Causes, Types, and Patterns of Human Migration

Migration: Definition and Key Terms

Migration: movement of people from one territory to another.

• Emigration: people leave a region or a country.
• Immigration: people come to a particular country.

The American white population is the result of a long process of migration.

Causes of Migration

The causes of migration include multiple factors, often combined:

• Economic: job search and better economic opportunities.
• Religious: escaping discrimination or persecution based on religion.
• Political: fleeing from specific political situations or persecution.
• Cultural: moving to study or for educational opportunities.
• Recreational: travel or tourism-related movements.

Types of Migration

Types of migration are commonly classified based on displacement, duration, and manner.

Based on displacement

• Internal: occur within a single territory or country.
• External (or international): movement from one territory or country to another.

Based on duration

• Temporary: lasts only for a certain time.
• Seasonal: has a specific duration and occurs during a particular period of the year.
• Permanent: definitive settlement of the migrant in the host country, with no return.

Based on manner

• Voluntary: responding to free personal decisions.
• Controlled: produced within a legal framework and administrative authorization.
• Clandestine: without administrative authorization (unauthorized or irregular migration).
• Forced: responding to pressures or threats against the personal will (e.g., refugees, forced displacement).

Rural Exodus

Rural exodus: movement from the countryside to the city that accelerated with industrialization between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Cities became the centers driving the economy, and farmers with few resources left their land in exchange for salaries in the city. The result was neighborhoods of shacks built of wood, tin, and other materials.

Pendular Migration

Pendular migration occurs in many developed-country cities: people commute or move toward the periphery because the city center is a place of leisure and commerce, and housing in central areas is scarce and expensive. Metropolitan areas often fill with bedroom communities where residents sleep but work elsewhere.

International Migration

Most developed countries are located in the Northern Hemisphere, which has produced a predominant south-to-north migration flow. In Europe, there has also been a movement from east to west as people from former communist countries migrate toward nations with higher living standards.

Sending and Receiving Countries

The major engine of international migration today is the economic gap between rich and poor countries. Sending countries often have a surplus of labor, lack of opportunities, and low wages that push young people to emigrate. Receiving countries are those where jobs and wages are higher and where immigrants may find better prospects for improvement.