CIE Geography A-level

5: Migration
Detailed Notes

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Migration as a Component of Population Change
Migration is the movement of people to an area or country. According to the UN, a person is
defined as a migrant if they have lived in their new place of residence for 12 months or more, or
they plan to live in their new place of residence for over 12 months.
Migration can be split into international migration and internal migration. International migration
is the movement from one country/ political state to another. Internal migration is the movement
within a country, e.g. from one district or county to another.
International migration patterns:
● As of 2014, 230 million people lived in a country that wasn’t their place of birth (approx.
3-4% of the global population). The number of people migrating internationally has risen
rapidly since the mid-20th century.

● In the 1990s, international migration occurred mainly to world destinations like New York and
Paris. Now, many cities in developing countries (e.g. Mumbai and Lagos) have become
major hubs for migration.

● The increase in migration is majorly due to the globalisation of our world. The advancement
of transport networks allow people to travel easily to other countries to live, work and visit.
Also, a rise in global trading has encouraged a recent rise in international migrants (the
highest since the collapse of empires). Most international migration is regionalised, for
example Mexico to the USA or Poland to Germany.

● The majority (70%) of international migrants are within the working age.

(Source: https://www.un.org/en/development)

Internal migration patterns:

● The United Nations Development Programme estimated in 2000 that there were 740 million
internal migrants globally, although this most likely does not consider smaller distances of
internal migration, which are hard to trace.

● Urbanisation is the shift in the population from rural to urban areas. Urbanisation in many
countries is the largest form of internal migration.

● Internal migration very much depends on the country and its socioeconomic character.

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(source:https://news.gallup.com/poll/162488/381-million-adults-worldwide-migrate-within-countries.aspx)

Causes of Migration

Push Factors Pull Factors

reasons migrants wish to leave their current reasons migrants wish to move to another
country/place of residence (pushing away) country/place of residence (pulling towards).

High unemployment, low job opportunity and More job opportunities with higher wages
low wages causing economic difficulty. and safer working standards.
Environmental quality is low: lots of Environment is better, including living
pollution, hazardous environment e.g. toxic environment (access to clean water, sanitation,
waste, poor access to clean drinking water and central heating in homes etc.).
sanitation. No wars/ persecution for beliefs, meaning
War or persecution in home country. people can live freely.
Political unrest in home country. Public services are better (better education,
Poor public services (education, healthcare better healthcare, emergency services)
emergency services etc.). More leisure activities and ways to enjoy
Overall low quality of life. yourself, especially due to a higher disposable
income.

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Processes of Migration
Migration can take many forms:
● Chain migration: the movement of people to an area, that consequently causes more
people to follow to that area. Chain migration is often described as perpetual or a cycle
because the migration of people cause more people to move, who cause more people to
move, etc. This is due to a number of reasons, such as the dispersing of families, or
word of mouth that encourages more people to relocate.
Chain migration is often made possible by immigration law, when family members of a
citizen are given priority to migrate into a country.
They can then bring their family members, who bring
their family, and so on.
● Stepped migration: the gradual movement from
origin to destination through multiple moves that
climb up the settlement hierarchy. For example,
the migration from a village to a small town, then to a
regional city, then to a capital city is stepped
migration.

● Illegal immigration: migration that violates the law

of the country being migrated to. This may refer to
the movement into the country, or staying in the
country when no longer legally allowed to e.g. a
visa expiring.

There are important things to consider when thinking about migration:

● Governments control migration, meaning the process of migration is greatly influenced

by a country’s migration policies. For example, in the EU there is freedom of movement,
allowing EU citizens to move, live, and work within other EU countries. In other countries,
there are stricter immigration rules. In Australia, for example, there is an immigration points
system, only allowing skilled citizens that will contribute to the economy to live there.

● Barriers, both physical and socioeconomic, limit migration. Many migrants have limited
access to transport, or little money to migrate. Many must resort to illegal migration,
where they face a dangerous migration process, such as the crossing of the Channel
from Calais to South England (using small boats, hiding in lorries etc.). Borders also act as
a constraint, especially where border enforcement is used.

● There may be long application processes in order to apply for citizenship, refuge, or a
right to work in countries, predominantly in international migration. These application
processes can be costly and take a very long time, leaving people uncertain about their
future.

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Internal Migration

The movement of people from rural areas to urban areas is a form of urbanisation, as it is the
movement of people into urbanised areas. Internally, rural-urban migration overtakes other
forms of migration in the majority of countries, although the rates of this migration differ widely.

