Summary OCR Geography A Level - GLOBAL MIGRATION Notes + Case Studies

GLOBAL MIGRATION
1. WHAT ARE THE CONTEMPORARY PATTERNS OF GLOBAL MIGRATION?
1.A. GLOBAL MIGRATION INVOLVES DYNAMIC FLOWS OF PEOPLE BETWEEN COUNTRIES,
REGIONS AND CONTINENTS.
Types of international migrants
 Economic – seeking work and social opportunities – most common
 Refugees - a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape
war, persecution, or natural disaster.
 Asylum seekers - person who flees their home country, enters another country and
applies for asylum, i.e. the right to international protection, in this other country
 Circular – intend to return
 Transit – passing through, not intending to stop
 Seasonal – stay less than a year, migration is regularly repeated
 Irregular – breaking migration laws
 Forced – war, persecution, environmental factors
 Study – students abroad
Current Spatial Patterns
 Significant growth in 21st Century
 In 2015, 244 million (3.3% of pop) living outside country of origin
 Dynamic system – flows of people constantly changing in number, direction of
movement and in demographic and ethnic composition
 International migration occurs at different scales – neighbouring countries in Europe
vs between major global regions.
 2015 = highest levels of forced displacement globally since WW2
o 15.1 million refugees in 2015, 45% increase in last 3 years
 1 in 3 asylum claims were minors. 1 in 4 of these were accompanied.
International Migration
 International migrant = person who stays outside their usual country of residence for
at least one year
 1 in 35 people is an international migrant
 240 million international migrants worldwide
 Reasons
o Employment opportunities – majority economically active
o Retirement – large number of retirement age, high UK house prices  can
leave cheaply abroad  better quality of life
o Family reunification – moving to join relatives overseas
Inter-regional migrant flows

,Europe
 Main European gateways = Spain (Western Mediterranean route to Spanish enclaves
Ceuta and Melilla), Greece (Eastern Mediterranean route), Italy (Central
Mediterranean route) and Hungary (Western Balkans)
 Most popular destinations = Germany (41%), Sweden, Italy
o Germany has received and granted the most asylum claims
 Most popular origins = Syria (45%), Afghanistan, Somalia (conflict ridden)
 Majority of migrants enter through Southern and Eastern Europe.
 Schengen Agreement = free movement of people in Europe (26 countries)
 Europe is experiencing the biggest influx of refugees since WW2
Intra-regional migrant flows
Sub Saharan Africa
 There is more migration within Africa than to other regions eg America and Europe
 Reinforces increased size of SS migration
 Main migration routes = Burkina Faso  Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe  South Africa, Mali
 Ivory Coast
o South Africa and Ivory Coast  more developed countries with diversified
economies
o Burkina Faso has highest rates of migration due to extreme poverty rates (45%
below poverty line). Also, unstable government. Actions of Boko Haram Islamic
group.
o Zimbabwe is a main source due to political instability following Mugabe
dictatorship
o Mali has become unstable due to Islamic groups who attacked government
forces
 Push factors
o Conflict eg in Syria, Somalia
o Natural disasters and desertification
o Poor economy
o Prone to political instability eg Angola dictatorship
 Pull factors
o Geographical proximity – ease of access
o Cultural and linguistic affinities
o Same economic trade group eg ECOWAS – border control is less strict
o Political stability
o Environmental factors eg climate
o Family reunification
EU

,  Size of migration flows within EU is explained by Schengen agreement – free
movement of people within EU
 Also recent expansion of EU has increased potential number of migrants – 10
countries eg Poland joined in 2004
 Overriding motive for migration in EU = economic
o eg Polish migrants  UK for better employment opportunities, higher wages
etc
o But also UK migrants  Poland – mainly business professionals, potential
business market in Poland is attractive
 Intraregional migration also explained by education, retirement, family reunification
and return migration
Lee Migration Model
 Migration is caused by push factors (negative factors in source country) and pull
factors (perceived advantages in host country)
 Each place possesses attributes which migrant perceives differently according to
characteristics and circumstances




 Pull factors
o Economic factors – higher wages, more jobs, better jobs
o Social factors – tolerance eg to religion
 Push factors
o Economic factors – low wages, high unemployment rates
o Social factors - Intolerance towards a certain cultural group, active religious
persecution
o Physical factors – natural disasters
 Intervening obstacles – factors that make it more difficult for people to move
o Barriers to migration: physicaldistance, fences, rivers, lakes, mountains,
seas, climate. Social  health, transport, poverty, cultural factors, language,
sex, religion
 Enabling factors – factors that make it easier for people to move
o Money, people smugglers, mobile phone communications, transport networks
 Intervening places – places where migrants might stop before reaching their planned
destination