8.3A Impacts of Migration

• • Migration changes the cultural and ethnic composition of nation states
  • The openness of government policies can determine the rate of assimilation e.g. Singapore’s migration policy results in a ‘melting pot’ of cultures and identities
  • The rate of assimilation of migrants varies, particularly when there are distinctive ethnic differences
  • Ethnicity is the shared identity of an ethnic group and can be based on shared ancestral roots or cultural characteristics such as food, religion, clothing or language
• • If the country is already a multi-cultural/multi-racial society there is a greater rate of assimilation
  • A greater level of diversity is brought to places, but doesn't necessarily mean there is a change of race - in Greater Manchester, some areas have a high concentration of Asian/Asian British population, but Manchester is not changing its racial composition as a result
• Other places are more mixed, suggesting some assimilation through inter-marriage, social mixing and shared cultural life and work 

  • An area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks was known as Tiger Bay, (now Cardiff Bay) and is Wales’ oldest multi-ethnic community, with sailors and workers from over 50 countries settling there from the mid-19th century onwards 
  • All these nationalities helped to create the multicultural character of the area, where people from different backgrounds socialised and intermarried
• • Highly segregated places can be problematic as deprivation, inequality and discrimination leads to some ethnic groups suffering above average rates of health issues, poverty and unemployment
  • Historical policies that enforced segregation in the past can reduce the rate of assimilation e.g. in South Africa the rateof assimilation is low due to the lasting effects of the apartheid system
• • The rise of far-right nationalist groups can mean that migrant groups are not accepted
  • The amount of time that migrants are resident in the host nation influences the rate of assimilation
  • Diversity rates lessen over time - in the 2011 UK census, 77% of people resident in the UK for more than 30 years identified as having a UK identity, compared to just 10% for recent arrivals
• • The ability of migrants to speak the local language can increase the rate of assimilation as they can gain employment/participate in the community