Understanding Human Migration

Migration

• Migration is considered one of humanity's most significant modern challenges.
• Migration involves movement from one region to another.
• Human migration entails moving from one residence to another, with the intent to settle permanently or temporarily.

Key Organizations

• Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
• United Nations Refugee Agency
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Reasons for Migration

• Economic factors can drive migration.
• Social reasons can compel individuals to migrate.
• Political factors influence migration decisions.
• Environmental conditions can lead to migration.

Economic Factors

• Push factors include high unemployment, high population, low income, low wages and economic crisis.
• Pull factors include job availability (low unemployment), demand for workers, high income, and economic stability.
• Distance is impacted by high transportation costs and border shares.
• Social networks include job information, assistance for new migrants, and established communities.

Social Factors

• Pull factors are spreading religion, reuniting with family, spreading political philosophies and seeking personal freedom.
• Push factors are social injustice, discrimination and violence.

Political Factors

• Push factors are oppression, forced migration, changes in boundary = minority status and conflict/war
• Pull factors are lure of freedom, changes in boundary = majority status, asylum to refugees and promise of stable government.

Environmental Factors

• Environmental reasons include being drawn to physically attractive regions.
• Environmental reasons include being pushed away from hazardous areas.
• Attractive environments are mountains, seasides, and warm climates.
• Adverse physical conditions include too much or too little water which poses the most common environmental threat.

Types of Migrants

• Voluntary migrants choose to migrate.
• Voluntary migrants include older dependents seeking warmer climates in retirement.
• Involuntary migrants are forced to leave their homes.
• Involuntary migrants include people whose lives are in danger due to war or disaster and are called refugees.

Types of Migration

• Counter-urbanization is when people move from urban areas to rural towns and villages.
• Emigration occurs when people leave their country to live permanently in another.
• Immigration occurs when individuals move from one country to another to live there permanently or for an extended period.
• Internal migration refers to people moving from one place to another within the same country.
• International migration refers to moving from one country to another to live or work.
• Rural-urban migration is when people move from rural areas to smaller towns or countryside regions.

Host Country

• A host country is where individuals or groups from other countries come to live, work, study, or seek refuge.
• Advantages are that job vacancies are filled and the economy grows.
• Additional sources of tax revenue, new innovations and increased innovation.
• Disadvantages are wage depression and employee benefit programs being neglected.
• Exploitation, increased crime, strain on public services.
• Displacement of citizens.
• Migrants taking a long time to adapt to a new environment.

Home Country

• A home country is where a person is born or has citizenship with cultural, social, and emotional ties.
• Advantages are developing countries benefit from remittances and unemployment is reduced.
• Migrants coming back with skills and contacts.
• Disadvantages are loss of financial and informational wealth and loss of skilled labor.

Anti-Immigration Sentiment

• Anti-immigration sentiment is opposition to migration for various reasons.
• Host country residents express opposition facing challenges due to immigrants.
• This sentiment may derive from isolation, instability, national identity concerns, competition, and resource scarcity.
• Environmental issues also drive anti-immigration sentiment.