UNIT 1

MODULE 1: POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT

CONTENT:

3. Population Change – Migration

(i) Types of migration: international, internal, permanent, temporary, voluntary, forced.

(ii) Causes and consequences to source (sending) and host (receiving) countries. Case studies.

(iii) Calculation of population growth rates and construction of flow lines.

 CONTENT:

3. POPULATION CHANGE – MIGRATION

Migration is the movement of people from one geographical area to another usually across a
political boundary.

Migration affects the distribution of people over a given area as well as the total population of a
region and the population structure of a country.

(i) TYPES OF MIGRATION

Migrations can be voluntary or forced. Voluntary and forced migration can be subdivided into
internal, external (international), temporary and permanent.

Voluntary
Voluntary migration occurs when migrants move from choice e.g. because they are looking for an
improved quality of life or personal freedom. Such movements are usually influenced by ‘push
and pull’ factors. Push factors are those that cause people to leave because of pressures which
make them dissatisfied with their present home, while pull factors are those perceived qualities
that attract people to a new settlement.
Voluntary migration maybe internal and such movements maybe temporary (daily commuters) or
permanent relocation. Commuters between home and work are temporary internal migrants (a
movement sometimes referred to as ‘circulation’. Millions of workers in China leave their homes
in rural areas to work in the cities. Central Business Districts of cities that teem with pedestrians
during the day are often deserted by night; while suburbs are empty by day but filled by night.

Forced
Forced migration is unintended movement resulting from conflict, development policies, projects
and disasters. People maybe forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to make room for
economic developments. Millions of people today are forced to leave their homes but still reside
within the borders of their own country. An example of such forced internal movement was
associated with the building of the Three Gorges Dam in China.
Another example, the slave trade between Africa and the New World was an example of forced
external migration. The partition of India and Pakistan forced large scale movement across the
new international borders. Today there are large numbers of forced migrants a (refugees) who
have had to flee war, violence and chaos in their homelands.
Human trafficking is regarded as contemporary slavery and forced labour involving domestic
servitude, child soldiers, agriculture and commercial sex trade.
The volcanic eruptions in Montserrat forced many to leave their homes for foreign countries.
Climate change is expected to produce new waves of forced migration and is estimated that by
the year 2050, about 200 million persons may be displaced by climate change.
Some of the forced migrants settle permanently in their new homes (return migration). Others
return home when the threats have passed.

Internal and External (international) migration

Internal migration refers to population movement within a country which maybe rural to urban
and this is more common in less developed countries. The pattern in more developed countries is
typically urban to rural associated with suburbanization and counter urbanisation.
External migration (international) involves a movement across national boundaries and between
countries. External migration unlike internal migration affects the total population of a country.
The migration balance is the difference between the number of emigrants (people who leave the
country) and immigrants (newcomers who are arriving in the country).

There are also temporary international migrants. Labour migrants such as Caribbean farm workers
who go to Canada and the United States of America to harvest crops, return at the end of their
contracts.
(Refer to Migration Law and Migration Model from D. Waugh)

Migration Patterns
 Step migration in which the migrants change location in a series of small steps, each taking
them closer to their intended destination. They may move from a small farm to a nearby town,
then to a city and finally to a foreign country.
 Chain migration is a series which may begin with one family member who sends money to bring
family members to the new location. This process leads to the clustering of people from
specific locations in neighbourhoods of the towns in which they settle.
(ii) CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES TO SOURCE (SENDING) AND HOST (RECEIVING) COUNTRIES.
CASE STUDIES

The causes of migrations are varied but may reflect a combination of forces in the home and in
the destination countries. They are usually classified as ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. The consequences
of migration can be both positive and negative. For the sending country, loss of population can
have both negative (loss of skilled labour) and positive (relieving population pressure) effects.
Similarly the receiving country can be enriched by the culture of migrant labourers but conflict
may arise between the host and migrant society.

CONSEQUENCES OF IN AND OUT MIGRATION

Migration can be both positive and negative

1. Economic impact

Positive
 Employment opportunities
Many immigrants are able to find employment, earn money, in the form of wages or salaries, and
raise their standard of living. They are able to acquire their own homes and provide better futures
for their children, in terms of education and the availability of public and social services. Migration
is only a temporary method of solving unemployment problems in the developing world.

 Reduced under-employment in the source country.

 There is less pressure on resources in the source country, including basic supplies such as food
essential services such as healthcare.
·

 Remittances
Immigrants often send money, or remittances, to their families in their home countries. In this way,
immigrants are able to assist their families who may be financially dependent upon them. This also
provides vital foreign exchange in the home countries.

 Returning migrants bring new skills to the country, which may help to revitalise the home economy.
 Economic migrants tend to take up the less desirable jobs:
· The host country gains skilled labour at reduced cost.
· The ‘skills gap’ that exists in many host countries is filled by qualified migrants.

Negative
 Loss of skilled workers
When skilled workers have been lost through migration, more people must be trained to take up
the vacancies left. Labourers and service workers form a significant part of the migrant labour force
and this leads to labour shortage. Emigration of skilled workers causes underdevelopment. The loss
of human capital has direct financial implications as the emigration of educated people drains
countries of a valuable resource for development and well-being.

