Movement of People (Edexcel IGCSE Geography)

Push-pull mechanism

• People have always migrated from one place to another either within their country (internal migration) or across borders (international migration)

• Globalisation has made this move easier and faster

• There are different types of migration

  • Forced

  • Voluntary

  • Circular

  • Political: refugees and asylum seekers

• The main reasons for migration are push-pull factors

• The push factors are the reality of the current situation for the migrant

  • It is what makes the person consider moving from their place of origin

• The pull factors are the perceived outcome

  • It is what they imagine the move will bring to their place of destination

• Push-pull factors are unique to each migrant, depending on their end goal

• These factors can be divided into:

  • Social

  • Economic

  • Political

  • Environmental

• High levels of unemployment are a push factor, but higher wages and a better lifestyle are a pull factor

• Three other factors related to migration are:

  • modern communications

    • Mass media allow people to 'see' and 'feel' distant places without the risk of moving to an unknown and potentially unwelcoming destination, making people more willing to migrate

  • modern transport

    • This moves the migrant to their destination quickly and cheaply once the decision has been made to migrate

  • relaxed national borders

    • Globalisation has made many countries more willing to relax their boundaries, particularly if it is to their advantage, e.g. skilled migrant workers, doctors, scientists, etc.

Voluntary migration

• Voluntary migration is the free choice to migrate or not

  • This can be internal (within the same country) or international (into another country)

• Voluntary migration is usually for economic reasons such as work, promotion, higher wages, etc

• In developing countries, this is usually internal, from rural to urban areas

• In developed countries, counter-urbanisation is more common, from urban to rural 

• Temporary economic migrants (short-stay workers) are those people who migrate purely for monetary purposes, stay for a few years or less and then move on

• Retirement migration is a new form of voluntary movement where pensioners retire and move elsewhere

  • It is no longer necessary to live close to a place of work

  • Warmer climates: Las Vegas is home to a large number of retirees due to its dry, warm climate

  • Downsize into a smaller and/or cheaper home to save costs with their pension (pensions are usually less than regular wages)

  • Move to a quieter, calmer or more attractive environment

• Professional migration involves sports people signing contracts to play for foreign clubs—footballers, cricketers, etc.

  • Players benefit from higher wages and bigger media profile

• Medical migration is where doctors, surgeons, etc migrate to other countries where their skills are in demand or patients migrate for health reasons  

Circular migration

• Circular migration is where there is no intention of a permanent move

  • This can be for work, medical, educational or pleasure reasons

• Seasonal workers are circular migrants who work in one place and return home after a short contract

• Students at university return at the end of the term to their normal place of residence

• Medical treatment encourages people to temporarily move to other countries

• Tourism encourages circular movement with longer stays

Forced migration

• This is where a migrant has no choice but to leave their place of origin

• This is usually international but can also be internal

• There are several reasons for internally forced migration, including:

  • natural hazards

  • war and persecution

  • ethnic cleansing

Natural hazards

• natural hazards such as volcanic eruptions, tropical storms, floods and droughts

• in most cases, survivors will move back home when it is safe to do so

• jobs become available again

War and persecution

• The most common reasons for forced migration are war and persecution

  • This includes events such as the Jewish people fleeing German and Russian troops during the Second World War

  • More recently, the Syrian civil war, where more than half of the country's population (13 million) has been forcibly displaced

Ethnic cleansing

• Ethnic cleansing forces out entire groups or communities from the country

  • Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia

  • Rwanda in 1994, where the Hutus attempted to wipe out the Tutsis in 3 months, forcing 2 million people to flee

Refugees & asylum seekers

• The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for those people forced to migrate—a 'person of concern'

• There are four different categories:

  • Refugee: a person who lives outside their country of nationality because of well-founded fears of being persecuted, either through race, religion, political opinions or social groups 

  • Asylum seeker: a refugee who has applied for citizenship in a country that has provided protection

  • Internally displaced person (IDP): forced to flee their home but do not cross international borders

  • Returnee: a refugee or asylum seeker  who has voluntarily returned to their own country or an IDP who has returned home again

• In 2021, UNHCR estimated that there were 89.3 million people worldwide who were forcibly displaced 

• Of these, 27.1 million were refugees, 53.2 million were IDPs, and 4.6 million asylum seekers

• Children account for 41% of forcibly displaced people

• 69% of all refugees originate from just five countries:

  • Syrian Arab Republic (27%)

  • Venezuela (18%)

  • Afghanistan (11%)

  • South Sudan (9%)

  • Myanmar (5%)