An exploration repository focused on data discovery and visualization of migration flows. This project serves as a proof of concept for understanding and visualizing complex migration patterns through interactive data representations.
🚀 Goal: Transform complex global migration data into intuitive, interactive visualizations that reveal hidden patterns and insights.
This repository contains experimental work around migration flow visualization, starting with a dataset from Chi et al. (2025) "Measuring global migration flows using online data". The project aims to explore different approaches to representing migration data and discovering insights through various visualization techniques.
Note: This is primarily an exploration and proof-of-concept project. Future work will include validation using additional datasets beyond the initial paper's data.
The project is based on research that uses online data to measure global migration flows
Figure 2: Global migration flow patterns from Chi et al. (2025) - showcasing the complexity and richness of migration data that this project aims to make more accessible through interactive visualization.
The repository is organized into two main components:
- Python Scripts: Collection of scripts for data transformations, aggregations, and calculations
- Data Pipeline: Initial data processing and preparation for visualization
- Analytics: Statistical analysis and pattern discovery tools
- Database Layer: Optimized PostgreSQL functions and views for high-performance UI queries
- Interactive Dashboard: Full-featured interface showcasing various visualization experiments
- Flow Visualizations: Examples of different approaches to representing migration flows
- Exploratory Tools: Interactive components for data exploration and discovery
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-username/migration-viz.git
cd migration-viz
# Setup instructions will be added as components are developedDetailed documentation for setup and usage will be added as the project develops.
This project begins with data made available through Chi et al. (2025). All initial explorations and visualizations are based on this foundational dataset. The anonymized aggregated data and global migration flow estimates are available through the Humanitarian Data Exchange platform.
- 🔍 Validation: Additional migration datasets integration
- 🎯 Enhanced Visualizations: Advanced interactive techniques and animations
- ⚡ Extended Processing: More sophisticated data transformation capabilities
- 🚀 Performance: Optimizations for larger datasets and real-time updates
- 🌐 Multi-source: Integration with multiple migration data providers
This is an experimental repository. Contributions and suggestions for visualization approaches are welcome!
- 💡 Ideas: Share your visualization concepts and approaches
- 🐛 Issues: Report bugs or suggest improvements
- 🔧 Code: Submit pull requests for enhancements
- 📊 Data: Suggest additional datasets or data sources
This project is built upon the groundbreaking work by:
G. Chi, G.J. Abel, D. Johnston, E. Giraudy, & M. Bailey
"Measuring global migration flows using online data"
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (18) e2409418122 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2409418122
The individual-level data used to construct these estimates are not publicly available due to restrictions by the data provider. However, the following resources are available:
-
🔬 Replication Materials: Scripts to generate the plots from the paper
→ Harvard Dataverse -
📊 Anonymized Data: Aggregated data and global migration flow estimates
→ Humanitarian Data Exchange -
📖 Supporting Documentation: Complete appendix with detailed methodology
→ PNAS Supplementary Materials
We gratefully acknowledge the authors for making their research and data accessible to the scientific community, enabling projects like this to build upon their important work. 🌍