Demography - Migration

Migration

Migration can affect the age structure of the population and the size of the population due to fertility rates.

Reasons for migration:

• Push factors: Unemployment
• Pull factors: better job opportunities

How migration affects the family:

1. Immigrants lower the average age of the population. This is because immigrants are generally younger, for instance, young males looking for work. Also, being younger means, they are more fertile and therefore may produce more babies.
2. As immigrants are younger and of working age, this also helps to lower the dependency ratio__, especially considering that many older immigrants return to their home country to retire

3. Globalisation has increased migration and there is now more diversity in types of migration. For instance, transnational identities where migrants see themselves as belonging to multiple cultures and countries
4. There is argued to be a feminisation of migration as almost half of all global migrants are female. This has led to domestic work in Western countries being increasingly performed by women from poorer countries. This may be due to Western women joining the labour force and being less able to perform domestic labour
5. Migration has also led to a more ethnically diverse society, as a result, there is greater diversity within the family.