Internal Migrations

Commuters are part of internal migrations

• These are migrations within the same country for example from Masvingo to Harare
• For example in Zimbabwe people move from one area to another for varying durations of time
• The table below shows some common push and pull factors

• The resulting migrations can be classified into 5 patterns.

1. Rhythmic migration or daily circulation

• These are mainly shoppers and commuters who travel daily from their residential area to the central business district or industrial sites for work.
• Examples are, people commuting from Chitungwiza to Harare, Norton to Harare, Esigodini to Bulawayo
• This movement could be within a city or a village.

2. Rural to rural migration

• This involves the movement of rural people who are mainly farmers.
• These people will usually be in search of bigger and better farmland; favourable rainfall patterns.
• Examples are people from Gokwe.
• Some movements have been as a result of the resettlement programmes in Zimbabwe, where people were moved to reduce pressure in communal areas.
• For example, Soti source resettlement in Gutu near Masvingo; the construction of roads and dams for example Osbourne dam near Mutare.
• The development of growth points and the land redistribution exercise, have also caused the movement of people from on rural area to another
• In some cases people provide seasonal labour on farms especially tea and sugar estates for example in the Chimanimani, Chipinge and the South East Lowveld areas in Zimbabwe.

3. Rural to urban

• This is whereby people migrate from the rural areas into urban centres.
• The movement is caused because major industrial, commercial and infrastructural development has been concentrated in urban areas
• This has meant that employment opportunities are abundant hence the movement
• Some of the factors that pushed people from the rural areas in the mid-eighties and early nineties were the liberation struggle of Zimbabwe, coupled with the drought periods
• There are also better social services such as more modern medical and educational facilities that attract people.

4 Urban to rural

• Some people at some stage find the urban life too expensive for them thus they move to the rural areas
• In Zimbabwe this is when people retire and more recently when they are retrenched and can longer afford urban life
• Business opportunities have also attracted people especially at the growth points such as Gokwe, Muzarabani and Murambinda
• Other movements are also as a result of tourism and visiting relatives.

5 Urban to urban

• People migrate from one urban area to another for different durations and reasons.
• Some of these reasons are:
• Better employment opportunities
• Better services
• Movement to the head office of the company in bigger cities on promotion
• Relocation of offices from one town to another such as the designated Exported Processing Zones
• Holiday and any other social visits.

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