Migration NOTES GEOGRAPHY
Migration NOTES GEOGRAPHY
Type of Migration
Voluntary Migration - based on one’s free will and initiative. People move for a variety of
reasons, and it involves weighing options and choices
Terms of Migration
Immigrant - A person who is entering another country with the intention of living there
Emigrant - A person who is leaving one country with the intention of living in a different country
The Atlantic Slave Trade - It is estimated that between 12-30 million people were forced from
Africa to the Americas. (Only 500,000 made it to the United States.)
1788-1838 British Convicts to Australia - thousands from Great Britain to the colony of Australia.
Political Migrants:
Refugee - A person who is residing outside of his or her country of origin because of fear of
persecution because of religion, ethnicity, race, or political ideology
Asylum Seekers - Someone who has migrated to another country in hope of being recognized
as a refugee
Distance of Migrants
● Most relocate short distance and remain within the same country
● Long-distance to other countries head for major centers of economic activities (Urban
Area)
● Occurs in steps
● Occurs from rural to urban areas
Reasons for Migrating
Characteristics of migrants
Types of Migration
Chain Migration - Move to a location other family members moved to or where a connection
exists.
Seasonal or Short term - Occurs when a person moves to another country for a period of at
least 3 months but less than a year.
Human Capital Theory - Educated workers often migrate from poor countries to wealthy
countries seeking better-paying jobs. (Both countries gain, the capital-rich country gains
talented labor and the labor-rich country gains financial benefit in remittances.) * Also known to
cause a brain drain in the labor-rich countries.
Life Course Theory - States that the interaction of life-course events (getting married, having a
child, becoming divorced) with migration has important repercussions on a society