Population Geography Migration

Vocabulary (there will be more later!)  Migration - A permanent move to a new location  Immigration - Migration from a location  Emigration - Migration to a location

Questions  Why do people migrate?  How have social, economic, political, and environmental factors influenced migration?

Push and Pull Factors  People decide to migrate because of push and pull factors. A push factor induces people to leave a location. A pull factor induces people to move to a new location.

Push Factor - Overpopulation  People often leave areas that are heavily populated.

Push Factor - Religious Persecution  When people cannot worship as they wish they migrate. The pilgrims that landed at Plymouth were fleeing religious persecution.

Push Factor - Lack of Jobs  The vast majority of people migrating from Latin America, Africa, and Asia are migrating because there are no jobs.

Net migration rates: Countries in blue have a positive migration rate and countries in blue have a negative.

Push Factor - Agricultural Decline  Agricultural decline means a person cannot grow as much food on the same amount of land as they once could. Over time land becomes less fertile and people have to move.

Push Factor - Conflict  People flee from wars. These people are known as refugees. There are many refugee camps in Africa due to a long history of civil war in many countries.

Push Factor - Political Persecution  Political persecution means that people are punished when they disagree with the government. This happens most in dictatorships or communist countries. People have migrated from China and Cuba because of political persecution.

Push Factor - Natural Hazards  Droughts  Floods  Tsunamis  Earthquakes  Volcanoes

Push Factor - Limits on Freedom  Communist countries often limit personal freedom. People cannot listen to certain music, watch certain television shows, or even say things bad about the government.

Push Factor - Environmental Degradation  Deforestation  Desertification - An expansion of arid conditions into non-arid regions. This is a problem in the Sahel, a region near the Sahara Desert in North Africa.

Click here to see desertification video from youtube.

Pull Factors  Religious Freedom  Economic Opportunity  Land Availability  Political Freedom  Ethnic and Family Ties  Arable Land

Impact of Immigration  Language  Religion and Religious Freedom  Customs/Traditions  Cultural Landscape