MIGRATION

Migration is defined as the movement of people from one geographical area to another, involving permanent or temporary residence or settlement.

In migration, the region where people are leaving is called the source region while the region where people are entering is called the receiving or destination region.

 

TYPES OF MIGRATION

There are two major types of migration. These are emigration and immigration.

• Emigration: This is the type of migration in which people leave their own countries i.e. movement out of a country.
• Immigration: This is the type of migration in which people enter into another country i.e. movement into another country.

 

FORMS OF MIGRATION

Migration from one place to another takes different forms. These include:

1. Rural-Urban migration: This is the movement of people from rural areas like villages to urban areas like towns and cities.
2. Rural-Rural migration: This is the movement of people from rural area to another rural area.
3. Urban-Urban migration: This is the movement of people from one town or city (urban area) to another.
4. Urban-Rural migration: This is the movement of people from urban centres to rural areas.
5. International migration: This is the movement of people from one country into another.
6. Seasonal migration: This is the movement of people from one place to another at a particular season e.g. summer holidays abroad.

 

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR MIGRATION

1. Natural disasters like floods, famine, earthquake, etc. could make people to migrate out of a place to another.
2. The physical conditions of a place such as climate, soils, relief may also be responsible for the migration of migrants especially when such conditions are unfavorable.
3. As a result of overpopulation on land, people tend to move away from such area to another fertile area.
4. Fear of insecurity arising from war, political instability, etc. could make people to migrate.
5. People tend to migrate to where there are more economic opportunities like jobs and business transactions.
6. Change in status e.g. high level of education and wealth could make people to migrate i.e. from rural to urban areas.
7. Owing to differences in the availability of water, road, electricity, etc. people tend to move to where amenities are present.

 

ADVANTAGES OF MIGRATION

1. It reduces population pressure on agricultural land at the source region.
2. It reduces population pressure on social amenities at the source region.
3. It supplies migrant labor at receiving region.
4. It ensures the flow of capital to the source region.
5. It leads to the development of social amenities at the receiving region.
6. It boosts markets at the receiving region.
7. It promotes cultural integration e.g. inter marriage at the receiving region.

 

DISADVANTAGES OF MIGRATION

1. It breeds social vices like crime and armed robbery at the receiving region.
2. It increases high cost of living at the receiving region.
3. It leads to pressure on social amenities at the receiving region.
4. It leads to migration of the able-bodied men at the source region.
5. It leads to congestion in housing and transportation at the receiving region.
6. It also leads to decline in production at the source region.
7. It leads to unemployment at the receiving region.
8. It also leads to cultural disintegration at the destination region.