 Brain drain
The migration of trained educational and technical workers is a serious economic loss. Such
migration is called the brain drain. Employers are unable to compete with countries that promise
bigger salaries, better working conditions and political stability so the Caribbean region is losing
very large numbers of its educated people.

 Increase in unemployment
Unemployment rises in host countries as competition for work increases and industries are unable
to absorb the influx of people.

 Much of the money earned, including pension payments, is repatriated to the country of origin.

 Increased numbers of people to the host country add to the pressure on resources, such as health
services and education.

2. Social impact
Positive

 Political asylum
 Many immigrants are able to live a more peaceful life when they are given political asylum. The
oppression and suppression in some countries, such as El Salvador in Central America, together
with civil wars, encourage people who feel threatened to escape being victimised in their own
country and to seek new lives elsewhere.

 Religious freedom
Immigrants sometimes choose their new country because they will be allowed the freedom of
religion that was denied them in their home country such as the Mennonites in Belize.

 Creation of a multi-ethnic society increases understanding of other cultures

There is an influx of new and/or revitalised providers of local services – for example, Turkish
baths and local corner shops. There is a growth of ethnic retailing and areas associated with ethnic
food outlets.

 In the source country, the population density is reduced and the birth rate decreases, as it is the
younger adults who migrate.

 Remittances sent home by economic migrants can finance improved education and health
facilities.

 Returning retired migrants increase social expectations in the community, for example, the
demand for better leisure facilities.

Negative
 Ethnic segregation
Migrants tend to settle in a local environment with people of similar ethnicity. This may cause the
indigenous population to feel uncomfortable. Sometimes, ethnic disagreements take place and this
may result in physical confrontations. Segregated areas of similar ethnic groups are created, and
schools are dominated by migrant
children

 Social resentment
 Many people in host countries feel resentment towards immigrants. They may feel uncomfortable
in their own country; they may think their own jobs are threatened. This means that they do not
readily show feelings of goodwill to immigrants. They feel that an influx of foreigners contributes
towards a shortage of housing, high unemployment, an increase in foreign debt and an increased
demand on the country’s social services.

 Aspects of cultural identity in host country are lost, particularly among second-generation migrants.

 The perceived benefits of migration encourage more of the same generation to migrate, which has
a detrimental effect on social structure.

 Returning retired migrants may impose a social cost on the community if support mechanisms are
not in place to cater for them.

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION – A SENDING COUNTRY (JAMAICA)

Causes

Economic
 High unemployment as a result of decline in bauxite and agriculture.
 Low salaries for skilled workers, for example, nurses and teachers (recruited to work in developed
countries).

Social
 Poor housing/sanitary conditions.
 Inadequate access to health and higher education facilities.
 Crime affecting the quality of life especially in urban areas.

Political
 Discrimination – party political.
 Civil unrest.

Physical
 Natural disasters.
 Consequences

 Remittances – 17 per cent of GDP in 2008.

 Brain drain – loss of skilled and professional workers.
 ‘Barrel children’- family livelihood depends on receipt of goods shipped from overseas.
 Criminals ‘hardened’ in life of crime abroad reintroduced to the society.
 Retired returning national add skills and finances.

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION – A RECEIVING COUNTRY (CANADA)

Causes

Economic
 Demand for skilled workers throughout country

Political
 Liberal immigration policy – net migration gain 5.6 persons per 1000.

Cultural
 Tolerance of cultural differences

Consequences

 Economic prosperity due to increased use of resources.

 Cultural diversity. Culture enriched by presence of immigration from several countries.
 Conflict-cultural tensions, for example, forced marriages in Asian families, discriminatory practices
against women. Young immigrant males targeted by gangs.
 Concentrated of population in urban areas.
(iii) CALCULATION OF POPULATION GROTH RATES AND CONSTRUCTION OF FLOW LINES

Calculation of Population Growth rate

Population growth is an aspect of population change arising out of the interrelation between
births, deaths and migration.
Population growth rate (PGR) is the rate at which a population is increasing (or decreasing) in a
given year due to natural increase and net migration, expressed as a percentage of the base
population.

PGR = (Births-Deaths) + (Immigration – Emigration)

Total Population (for a given year)

OR

PGR = Rate of Natural Increase + Net Migration rate

An Alternative formular may be used to compute population growth once the rate of natural
increase and net migration has already been computed.

Construction of Flow Lines

Flow lines are lines of varying thickness with arrowheads at one end. They are useful for showing
volume and direction of movements. When appropriately placed on maps, flow lines give a good
visual representation of migrations allowing volume as well as the sending and receiving countries
to be identified.

Steps in construction of flow lines

1. Collect relevant data on migration in country or region.
2. Choose a base map of country or countries on a scale enough to draw flow lines.
3. Examine the data and determine smallest and largest volume and choose a scale for thickness of
Line, for example 1 mm represents 1000 persons.
4. Pencil in the direction of the arrows to ensure that they do not overlap or cross each other.
5. Determine the thickness of each line to show the volume of the movement.
6. Place the scale on the map.
7. Draw in the lines of the desired thickness.