The proportion of people living in urban areas compared to rural areas as well as the rate of
urban population growth can be indicators for how urbanisation differs in different regions.

Urban Population Growth (% annual)

(Source: https://data.worldbank.org)

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It must be considered that urbanisation data may also include international migration, as it is
difficult to pinpoint exactly where the migrants have come from. However, the data provides a good
indication of the overall trends in urbanisation for each country.

Causes of Rural-Urban Movements

Rural-urban migration occurs for a number of reasons. The most common reasons behind
rural-urban migration are as follows:
● Economic Reasons:
○ Rural employment opportunities are heavily agriculture dominant, especially in
lower income countries. Not only is this industry relatively low earning in many
parts of the world, but there are also several risks involved. Natural hazards such
as droughts and floods can severely affect agricultural yields. Furthermore,
commercial agriculture is hard to compete with in many regions and farmers may
often struggle to make profits.
○ In contrast, urban areas generally have more employment opportunities, both in
number and variety. The promise of more economic stability is a pull factor for
many, causing them to migrate to urban areas.
For example, since the late 1970s, China has experienced the largest internal
migration flows in history, with over 150,000,000 people moving from rural areas to
urban areas. Many rural migrants moved to the coastal cities of China in search for
higher incomes from factory work.

This video from The Economist (https://youtu.be/KNXg-kYk-LU) talks about internal rural-urban
migration in China.

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 ○ Many graduates from university, for example, migrate to cities due to the job
opportunities in their specific industry, whereas the industry is not as represented
in rural areas.
● Social Reasons:
○ Many people, especially young people, can often feel isolated in rural areas.
Those seeking a more diverse, culturally rich lifestyle with more opportunities may
choose to move to urban areas, especially cities.
○ Public services in urban areas are generally better than in rural areas as there are
increased investments within urban areas. Healthcare, education, water and
sanitation, transport, housing etc. may be better in urban areas, especially in low
to middle income countries where there are few investments in places other than
urban areas.
● Education:
○ People moving for education is a high urban-rural flow all over the world. Colleges
and universities are highly concentrated within cities, causing many young
people to move to cities to study.
○ According to a Centreforcities publication, in England and Wales in 2014, “those
moving from one region to another to go to university accounted for approximately
one fifth of all movements in 2014 in England and Wales”.
www.centreforcities.org/reader/great-british-brain-drain/migration-students-graduates/

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Rural to urban migration has multiple impacts on both the area being migrated to (the
destination area), and the area being emigrated from (the source area).

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Although rural-urban migration is the largest internal flow in the majority of countries, urban-rural
migration is still a very large and important movement. This type of movement is most common
in higher income countries, where people have the choice to move away from urban areas.

The movement of people from urban areas to rural areas is known as counter-urbanisation.

Causes of Urban-Rural Migration

● Search for a better quality of life: Crime, overpopulation, pollution, and high cost of
living are all major push factors away from urban areas. For people seeking a quieter,
potentially less costly lifestyle, rural areas can be an ideal place to move to. For older
people who are retiring and are no longer tied to urban areas for economic opportunity,
rural areas can also be seen as a better option.

View of the Yorkshire Dales (Source:www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38520092)

● Increased investments into rural areas: In high income countries especially, rural
areas are not as isolated as they may have been. There are now more job opportunities
as well as better services, meaning people may not be put off moving to a rural area.

● More links to other places: Better transport links, the ability to work from home etc. means
that people find it increasingly easier to live in rural areas and still find economic
opportunities. For example, there is the opportunity to commute into cities due to better
transport links being developed.

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As previously mentioned, stepped migration is the gradual movement from origin to destination
through multiple moves that climb up the settlement hierarchy. For example, the migration
from a village to a small town, then to a regional city, then to a capital city is stepped migration.

One reason behind why stepped migration occurs is due to migrants gaining knowledge and
experience in urban areas, allowing them to move up the settlement hierarchy. Migrants may
gain confidence and feel ready to move to a more urbanised area, and this process repeats again
and again as the migrants move up the hierarchy.

Furthermore, the economic benefits of living in an urbanised area may provide migrants with the
wealth necessary to move to an even more urbanised area (e.g. a city, where living costs are
more expensive). Many occupations also require employees to move to increasingly more
urban areas as the employee works their way up. For example, in a public sector job, where
managerial roles are often concentrated within larger cities.

