Migration: Understanding the Movement of People (Core Human Geography)

Welcome to the chapter on Migration! This topic is absolutely central to understanding how human populations change, how societies interact, and how landscapes are shaped globally. It links directly to the 'Population' chapter, as migration is the crucial second component (after births and deaths) that alters population size and structure.


Don't worry if the vocabulary seems complicated—we will break down the types of movement, the reasons people move, and the major impacts on both the places people leave and the places they arrive.

5.1 Migration as a Component of Population Change

What is Migration?

In Geography, when we talk about migration, we mean a permanent or semi-permanent change of residence. This is a technical definition:

  • Migration involves movements of populations, but it excludes all movements of less than one year's duration.

So, a tourist is not a migrant, but a student moving abroad for a three-year degree is considered a migrant in demographic terms.

Quick Review: The Two Ways Population Changes

Population change is determined by two factors:

  1. Natural Change (Births minus Deaths)
  2. Net Migration (Immigrants (in-movers) minus Emigrants (out-movers))

The Driving Forces: Push and Pull Factors

Every decision to migrate, whether it's moving across a city or across the world, is driven by a combination of factors that either repel people from their origin or attract them to a destination.


1. Push Factors (The Reasons to Leave)

These are negative conditions that *push* someone away from their current location:

  • Economic: Unemployment, high cost of living, poverty.
  • Social: Lack of healthcare or educational facilities, lack of religious freedom.
  • Environmental: Natural disasters (e.g., drought, flood), land degradation, high crime rates.
  • Political: War, conflict, political persecution, dictatorship.

2. Pull Factors (The Reasons to Arrive)

These are positive conditions that *pull* someone towards a new location:

  • Economic: Higher wages, availability of jobs, better working conditions (e.g., job opportunities in large urban centres).
  • Social: Good schools, reliable hospitals, strong community ties.
  • Environmental: Better climate, attractive landscape, safer environment (e.g., clean air in rural areas).
  • Political: Stability, freedom, good governance.

💡 Memory Tip: Think of a swing door. The **Push** side forces you out, the **Pull** side welcomes you in.

Processes and Patterns of Migration

Migration doesn't happen randomly; it often follows established patterns.

Chain Migration

This is a key process where migrants move to a place where family or friends have already settled. They follow the "chain" established earlier.

  • How it works: The initial migrant sends back positive information (and often money/remittances), which encourages and finances other members of the community or family to join them.
  • Example: A factory worker moves from Turkey to Germany; once settled, they help their siblings and cousins obtain visas and housing nearby.
Patterns by Distance and Age

1. Distance: Generally, migrants prefer to move shorter distances rather than longer ones, as this reduces cost and cultural shock. However, if the pull factors are strong enough (like a high-paying job opportunity far away), people will overcome this resistance. The concept of intervening opportunities suggests that a migrant may stop short of their planned destination if they find an acceptable opportunity along the way.

2. Age: Migration is highly selective by age. The majority of migrants are young adults (typically aged 20–35). They are often at the stage in their life cycle when they are seeking education, starting careers, or beginning families, making them more willing to take risks.

The Role of Constraints, Obstacles, and Barriers

Not everyone who wants to move can. Constraints are factors that limit or prevent migration:

  • Cost: The expense of travel, visas, and settling in (a major barrier for migrants from LICs).
  • National Borders/Political Barriers: Strict immigration laws, visa restrictions, or border security.
  • Physical Obstacles: Oceans, deserts, or mountain ranges that make travel dangerous or impossible.
  • Personal Barriers: Language differences, lack of skills/qualifications needed in the destination country, or emotional ties to the home country.

Key Takeaway for 5.1: Migration is defined as a long-term move, driven by a balance of Push (bad conditions at home) and Pull (good opportunities elsewhere), but constrained by factors like cost and borders. Chain migration helps spread migration networks.

5.2 Internal Migration (Within a Country)

Internal migration is defined as the permanent movement of people within the national borders of a single country. These movements can dramatically reshape a nation's geography.

Rural-Urban and Urban-Rural Movements

1. Rural-Urban Migration (Urbanisation)

This is the classic, large-scale movement, particularly dominant in Low Income Countries (LICs) and Middle Income Countries (MICs).

  • Causes: Rural areas suffer from high population density, limited land, and lack of services (Push). Cities offer jobs (often in the informal sector), better health services, and education (Pull).
  • Impacts on Source Areas (Rural): Loss of young, skilled labour (brain drain), decline in birth rates, and reliance on remittances sent home.
  • Impacts on Receiving Areas (Urban): Rapid growth, pressure on housing (leading to squatter settlements), congestion, and a youthful population structure.
2. Urban-Rural Migration (Counter-urbanisation)

This is the reverse trend, more common in High Income Countries (HICs), where people move out of big cities into smaller towns or surrounding rural areas.

  • Causes: People seek better environmental quality (less traffic, pollution) and a better quality of life (Push out of the city). Improved transport and broadband allow commuting or working remotely (Pull to rural areas).
  • Impacts on Source Areas (Urban): Can lead to relative decline in city centres, although this is often balanced by re-urbanisation.
  • Impacts on Receiving Areas (Rural): House prices increase dramatically, small villages may lose character (urban sprawl), and traffic congestion can worsen in formerly quiet areas.

Stepped Migration

Don't worry if this sounds complex—it just means people move in stages.

Stepped migration is movement that occurs in a series of shorter steps within the settlement hierarchy, instead of one large leap.

