Migration= the movement of people from one place to another with the purpose of settling
(either permanently or temporarily) at the new location
- Globalisation has led to increased migration
- In 2015 the UN population fund estimated that 244 million people (3.3%) of the
world’s population were living outside of their country of origin
- The majority of migrants are economic migrants, who send their money back known
as migrant remittances, however there are also a growing number of refugees
fleeing conflict zones, known as asylum seekers
Immigrant- enters country
Emmigrant- leaves country
Asylum seeker- a person who has left their home country as a political refugee and is
seeking asylum in another
Refugee- asylum in another country has been confirmed
Displaced person- forced out of their home due to conflict, natural disasters etc however
has found safety in their country of origin
Main causes of refugees include conflict, famine, natural disasters, persecution
Lees migration model
- Argues there are push and pull factors that cause migration
Push factors= negative factors that operate in a migrant’s current location
Pull factors= perceived advantages of a potential destination that attracts migrants
- The Lee model also argues that there are intervening obstacles, which include costs,
physical features (Oceans, rivers, mountain ranges), cultural factors (language),
climatic features (too cold etc)
Population is effected my migration
- Population change= (births- deaths) +/- international migration
The UN defines a long term migrant as a person who moves to a country other than his/ her
usual residence for a period of at least a year, and a short term migrant is someone who
moves for at least three months, but less than a year
Net migration= the difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants for a
particular country
Factors that influence one’s decision to migrate
- Costs of travel, ease of access (migration policy), cost of sending remittances,
employment opportunities, wage differentials, effects of conflict or persecution,
former colonial influence (eg; language), cultural similarities
, Key migration routes
- From Libya to Italy’s most southerly point, the Island of Lampedusa
- West Africa (Western Sahara, Morocco etc) to Spains territories such as the Canary
islands
3279 migrants died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea in 2014
UK migration
- UK net migration peaked in 2016 with 336,000
- In 2018 net migration was 258,000
- The highest country of UK immigrants is India, followed by Poland and Pakistan
(India has more than double any other country)
- In 2013 Italy had the highest net migration (1.18 million), Spain and Greece had the
greatest net migration loss
- Male immigration is far higher than female
- Of the 641,000 immigrants moving to the UK in 2014, 178,000 had secured
employment before arrival and 193,000 were students in full time education
- London has the largest amounts of immigrants in the UK at 36.2%
- The majority of UK emigrants were either looking for employment opportunities, to
retire more cheaply and in more desirable climates or to join overseas relatives
- The highest country of residence for UK emigrants is Australia, followed by the USA
and Canada
EU migration
- An estimated 3.6 million EU born migrants lived in the UK in 2018, making up 5.5% of
the population
- 23% of this total were from Poland (the largest migrant group)
- EU migrants have 81% employment rate, compared to non-EU migrants of 57%
- Data from 2013, shows Germany as having the highest number of immigrants from
other EU states (345,692), followed by the UK (192,495) and then Italy (75,710)
- Increased migrant flows within the EU can be explained by EU expansion eg; The
Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Cyprus, Hungry, Slovakia
and Slovenia all joined in 2004, Romania and Bulgaria in 2007 and Croatia in 2013,
many have high working age populations who are attracted by higher wages
elsewhere
- In 2013 there were approximately 660,000 poles living in the UK, with only 40,000
UK citizens living in Poland (benefitted from living in a country where the cost of
living was lower than the UK)