Human migration

Human migration is the movement by people from one place to another. The movement is often over long distances and from one country to another, but internal migration in a country is also possible.

People may migrate as individuals, in family units or in large groups.

Introduction
Below are four items about human migration:

- Human migration.

- Different types of human movements.

- Several categories of migration.

- Reasons for migrating.

1. Human migration.

Human migration is the movement of people from one place in the world to another, with the intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily in a new location.

2. Different types of human movements.

Then tell students that people move for many reasons, and that types of human migration include:

internal migration:	moving within a state, country, or continent.
external migration:	moving to a different state, country, or continent.
emigration:	leaving one country to move to another.
immigration:	moving into a new country.
return migration:	moving back to where you came from.
seasonal migration:	moving with each season or in response to labor or climate conditions.

3. Several categories of migration.

People who migrate fall into several categories:

An emigrant	is a person who is leaving one country to live in another.
An immigrant	is a person who is entering a country from another to make a new home.
A refugee	is a person who has moved to a new country because of a problem in their former home.

4. Reasons for migrating.

Why do people move? What forces drive human migration?

People move for many reasons and those reasons are called push factors and pull factors:

Push factors	Tell students that push factors include leaving a place because of a problem, such as a food shortage, war, or flood.
Pull factors	Tell students that pull factors include moving to a place because of something good, such as a nicer climate, more job opportunities, or a better food supply.

Extra questions:

What effect does a region’s economy, climate, politics, and culture have on migration to and from the area? Additional reasons for migrating, such as displacement by a natural disaster, lack of natural resources, the state of an economy and more.

Interregional migration in the USA

Rural - Urban migration in China

Why do people migrate?

What are the causes of migration?

Migration into Western Europe

Migration into Western Europe in the 1990s.

Changes in population size

 

The size of the population in areas is continuously changing.

These changes are caused by different factors:

1 - Births and deaths are natural causes of population change. 

Births - usually measured using the birth rate (number of live births per 1,000 of the population per year). Deaths - usually measured using the death rate (number of deaths per 1,000 of the population per year). The difference between the birth rate and the death rate of a country or place is called the natural increase. The natural increase is calculated by subtracting the death rate from the birth rate.

natural increase = birth rate - death rate

2 – Migration is a cause of population change. Migration is the movement of people within or between areas. Migration occurs at all scale levels.

• An emigrant is a person who leaves one country to settle permanently in another. Emigration describes the move relative to the departure.

• An immigrant is a person who enters a country to settle permanently in another. Immigration describes the move relative to the point of destination.