Migration is the movement of people from one geographical area to another, which implies permanent or temporary residence or settlement. There must be a reason or reasons for the migration: either something is pulling people away from their current location or there is an attraction to where they are going. What are these influencing factors?
1. Natural disasters: The occurrence of natural disasters such as floods, famines, droughts, earthquakes, etc., could cause people to migrate from one place to another.
2. Physical conditions: The physical conditions of a place such as the climate, the soils, the relief can also be responsible for the migration of people, especially when such conditions are unfavorable.
3. Insecurity: The fear of insecurity derived from war, political instability, etc., could make people migrate.
4. Differences in economic opportunities: As a result of these, people tend to migrate to places where there are more economic opportunities such as jobs and business transactions.
5. Change of status: Changes of status, for example a high level of education and wealth, could cause people to migrate, for example, from rural to urban centers.
6. Differences in social services: due to the difference in the availability of water, roads, electricity, etc. people tend to move to where these comforts are present.
Migration has great advantages, as it reduces the demographic pressure on agricultural lands in the region of origin; reduces population pressure on social services in the region of origin; provides migrant labor in the receiving region; ensures the flow of capital to the host region; leads to the development of social services in the host region; it boosts markets in the host region and promotes cultural integration, for example intermarriage in the host region. On the other hand, it could be disadvantageous since it generates social vices such as crime and drug trafficking in the host region; the high cost of living increases in the receiving region; generates pressure on social services in the receiving region; it leads to the loss of healthy men and young men in the region of origin; leads to congestion in housing and transportation in the receiving region; it leads to decreased production in the region of origin and leads to cultural disintegration in the region of destination.
Solutions to rural-urban migration
One of the main forms of migration that tends to create problems in all developing countries is migration from the countryside to the city. Since we recognize that this form of migration is a significant problem, solutions must be provided to avoid the occurrence of overpopulation in the recipient regions. Solutions to rural-urban migration problems include:
1. Provision of social services: Providing social services such as water, electricity, cinemas, roads and telephones in rural areas will go a long way to reducing the speed at which young people move to urban areas.
2. Transport from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture: This will allow young people to engage in farming as the system will make farming interesting.
3. Establishment of industries: The establishment of industries, projects and businesses that will absorb the rural working population and reverse the labor movement will contribute greatly to reducing rural-urban drift.
4. Establishment of educational institutions: The establishment of universities and other institutions of higher education in rural areas will also help reduce movement to urban centers.
5. Establishment of corporate branches: Government departments, commercial companies and financial institutions should be encouraged to establish their branches in rural areas.
6. Provision of recreational facilities: If recreational facilities such as stadiums, swimming pools, movie theaters, amusement parks, etc. are made available. in rural areas, the propensity of young people to move to urban areas will be reduced.
