Factors influencing migration Migration is the movement of people across a specified boundary, national or international, to establish a new permanent place of residence. In contrast, circulatory movements are movements with a timescale of less than a year. This includes seasonal movements which involve a semi-permanent change of residence. Daily commuting also comes into this category. Mobility is an all-embracing term which includes both migration and circulation.

Push and Pull factors Push factors are negative conditions at the point of origin which encourage or force people to move. Pull factors are positive conditions at the point of destination which encourage people to migrate. The nature of push and pull factors varies from country to country (and from person to person) and changes over time.

Voluntary and forced migrations In voluntary migration the individual has a free choice about whether to migrate or not. In forced migrations, people are made to move against their will. Migrations may also be forced by natural disasters (volcanic eruptions, floods, drought, etc.) or by environmental catastrophe such as nuclear contamination in Chernobyl.

Migration trends One in every 35 people around the world is living outside the country of their birth. Foreign-born populations are rising in both more developed and less developed countries. Recent migration data shows these facts: With the growth in the importance of labour-related migration and international student mobility, migration has become increasingly temporary and circular in nature.

The spatial impact of migration has spread with an increasing number of countries affected as either points of origin or destination. The proportion of female migrants has steadily increased (now over 47 per cent of all migrants). The great majority of international migrants move from LDCs to MDCs. MDCs have reinforced controls, in part in response to security issues, but also to combat illegal immigration and networks that deal in trafficking and exploitation of human beings.

Rising remittance payments Remittances are a major economic development factor in LDCs. Some economists argue that remittances are the developing world’s most effective source of financing: Although foreign direct investment is larger it varies with global economic fluctuations. Remittances exceed considerably the amount of official aid received by LDCs.

Apart from the money that migrants sent directly to their families, their home communities and countries also benefit from: Donations by migrants to community projects The purchase of goods and services produced in the home country by migrants working abroad Increased foreign exchange reserves. All three forms of economic benefit mentioned above combine to from a positive multiplier effect in donnor countries.

Internal population movements Population movements within countries is at a much higher level than movements between countries. In both MDCs and LDCs significant movements of people take place from poorer regions to richer regions as people seek employment and higher standards of living. In LDCs, much of this migration is in fact rural to urban areas.