Migrations

Along with births and deaths, migration is one of the three demographic components of

population change, and it has often been described as the most difficult to measure, model and

forecast. Unlike fertility and mortality, migration is not a single unique event in time and space,

but can repeat itself over the lifetime of an individual. Thus, the volume and type of migration

measured and analyzed depend on the definitions used to identify a migrant. So, migration can

be defined as

“The movement of people across the specific boundary involving change of residence for a

substantial period of time”

The temporary movement of people for the purpose of travel, tourism, pilgrimages, or the

commute is not regarded as migration, in the absence of an intention to settle in the new

location.

Migration has continued under the form of both voluntary migration within one's region,

country, or beyond and involuntary migration which includes the slave trade etc. People who

migrate into a territory are called immigrants, while at the departure point they are called

emigrants. Refugee’s population is that part of population who are seeking shelter or refugee.

Classification of migration is not an easy task as there exists an extreme diversity of migration in

cause, duration, distance, direction, volume, velocity, selectivity and organization. There may

be of seasonal, temporary, periodic, permanent, spontaneous, forced, impelled, planned,

internal, external, inter-regional, international, continental or inter-continental type migration.

DIFFERENTIAL MIGRATION

Migrations are age and sex selective. The most accepted migration differential is certainly that

of age, as young adults migrate first to their jobs. Fortunately, they adjust more easily to their

new environment than do other age groups. Among young population, males migrate first than

females. On the other hand, married people migrate less as compared to unmarried people. In

Most developed Countries (MDCs) short distance internal migrants are pre-dominantly female

while long distance internal migrants are pre-dominantly male; on the other hand, in Less

Developed Countries (LDCs) both internal and international migrants are pre-dominantly male.

Family size is also an important selective factor of migration. Today, in LDCs there are more and

more migration of families, looking for better houses, schools, social conditions and jobs.

Migration is also more common among certain occupation groups than others. Professional

classes are proportionally more migratory than either skilled or unskilled workers. Unemployed

persons tend to be more migratory than employed persons. Migratory selection also take place

by race, nationality and educational attainment, and in general the process of selection

depends more upon conditions at the destination than upon those at the place of origin, for

migration which as a strong push stimulus tend to be less selective than migration which is

mainly responsive to pull factors.

CAUSES OF MIGRATION

Causes of migration are varied and complimentary. It involves both the “push” and “pull”

factors both at the origin and destination of migrants. Bogue enlist 25 migration stimulating

situations for persons, 15 factors in choosing a destination, and 10 socio-economic conditions

which can stimulate or retard mobility among a population.

Push factors includes

Graduation; marriage; lack of marriage; employment offers; retirement; military service;

medical care; imprisonment; natural disaster invasion by outsiders; wanderlust; social

projection; forced movement.

Pull factors includes

Cost of moving; presence of relatives or friends; employment offer; physical attractiveness;

amenities; population composition; special employment facilities; knowledge; special

assistance; subsidies; information reputation; lack of alternative destinations.

Socio-economic conditions affecting migrations includes

Major capital investment; major business fluctuations; technological change; changes in

economic organization; provision for social welfare; migration propaganda facilities; regulation

affecting migration; tolerance of minorities of all types; migration policy.

These lists are not exhaustive. Other factors may be added like population pressure and

growth, the availability of land in an area of departure and destination etc.

1 INTERNAL MIGRATIONS

MEASURMENT

Direct measurement of internal migration is only possible in the countries where migration

question is posed at the census. However, some indirect measurement of migration are also

possible such as vital statistic method which estimate the total net gain or loss in population of

a community as a result of migration by subtracting total net natural increase from total inter-

censual change. We can also use survival ratio method which estimates the proportion of

population which should be expected to survive at the second census. Migrations can also be

measured by comparison of place-of-birth statistics with present residence.

Volume of migration in an area also called as gross migration which is the total of emigration

(from area of departure) and immigration (into area of arrival). Immigration rate is the number

of immigrants divided by total population at the destination multiplied by K in a given year. K is

constant and its value is 1000. Emigration rate is the number of emigrants departing from an

area of origin divided by total population per 1000 population. Net-Migration shows that the

net affect of immigration and emigration on an area’s population.

TYPES OF INTERNAL MIGRATIONS

SEASONAL MIGRATIONS

Nomadic populations usually engage in seasonal migrations. Pastoral nomadism is the

movement of human groups and their flocks or herds following the distribution of pastures.

Seasonal pastoral migrations need not entail nomadism.

PERIODIC MIGRATIONS

Include the staying of people, away from their permanent houses for periods of a few years and

returned periodically. Maximum earning is the major push factor behind such migrations.

RURAL-URBAN, URBAN-RURAL and INTRA-URBAN MIGRATIONS are generally the most

important form of internal migration, especially in countries experiencing industrialization and

rapid technological change. Urban-centers usually offer seductive amenities such as schools,

shops, and public-utilities etc. which are the major pull factors for rural urban migration. The

separation of workplace and residence causes inter-city migrations. Drifts of population from

one part of a country to another, from the less favored to more favored regions, are

widespread.

2 INTERNATIONAL MIGRATIONS

International migrations are of greater demographic significance than that of internal

migrations, as they mean either a gain or a loss in a country’s population. The twenty-first

century has been called “the age of migration”, essentially because there are more migrants in

the world today than ever before — about 232 million international migrants in 2013.

DETERMINANTS

Many of the determinants of urbanization are the same as for the internal migrations,

especially the economic motives. Standard of living is the basic determinant of international

migrations as people are migration to host countries in search for better livelihoods and jobs to

improve their standard of living. Some of the countries deploy special restrictive immigrations

measures so as to restrict the entry of certain ethnic groups which are considered undesirable.

International migrants are highly selective with regard to education and skills. For example,

highly skilled migrants represent an important component of international flows and their

movement primarily tends to take place between more developed countries and from a

relatively small number of middle-income or rapidly developing economies, such as China and

India, to a small number of more developed countries. Nevertheless, a solution to the ageing of

populations in the developed world is often seen to focus on encouraging the immigration of

workers who will not only fill vacancies in the labor force but also contribute to the tax revenue

to support the increasing number of retired people.

WORLD MIGRATIONS PATTERN

The global migration system has changed over recent decades with regard to the origins and

destinations, as well as the volume and types of migrants. Countries that were once origins of

migration became destinations of migrants and vice versa. The shift from Europe as a major

area of emigration, primarily to the Americas and Australasia, to a major area of immigration

over the course of the twentieth century is perhaps the most striking recent historical example.

At the beginning of the twentieth century a million migrants a year were leaving Europe mainly

for Northern America. In 2010, the European Union absorbed 1.2 million “permanent”

migrants, more than the number of permanent migrants to the United States (over one

million), which represents a very significant shift in the global migration system over the last

one hundred years.

CONCLUSION

Migrations meant differently for different countries. In LDCs, migrations act as a safety valve

and assists economic development. Managing and monitoring world migration pattern poses

serious challenges to policymakers and analysts alike, not least because of a continued lack of

timely and accurate data on population movements both long-term and short-term.

Nevertheless, global environmental change is indeed another factor that policymakers will have

to incorporate into attempts to manage migration even if those movements are most likely to

be short distance and short term. The greatest need is to take into consideration the long-term

shifts in mobility that the dynamics of population change imply. Successful policy is more likely

to result from planning for such expected global shifts in migration than from trying to regulate

or reverse them.