The Contemporary World

1
Global Migration

Global Migration

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Understand the causes of global migration;
2. Know the effects of migration.

Global Migration
Migration (human) is the permanent change of residence by an individual or
group; it excludes such movements as nomadism, migrant labor, commuting,
and tourism, all of which are transitory in nature (Britannica, n.d.). It is the
crossing of the boundary of a political or administrative unit for a certain
minimum period of time. It includes the movement of refugees, displaced
persons, uprooted people as well as economic migrants. Internal migration
refers to a move from one area (a province, district or municipality) to
another within one country. International migration is a territorial
relocation of people between nation-states. Two forms of relocation can be
excluded from this broad definition: first, a territorial movement which does
not lead to any change in ties of social membership and therefore remains
largely inconsequential both for the individual and for the society at the
points of origin and destination, such as tourism; second, a relocation in
which the individuals or the groups concerned are purely passive objects
rather than active agents of the movement, such as organized transfer of
refugees from states of origins to a safe haven (UNESCO, n.d.).

Why People Migrate

According to Blackman (2017), global migration can be understood as a
cause and effect relationship, though the causes are just as numerous as their
effects. People move across international borders for a variety of reasons,
including (though not limited to):

1. Safety
2. Natural disaster
3. Political conflict
4. Education
5. Family
6. Career
7. Economic betterment

Push-Pull Factor
Some of the reasons that trigger global migration can be explained by what’s
known as the Push-Pull factor. Pull factors are factors in the destination
country that attract the individual or group to leave their home. These
factors attract people to a new place largely because of the opportunities
presented in the new location were not available to them previously. An

Course Module
example of a pull factor would include a family moving from a country with
minimal job opportunities to a new location with more opportunities for a
successful career. The beneficial elements that the new country presents
encourages people to migrate there in order to seek a better life for their
families.

A push factor refers to conditions which force people to leave their homes. A
person would typically move because of distress (safety, natural disaster, or
political conflict). Although push factors don’t require a person to leave their
home, the conditions impacting the push factors often negatively impact the
quality of life for the person if they choose to stay. Places that experience
drought and famine, war conflicts, and/or high unemployment would
contribute to the push factors that trigger migration for that country’s
residents (Blackman, 2017).

Categories of International Migrants (UNESCO, n.d.)

 Temporary labor migrants (also known as guest workers or
overseas contract workers): people who migrate for a limited
period of time in order to take up employment and send money home.

 Highly skilled and business migrants: people with qualifications as

managers, executives, professionals, technicians or similar, who move
within the internal labor markets of trans-national corporations and
international organizations, or who seek employment through
international labor markets for scarce skills. Many countries welcome
such migrants and have special 'skilled and business migration'
programs to encourage them to come.

 Irregular migrants (or undocumented / illegal migrants): people

who enter a country, usually in search of employment, without the
necessary documents and permits.

 Forced migration: in a broader sense, this includes not only refugees

and asylum seekers but also people forced to move due to external
factors, such as environmental catastrophes or development projects.
This form of migration has similar characteristics to displacement.

 Family members (or family reunion / family reunification

migrants): people sharing family ties joining people who have
already entered an immigration country under one of the above
mentioned categories. Many countries recognize in principle the right
to family reunion for legal migrants. Other countries, especially those
with contract labor systems, deny the right to family reunion.

 Return migrants: people who return to their countries of origin after

a period in another country.

Today people are moving more than ever before. There are presently around
258 million international migrants. That figure has grown rapidly since the
turn of the millennium, when there were 173 million. Together with the
 The Contemporary World
3
Global Migration

increasing volume, we are seeing changing demographics, advancing

technology, evolving needs of labor markets and continued challenges posed
by wars, shortages, human rights violations and climate change. We
sometimes think of certain countries as sources of migrants and others as
recipients. But most nations today experience migration from all three
perspectives – as countries of origin, transit and destination (Lajcák, 2018).

Large and persistent economic and demographic asymmetries between

countries are likely to remain key drivers of international migration for the
foreseeable future. Between 2015 and 2050, the top net receivers of
international migrants (more than 100,000 annually) are projected to be the
United States of America, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia
and the Russian Federation. The countries projected to be net senders of
more than 100,000 migrants annually include India, Bangladesh, China,
Pakistan, and Indonesia (United Nations, 2017).

Effects of Global Migration

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that international
migration can be a positive force for economic and social development,
offering a mechanism to rebalance labor markets between areas of origin and
destination and thereby increase the global productivity of labor. Migration
across international borders can also help to promote investment and higher
standards of living in countries of origin through remittances sent by
migrants to families and communities back home, and to accelerate the
global diffusion of new ideas and technologies. From a demographic
perspective, migration is a much smaller component of population change
than births and deaths in most countries and regions of the world (United
Nations, 2017). Migration is an important factor in the erosion of traditional
boundaries between languages, cultures, ethnic group, and nation-states.
Even those who do not migrate are affected by movements of people in or
out of their communities, and by the resulting changes. Migration is not a
single act of crossing a border, but rather a lifelong process that affects all
aspects of the lives of those involved (UNESCO, n.d.).

Migration can present a great variety of challenges ranging from simple

discomfort to profound shifts in mental health. Migrating to a new place
where the diet or the local culture is largely unfamiliar may be quite jarring.
Imagine moving from the US where drinking coffee or tea in the mornings is
the cultural norm to living in Central Asia where in some parts, drinking salty
yak butter tea is the norm. Culture shock is a predictable culprit for
migratory challenges: changes in language, diet, politics, religion, and
environment are immediately visible. For example, those who migrate from
the Middle East or Africa are aware of the difficulties of adjusting to colder
temperatures in Scandinavia. What might not be as obvious, though, is the
challenge of adjusting to extremely short daylight hours in the winter,
making seasonal affective disorder an unanticipated hurdle for many
Course Module
 immigrants. Furthermore, the act of leaving a home country can be
emotionally difficult, especially for those who may never be able to return
and/or were forced out by situations that they couldn’t control. Having to
emigrate as a refugee from a war-torn Syria, breaks up families and can
destabilize immigrants’ sense of self, which could lead to depression. These
challenges obviously should not be taken lightly – help and support are key
(Blackman, 2017).

Below are two tables explaining the positive and negative effects for both the
country losing migrants, and the country gaining immigrants (BBC, n.d.):

References
BBC (n.d.). Effects of Migration. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk
Blackman, T. (2017, December 13). What is Global Migration? Retrieved from
https://brombergtranslations.com
 The Contemporary World
5
Global Migration

Britannica (n.d.). Human Migration. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com

Lajcák, M. (2018, January 16). Why We Need a Global Understanding of Migration.
Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org
UNESCO (n.d.). Migrant/Migration. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org
United Nations (2017). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision. Retrieved from
https://esa.un.org

Course Module