Facebook data shows London, Lagos and Istanbul among the top places to relocate

• How Facebook reveals human migration: User data shows London, Lagos and Istanbul are among the top places to relocate

• The social network compared users’ hometowns with their current homes

• Data found that Lagos, Nigeria grew 18.6 per cent between 2000 and 2012 with migrants from within Nigeria

• These megacity migrations are coming from within the same countries

• Istanbul was second most popular city with migrants from within Turkey

• London was listed as the 10th most popular region with a growth of 1.4 per cent between 2000 and 2012 - mostly from within the UK

 

 

 

   

 

Over 15 per cent of the Earth’s population use Facebook, with 1.19 billion users logging on each month.

 

The social network knows intimate details about most of these people - whether it be what they eat for lunch or who they spend most of their time with.

 

While the concept is unnerving, the vast quantities of personal data can also provide fascinating insights about the world we live in and how it’s changing.

Facebook data scientists recently compared users’ hometowns with their current residences to uncover the top 10 cities that had ‘coordinated migrations’- or the movement of large numbers of people from one place to another. 

 

 

The top destinations were found throughout the world in countries that are rapidly urbanising. In these areas at least 20 per cent of the population of one city had moved to another city.

 

London was listed as the 10th most popular region for migration, with a growth of 1.4 per cent in ten years. Around 94 per cent of these migrants came from within the UK.

 

In the U.S. coordinated migrations tend to come from other countries, such as from Cuba to Miami and from Mexico to cities such as Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles

 

 

 

 

 

This table shows the major destinations of coordinated migration in ten rapidly urbanising countries

 

 

 

THE KEY FINDINGS

 

Countries such as India, Nigeria, and Turkey are becoming increasingly urban, with many people moving from rural areas into large cities such as Lagos in Nigeria.

 

 

The data found that Lagos, Nigeria grew 18.6 per cent between 2000 and 2012 as a destination city.

 

Istanbul was the second most popular city. A large proportion came from other parts of Turkey, with the rest originating from Eastern Europe.

 

London was listed as the 10th most popular region, with a growth of 1.4 per cent between 2000 and 2012. Around 94 per cent of its migrants came from within the UK. 

 

 

For most of the cities on the top 10 list, the megacity migrations are coming from within the same countries.

 

But there are a few interesting patterns. Kampala in Uganda, for instance, is absorbing a significant number of people from towns in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

In the U.S. coordinated migrations tend to come from other countries, such as from Cuba to Miami and from Mexico to cities such as Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

 

The Facebook data, however, excludes China, where the social network is banned but which has undergone the largest migration in human history.