Movement Responses - Migration
Today, 214 million people - 3% of the world’s population - live outside their country of birth, like a lot of us!
The percentage of migrants varies greatly from country to country. 87% of Qatar's population is immigrants compared to 0.4% in India.
Economic Migrants
People that move for work, usually on a contract basis.
Illegal Immigrants
People that move to another country without official permission to do so.
Asylum Seekers
People who seek to enter another country claiming to be victims of persecution, hardship or for other reasons.
Refugees
People who are forced to leave their country in fear of persecution, torture or even death. 'Environmental refugees move to flee from a natural disaster.
Internally Displaced
People forced to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere, sometimes over the border.
The percentage of migrants varies greatly from country to country. 87% of Qatar's population is immigrants compared to 0.4% in India.
Economic Migrants
People that move for work, usually on a contract basis.
Illegal Immigrants
People that move to another country without official permission to do so.
Asylum Seekers
People who seek to enter another country claiming to be victims of persecution, hardship or for other reasons.
Refugees
People who are forced to leave their country in fear of persecution, torture or even death. 'Environmental refugees move to flee from a natural disaster.
Internally Displaced
People forced to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere, sometimes over the border.
Discuss the causes of migrations, both forced and voluntary
Causes of forced migration
Causes of forced migration
- Natural disasters like flooding, earthquakes or volcanoes
- Outbreak of disease
- War
- Political persecution
- Drought and famine
- Retirement
- Education (to attend a school or university)
- Work
- Medical care (medical care is often cheaper in LEDCs)
- More relaxed lifestyle in foreign country (many people move from the UK to Australia for this reason)
Push Factors
Gravity Model
Todaro Model
- No job or poorly paid jobs
- Food and water shortages
- Poor education and medical care
- Crime or conflict
- Prospect of a better job
- Lower crime rates and peace
- Prospect of better education for them or their children
- Availability of food and water
- Greater political freedoms
- Greater gender equality
- No passport or visa
- Shortage of money
- Fear of being a victim of crime while migrating
- Arrest for illegal entry into countries
Gravity Model
- Based upon Newton's law of Universal Gravitation.
- 'The number of people moving between places A and B is equal to the population of A multiplied by the population of B divide by the square of the distance between them'.
- The potential number of migrants will be bigger where the population is bigger and also if the distances between Location A and B are closer or far.
- The friction of distance acts as a break.
Todaro Model
- Economic factors are the most influential of the push-pull factors.
- Individual migrants weigh up the economic costs and benefits.
- Policy makers can slow rural urban migration by creating investment and new employment opportunities in rural areas.
Evaluate internal (national) and international migrations in terms of their geographic (socio-economic, political and environmental) impacts at their origins and destinations.
Source Country
Advantages
Host Country
Advantages
Source Country
Advantages
- A reduction in unemployment as more jobs become available
- Remittances are sent home from migrants living abroad
- Migrants may return home with new skills
- Increased political ties with migrants host country
- Reduced pressure on education and healthcare system
- Reduction in births rates and total fertility rate as many migrants are in the reproductive age range
- Brain drain - losing your most educated and skilled workers.
- A shortage of workers, especially during periods of harvest
- An increase in the dependency ratio as economically active migrate
- Separation of families. This may include children losing one or both of their parents
- Creates dependency on remittances
Host Country
Advantages
- Brain gain - Receiving educated and skilled workers.
- As well as trained migrants there will be as source of cheap migrants (low paid) to fill manual jobs.
- There will be increased cultural diversity as migrants arrive with their own culture of food, dance, language, etc.
- Growth of local market with increase of population
- If migrants are legal, then an increase in tax revenues for the government
- There may be an increase in racial tensions between newly arrived migrants and local population
- The increased population will cause greater pollution and overcrowding
- There may be a rise in unemployment when migrants accept lower paid positions, making more of the local population unemployed.
- There will be an increase pressure on services. This may include schools and hospitals, but also electricity and water supply.
- Growth of black market and informal economy if migrants are illegally present