander, M. J.; Polimis, K.; Zagheni, E.:

Combining social media and survey data to nowcast migrant stocks in the United States

Population Research and Policy Review 41:1, 1–28. (2022)    

Rampazzo, F.; Bijak, J.; Vitali, A.; Weber, I. G.; Zagheni, E.:

A framework for estimating migrant stocks using digital traces and survey data: an application in the United Kingdom

Demography 85:6, 2193–2218. (2021)    

Alexander, M. J.; Polimis, K.; Zagheni, E.:

Combining social media and survey data to nowcast migrant stocks in the United States

arXiv e-prints 2003.02895. unpublished. (2020)    

Hsiao, Y.; Fiorio, L.; Wakefield, J.; Zagheni, E.:

Modeling the bias of digital data: an approach to combining digital and survey data to estimate and predict migration trends

MPIDR Working Paper WP-2020-019. (2020)