As the stepped migration process continues, urban-urban movements are common higher up the
settlement hierarchy. Urban-urban migration is where migrants move from one urban area to
another urban area. These movements are between separate urban areas, not within the same
urban area (movements within the same urban area are known as intra-urban movements).

Urban-urban movements are generally from the poorer, less developed economic periphery
regions to the richer, more developed economic core regions. For example, in Brazil, many
people choose to move from the poorer urban areas in the north-east (such as Salvador) to the
richer urban areas in the south-east (such as Rio).

Intra-urban migration is the movement of people within

urban settlements.

As seen on the two different models of urban land use,

an urban area is generally split up into different areas.
Migrants move between these different areas, and this
intra-urban migration is generally dependent on income
and demographic.

As people get older, earn more money, and have

families, they may choose to migrate to different parts of
the city. General trends for intra-urban migration are
shown below: (https://14yonena.wordpress.com)

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Intra-urban movements can have impacts on urban areas.
● As certain demographics are concentrated within certain areas of urban settlements, this
can potentially segregate people of different ages and of different incomes.
● In times where housing is limited, richer people can still afford to buy houses whereas less
well-off people cannot. This means house prices may be driven up in already more
expensive urban areas, further segregating people as well as making it difficult for young
families to get on the property ladder and buy their own home.
● In areas that generally older people migrate to, there may be issues arising from an older
population, e.g. more healthcare needed.
● Social issues such as crime and burglary can be concentrated within inner city areas,
where generally a similar demographic of low-income people live.

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International Migration
There are different types of international migrants: those who migrate voluntarily and those who
are forced to migrate.

Economic migrants - People who have moved voluntarily for reasons of work and improved
quality of life.
Refugees - People who have been forced to leave their homes and travel to another country due
to fleeing conflict, political or religious persecution. They have been granted permanent or
temporary residency by the host country or the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
Asylum seekers - People who have left their country and are seeking asylum in another. They
are waiting to be granted residency and to become a refugee.

The majority of international migration is migration to a high income country.

14.1% of high income country populations are made up of international migrants, whereas only
1.6% of low income country populations are made up of international migrants.

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Within continents, the three major labour flows are between:
Asia - 63 million people moved to a different area of Asia while living in Asia in
2017, making it the largest labour flow in the world. The largest flows are between
South Asia to West Asia; 5 million migrated from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. This movement is usually for
better job prospects as Western Asia is generally wealthier.

Europe - 41 million moved to other areas within Europe in 2017. Germany

holds the largest amount of European migrants. The majority of German
immigrants have moved from Eastern European countries such as Poland
(1.9 million living in Germany), Romania (590,000 migrants), and the
Czech Republic (540,000 migrants). The UK has the second highest
amount of European migrants within the EU, with 700,000 from Poland and
500,000 from Ireland.

This interactive map is an excellent resource for looking at flows of labour within Europe.
(http://www.pewglobal.org/interactives/origins-destinations-of-european-union-migrants-within-the-eu/)

Africa - 19 million people move within African countries. Movement in Africa,

especially Sub-saharan Africa is between neighbouring countries, as moving
is costly and the majority of these countries are low income countries. The
countries with the largest migrant populations are South Africa (around 4000),
Côte d'Ivoire (around 2200), and Nigeria (1200). South Africa and Nigeria are
also the wealthiest African countries (GDP), which may be why they have the
highest labour flows.

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Between continents, the largest labour flows are:
Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) to North America - 26 million
people emigrated from Latin America and the Caribbean to North America
in 2017, making it the 3rd largest global labour flow, and the largest flow
from one continent to another. Nearly 22 million migrants are from Latin
America, whereas around 4 million are from the Caribbean.

Latin America migrant populations are highest in California (5.4 million), Texas (3 million) and
Florida (nearly 3 million). The majority of Latin America emigration is from Mexico (11.5 million
people).
Caribbean migrant populations are the highest in Florida (1.6 million) and New York (1 million).
The majority of Caribbean migrants of North America are from Cuba (nearly 1.2 million)

Asia to Europe - 20 million migrants move to areas of

Europe from Asia. Around 12% of all migrating Asians
(including those migrating to different areas of Asia) live in
Europe. Germany, England, France and Spain are the
European countries with the highest number of Asian
migrants. Germany is the highest, with over 1 million people
from Kazakhstan living in Germany, and over 250,000 from
both Iran and Iraq. England’s largest Asian population is from India (840,000 people), and also
has high populations of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. France and Spain have large amounts of
Eastern and South Eastern Asians, such as those from Vietnam, China, and the Philippines.

