In 2019, the IOM Regional Data Hub (RDH) for the East and Horn of Africa (EHoA) launched a multistage research project aimed at better understanding the experiences, decision-making, perceptions and expectations of young Ethiopians along the Eastern Route regarding their migration. The first two stages of the research project were carried out in Obock, Djibouti and Bossaso, Puntland, where research teams interviewed migrants transiting through these two main embarkation hubs from where they cross over the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to Yemen. Quantitative surveys were administered to 2,140 migrants in Obock and 1,526 migrants in Bossaso. Three survey questionnaires were administered to address the differences between the different types of migrants:
 

1. Individuals migrating for the first time,
2. Individuals who have attempted or successfully completed this journey before; and
3. Individuals who have decided to stop their journey in Obock or Bossaso and return to Ethiopia.

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with a sample of 66 migrants in Obock. The third stage of the project was launched in Ethiopia in 2021.

This briefing paper is the third in a series of thematic reports that build on the analysis of data collected during the various stages of this research project. Data gathered in communities of high emigration have been compared to data collected in the first two research phases in Obock and Bossaso, and relevant literature to produce thematic reports that provide in-depth and focused insights on specific indicators, population sub-groups and selected hotspot areas of migration.