2. Reasons for migration

• Migration


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


  (as defined by the UN) 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
• Immigration


  The inward movement of people into a country
• Emigration


  The outward movement of people out of a country
• Push factor


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


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


  • Social
  • Economic
  • Political
  • Environmental
• High levels of unemployment are a push factor, whereas higher wages and a better lifestyle are a pull factor
• Barriers to migration


  • Personal
  • National
  • Legal
• Personal barriers


  Emotional and financial factors
• Personal barriers include


  • Cost of migrating
  • Emotional costs
• Immigration laws present the greatest legal barrier to migration
• National barriers


  Physical or political level barriers
• National barriers include


  • Distance between origin and destination
  • Physical danger
  • Prevented from leaving a country
• Voluntary migration


  Free choice of movement either internally or internationally, usually for economic reasons
• Involuntary or forced migration


  Migrant has no choice but to leave their place of origin, usually an international movement but can also be internal
• 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
• Reasons for internal forced migration

  • Natural hazards
  • War and persecution
  • Ethnic cleansing
• Not all forced migrants leave their country, and these migrants are termed an internally displaced person
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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


  Migration from urban areas into rural regions
• Reasons for counter-urbanisation


  • Mobility and accessibility
  • Increased wealth
  • Agricultural decline
  • Green belt
  • Second homes and early retirement