Reasons for Migration (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Geography)

Voluntary & Involuntary Migration

What is migration?

• Migration is the movement of people across an official boundary, either internationally or nationally, with the intention of creating a permanent place of residence

• The UN defines the term 'permanent' as a change of residence for more than 1 year

• Migration has shaped the world of today and has impacted economically, culturally, politically and environmentally 

• Most people will go through several changes of residence during their lifetime

Push and pull factors

• There are different types of migration:

  • Voluntary

  • Involuntary or forced

  • Internal

  • Political - internally displaced, refugee and/or asylum seekers

• Common to all, are the reasons for these movements - push-pull factors

• The push factor is the reality of the current situation for the migrant; it is what makes the person consider moving from the place of origin

• The pull factor is the perceived outcome; it is what they imagine the move will bring to the place of destination

• Push-pull factors are unique to each migrant depending on their end goal - what is a pull factor for one migrant may not be for another

• These factors can be further divided into:

  • Social

  • Economic

  • Political

  • Environmental

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

Push-Pull Factors

Barriers to migration

• There are personal, national and legal barriers to migration

• Personal barriers include emotional and financial factors, these include:

  • The cost of migrating:

    • Closing down costs - selling of home, legal fees etc.

    • Moving costs - transport, packing and shipping, visas etc.

    • Setting up costs - renting or buying a home, legal fees, schooling etc. 

  • Emotional costs such as not seeing loved ones again; leaving behind their culture and country etc. 

• Immigration laws present the greatest legal barrier to migration

• National barriers occur at a physical or political level:

  • Distance between origin and destination

  • Physical danger

  • Prevented from leaving a country

Voluntary and involuntary migration

• Voluntary migration involves the free choice of movement either internally or internationally

  • The usual reason is economic for work, promotion etc.

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

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

• Involuntary or forced migration is where the migrant has no choice but to leave their place of origin

• This is usually an international movement but can also be an internal movement

• The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates 89.3 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced at the end of 2021, of which 53.2 million were internally displaced people and 27.1 million were refugees, with the remaining 4.6 million seeking asylum

• There are a number of reasons for internal forced migration:

  • 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, or

  • Jobs become available again

• The biggest reason for forced migration is war and persecution

• This includes events such as the Jewish people fleeing German and Russian troops during the Second World War and more recently the Syrian civil war where more than half of the country's population (13 million) has been forcibly displaced

• Ethnic cleansing forces out entire groups or communities from the country - Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East or Rwanda in 1994 where the Hutus attempted to wipe out the Tutsis in 3 months forcing 2 million people to flee

• Not all forced migrants leave their country, and these migrants are termed an internally displaced person 

  • The Syrian conflict has created a number of refugee and internally displaced people, as have the conflicts in Afghanistan and Yemen

  • Major natural disasters can displace people, such as the 2011 tsunami that forced the evacuation of Fukushima in Japan or the recent floods in Pakistan

Migration Trends

• According to the UN, approximately 3.6% of the world's population lives outside their country of birth

• That equates to around 281 million international migrants in the world as of 2020, an increase of 37 million people since 2015 

• 61% of global international migrants, reside in Europe and Asia with North America hosting 21%, Africa 9%, Latin America and the Caribbean at 5%, and Oceania 3%

• The Covid-19 pandemic severely restricted migration, however, there are signs of a slow return to previous levels of migration (UN, World Migration Report 2022)

• Whilst most international migration is work-related, Covid 19 has shown that remote working may reduce the necessity for labour-related migration, although highly skilled workers will still be required for some jobs

• The number of female migrants has increased, with women making up the majority of contract work and so adding to migration becoming temporary and circular in nature

• The majority of movement is between developing and developed countries, but there are also signs of increased movement between developing (low to middle-income) countries

• With developed countries reinforcing border controls in response to illegal immigration and security measures, there has been a rise in human trafficking and exploitation

Number of international migrants by destination

• International migration is not uniform around the world

• Economic, demographic and geographical factors have created distinct migration patterns or 'corridors' over time

• The biggest corridors are usually from developing economies to larger, more established economies such as France, USA, Germany and Saudi Arabia 

• Globalisation has made these movements easier and faster

Internal Population Movements

• Internal migration is higher than international movement, in developing and developed countries

• Most internal movement in developing countries is from rural to urban regions and has resulted in the very rapid growth of urban areas

• Movement is from poorer, rural regions to more affluent, developing urban regions, with people seeking better standards of living

• China is seeing rapidly expanding urban/industrial areas across its country and this has fuelled the largest rural-to-urban migration in history, with more than 150 million people moving to meet the demand for factory workers

• Since the 1950s, places such as Dhaka, Cairo, Nairobi and Sao Paulo have seen rapid growth and despite no guarantee of employment, the perceived opportunities are still greater at the point of destination than at the point of origin

Depopulation & Counter-Urbanisation

Depopulation

• Developed countries such as the USA, France, Germany and the UK experienced rural-to-urban migration since the late 18th century due to the Industrial Revolution and urbanisation

• These processes have been central to depopulation in many rural areas

• Generally, it is the most isolated regions that are affected

• Once the cycle starts, there is a gradual decline in the area

Counter-urbanisation

• However, since the 1970s, with over-crowding, high levels of pollution and rising costs, many people have migrated from urban areas into rural regions in a process called counter-urbanisation

• Some other reasons include:

  • Mobility and accessibility: higher personal car ownership, increase in public transport and road development making easier access to rural areas

  • Increased wealth: making housing and travel more affordable

  • Agricultural decline (mechanisation and merger of farms): more land becomes available for housing and agricultural workers leave the area

  • Green belt: people need to go further out to get the rural life they are looking for

  • Second homes and early retirement: have increased the movement of people from the city to the countryside