Asia to North America - 17 million Asian migrants moved to

North America in 2017. The majority of Asian migrants are from
Eastern Asia (4 million), South Eastern Asia (4 million) and
South Central Asia (3.5 million). These migrants live mainly in
California (nearly 4 million) and New York (1.2 million).
Migrants from China make up the majority of Asian migrants in
the USA specifically (2.5 million), followed by India (2.2 million)
and the Philippines (1.9 million).

Refugee Flows
In total, refugees and asylum seekers make up
around 10% of all international migrants. The
large majority of refugee flows are
concentrated within the developing regions. 4
out of 5 refugees are hosted within developing
regions. The largest refugee populations are in
Turkey (3.1 million), Jordan (2.9 million) and
the State of Palestine (2.2 million).

(source:www.un.org/)

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Major Refugee Flows
There are an estimated 70.8 million refugees globally. The list below covers the top 4 source
countries of refugees, as well as the main refugee flows associated with these countries.

Syria has the largest number of refugees out of every country in the world (6.7
million). The majority of these refugees have remained in the Middle East, and it
is estimated that around half of all Syrian refugees are internally displaced
within Syria.

(Source: www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/29/where-displaced-syrians-have-resettled/)

Conflict, drought, and natural disasters have led to 2.7 million Afghan
refugees being displaced worldwide currently, and millions more in the
past. The Soviet-Afghan war, The Civil War, The Taliban Rule, and the
current war in Afghanistan have all lead to millions of people taking
refuge in other countries for decades.

95% of all Afghan refugees are hosted Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan hosts
the most refugees (around 1.4 million).

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 Prolonged conflicts and severe famines have led to 2.3 million refugees
from South Sudan, making it the third largest refugee population currently.

(Source: data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/southsudan?id=3093)

Around 1.1 million refugees from the Rohingya ethnic group have fled Myanmar
since 2015 to escape persecution. Since 2017, it is estimated that around
700,000 refugees have relocated to Bangladesh, making it the largest hosting
country of Rohingya refugees.

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 Impacts of International Migration
Impacts Country that people are migrating to. Country that people are emigrating from.

o Societal multiculturalism. o Relaxed pressure on services,

o Those fleeing from conflicts or meaning people may have a better
poor quality of life may have a quality of life as there could be better
better life in countries they move to. access to healthcare, lower house prices
o Migrants can contribute to society, etc.
e.g. services such as healthcare.

o Overpopulation can cause o Underpopulation could cause more

pressure on services such as pressure on services (less people
healthcare working so many jobs are left unfilled).
o Conflicts between nationals and o As many migrants are more desperate
migrants due to negative effects of for work than nationals, they may be
migration. vulnerable to exploitation, such as poor
working conditions and low wages.

o Larger workforce for o Possibly reduces waste, fuel usage,

environmental protection. emissions etc. as there are less people.

o Higher demand for o Smaller workforce for environmental

environmentally unsustainable protection and conservation, e.g. more
resources (e.g. need for housing, derelict businesses and houses, less
waste, fuel) when population people employed for waste removal etc.
increases in an area.

o Migrants become intertwined in o Workers send remittances back to

work forces and do often unwanted their home country, helping their
jobs, as well as pay taxes. economy to grow.

o May become dependent on the o Skilled workers leave to work in HICs,

migrant workers, causing issues e.g. meaning unskilled people are left to keep
if migrants stop coming. the economy running.
o Lack of jobs for nationals o Home country may be dependent on
o Remittances do not benefit host remittances, so a change in circumstance
country’s economy. may be detrimental to the economy.

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o Countries that accept large o Relaxed pressure on services and
quantities of migrants often have resources can decrease political conflicts
strong ties with the home country, and tensions, e.g. less criticism of the
decreasing likelihood of conflict. government for doing a poor job.

o Possible political disagreements o Population policies/ laws may be put

due to overpopulation, causing to get the workforce to grow, e.g.
international disputes. E.g. the UK encouraging more migration or more
leaving the EU partly because of free births. Population control may be seen as
movement of EU migrants. a restriction of freedom.
o Laws/policies may be introduced
to limit population.

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