Population Geography

Migration

5 in 51. A _______ causes a person to leave a

place and relocate to a new one.2. A _______ causes a person to want to

relocate to a new area.3. _______ is when there are too many

people that an area can sustain.4. _______ is when a person can not

grow the same amount of food as before.

5. ______ is migration FROM a location.

Net migration rates: Countries in blue have a positive migration rate and countries in brown have a negative rate.

VocabularyMigration - A permanent move to a

new location

Immigration - Migration to a location

Emigration - Migration from a location

Questions

Why do people migrate?

How have social, economic, political, and environmental factors influenced migration?

Push and Pull Factors

People decide to migrate because of push and pull factors. A push factor induces people to leave a location. A pull factor induces people to move to a new location.

Push Factor - Overpopulation

People often leave areas that are heavily populated.

Push Factor - Religious Persecution

When people cannot worship as they wish they migrate. The pilgrims that landed at Plymouth were fleeing religious persecution.

Push Factor - Lack of Jobs

The vast majority of people migrating from Latin America, Africa, and Asia are migrating because there are no jobs.

Push Factor - Agricultural Decline

Agricultural decline means a person cannot grow as much food on the same amount of land as they once could. Over time land becomes less fertile and people have to move.

Push Factor - Conflict

People flee from wars. These people are known as refugees. There are many refugee camps in Africa due to a long history of civil war in many countries.

Push Factor - Political Persecution

Political persecution means that people are punished when they disagree with the government. This happens most in dictatorships or communist countries. People have migrated from China and Cuba because of political persecution.

Push Factor - Natural Hazards

DroughtsFloodsTsunamisEarthquakesVolcanoes

Push Factor - Limits on Freedom

Communist countries often limit personal freedom. People cannot listen to certain music, watch certain television shows, or even say things bad about the government.

Push Factor - Environmental Degradation

DeforestationDesertification - An expansion

of arid conditions into non-arid regions. This is a problem in the Sahel, a region near the Sahara Desert in North Africa.

Click here to see desertification video from youtube.

Pull Factors

Religious FreedomEconomic OpportunityLand AvailabilityPolitical FreedomEthnic and Family TiesArable Land

Types of Migration

International Migration - This is when someone moves from one country to another country

Internal Migration - This is when someone moves within the same country

Intervening Obstacles

An intervening obstacle is an environmental or cultural feature that hinders someone from migration. This means that people don’t always go to their desired destination.

Intervening Obstacles

In the past, intervening obstacles were primarily environmental. Before the invention of modern transportation systems such as railroads people migrated by horse or on foot. What type of obstacles might hinder their progress?

Where do people migrate to?

Developed countries receive the most immigrants in the world. Countries such as the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom attract immigrants because there are jobs.

Guest Workers

Sometimes due to strict immigration laws people are assigned guest worker status. They are not legal citizens but they are protected by the law. The Middle East and Europe has strong guest worker programs.

Impact of Immigration

LanguageReligion and Religious

FreedomCustoms/TraditionsCultural Landscape