  • The process: A farmer moves from a remote hamlet to a nearby small town. From the small town, they then move to a larger regional city. From the regional city, they might move to the capital city.
  • Why? It allows the migrant to gradually adjust to new social and economic conditions, reducing the cultural and financial shock associated with moving to a mega-city straight away.

Urban-Urban and Intra-Urban Movements

1. Urban-Urban Movements: This involves movement between two different urban settlements (e.g., moving from Manchester to London). This is often driven by career advancement or the desire to move to a location higher up the economic hierarchy.

2. Intra-Urban Movements: This is movement within a single urban area (e.g., moving from the city centre to the suburbs).

  • Causes: Often linked to the life cycle stage. A young single professional might live in a small apartment near the Central Business District (CBD). Once they marry and have children, they often move further out to the suburbs for larger houses, gardens, and better schools.

Key Takeaway for 5.2: Internal migration includes the major flows of rural-urban (LICs) and urban-rural (HICs). Movements often happen in stages (stepped migration) or are driven by personal changes within a city (intra-urban).

5.3 International Migration

International migration involves movement across national borders. This type of migration often involves greater constraints (like border control) but can have massive economic and cultural impacts.

Voluntary vs. Forced Movements

It is vital to distinguish between these two categories, as they have different legal and humanitarian implications.

1. Voluntary Movements (Choice)

The migrant makes the conscious decision to move, primarily for economic or lifestyle improvements.

  • Economic Migration: This is the largest type. People move specifically for work and better pay (e.g., workers from Eastern Europe moving to Western Europe after the expansion of the EU).
  • Causes: Economic disparities between countries (wage gap).
2. Forced (Involuntary) Movements (No Choice)

The migrant is compelled to move due to external factors threatening their life or safety.

  • Refugee Flows: People forced to flee their home country due to persecution, war, violence, or human rights violations. They seek safety in another country.
  • Causes: Political instability, conflict (e.g., the Syrian refugee crisis), or natural disasters (though sometimes labelled climate refugees).

Did you know? An Asylum Seeker is someone who has applied for protection as a refugee but whose claim has not yet been processed. A Refugee is someone whose claim has been accepted.

Impacts of International Migration

International migration has profound effects on both the country that people leave (Source Area) and the country where they settle (Destination Area).

Impacts on the Source Area (The Country People Leave)

Economic:

  • Positive: Key benefit is remittances (money sent home by migrants). This money can significantly boost the GDP of LICs and fund local development projects.
  • Negative: Loss of young, skilled, and educated workers (brain drain). This slows down economic development in critical sectors like healthcare and education.

Demographic/Social:

  • Positive: Reduced pressure on local resources, housing, and jobs.
  • Negative: Population structure becomes skewed, often resulting in an aging population (as the young leave), and fewer children being born.
Impacts on the Receiving/Destination Area (The Country People Arrive)

Economic:

  • Positive: Provides a vital, often youthful, workforce for sectors that native workers avoid (e.g., agriculture, elderly care). Migrants often fill skill shortages. They contribute to taxes and pensions.
  • Negative: Wages in some low-skilled sectors may be suppressed. Increased cost of providing social services, education, and translation services.

Demographic/Social:

  • Positive: Increases the total population, which helps offset aging populations in HICs. Introduces new cultural diversity, food, and traditions.
  • Negative: Potential for social tension, particularly if migrants are perceived to be competing for housing or jobs. Increased population density and demand for infrastructure.

Key Takeaway for 5.3: International migration is either voluntary (usually economic) or forced (refugees). The key impact is the transfer of wealth via remittances to source areas, and the provision of labour to receiving areas, alongside demographic and social restructuring.

5.4 The Management of International Migration

Managing international migration is a complex political and social issue. Governments in receiving countries attempt to manage the volume, character, and skill set of migrants entering their borders.

Strategies for Management

Management usually involves a mix of policies aimed at control and integration:

  1. Border Control and Security: Using physical barriers, surveillance technology, and patrols to prevent irregular (illegal) migration.
  2. Quota Systems: Setting limits on the number of migrants allowed each year, often favouring highly skilled workers (selective migration policies).
  3. Integration Policies: Providing language classes, job training, and citizenship pathways to help legal migrants become successful, contributing members of society.
  4. International Cooperation: Working with source countries to address the push factors (e.g., funding development projects to reduce poverty).

Crucial Exam Note: Case Study Requirement

For your exam, you must study one international migration stream in detail. You need to know its:

  • Causes: The specific push and pull factors relevant to that flow.
  • Character and Scale: Who is moving (age, gender, skill level) and how many people are involved.
  • Pattern: The specific route taken (the geography of the movement).
  • Impacts: Detailed, balanced impacts on both source and destination areas.
  • Management: An evaluation of the attempts by governments (both source and destination) to control or integrate the flow.

Possible Case Study Examples:

  • Migration from Mexico to the USA.
  • Migration from Poland to the UK (post-EU expansion).
  • Refugee migration from Syria to Europe.

Evaluating Management Attempts

Management initiatives are rarely 100% successful. You need to be able to evaluate *why* they succeed or fail:

  • Success: Selective policies can ensure necessary skills are filled (e.g., Canada’s points system).
  • Failure: Hardline border policies can be expensive, divert flows to dangerous routes, and fail to stop the movement if the economic pull is too strong. Furthermore, addressing the root causes (e.g., conflict, climate change) is often beyond the control of the receiving nation.

Key Takeaway for 5.4: International migration is managed through policies ranging from strict border controls to integration efforts. Your case study must critically analyze these efforts and their impacts.