Migration

What is Migration?

Within Geography, which covers maps, landforms, weather, climate, population and settlements: understand how our planet and people connect, this topic explains Migration. Geography explains how places, people and natural processes connect, so each topic here combines a clear definition with a visual model.

Check that you can explain Migration in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding Migration helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.

Migration in detail

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another to live. It can be internal (within a country) or international. Push factors drive people away, such as war, poverty, lack of jobs and natural disasters, and pull factors attract them, such as jobs, safety, better services and family.

Migrants include economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Impacts on the origin include loss of skilled workers and money sent home, and on the destination, a larger workforce, cultural diversity and pressure on housing and services. Rural-urban migration is the largest movement, and debates on migration involve economics, politics and human rights.

How the interactive helps you understand Migration

Watch the globe in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the globe responds.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Migration.

Real-life uses and examples

• Support an answer about Migration with a named case study and specific evidence.
• Interpret a graph or map that shows Migration and say what it suggests.
• Describe a real place where Migration can be seen, using a map or photograph.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing general statements without a named place or example.
• Mixing up cause, effect and consequence when you explain Migration.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.