Causes of Migrations

Causes of Migration. Image credit rnw.nl

• Generally factors that affect migration are divide into two:
• push factors and
• pull factors
• Push factors are those that are responsible for driving people from an area
• Pull factors are those that attract people to an area.
• Any movement by people is for a reason and the reason can be classified under these two categories
• The push factors are normally negative since they force someone to leave an area
• Pull factors are normally positive since they attract people to a certain area
• Push factors encourage involuntary migrations while the pull factors encourage voluntary migrations
• Examples of Push factors are:
• lack of services
• lack of safety
• high crime
• crop failure
• drought
• flooding
• poverty
• war
• Lack of employment/Unemployment
• Examples of Pull factors are:
• higher employment
• more wealth
• better services
• good climate
• safer, less crime
• political stability
• more fertile land
• lower risk from natural hazards
• Peace
• Push and pull factors work in tandem people are pushed and pulled to areas that provide whatever it is that they are seeking
• Causes of migration can also be grouped as economic, social, political and environmental
• Economic migration – moving to find work or follow a particular career path for example Zimbabweans going to South Africa
• Social migration – moving somewhere for a better quality of life or to be closer to family or friends for example rural to urban migration
• Political migration – moving to escape political persecution or war
• Environmental causes of migration include natural disasters such as flooding for example areas like Muzarabani that are prone to flooding

To access more topics go to the O Level Geography Notes page