Dynamics and determinants of rural-urban migration in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study examined the central characteristics of migrants and determinants of rural-urban migration in Southern Ethiopia based on snow ball sampling and a survey of 665 sample migrants using descriptive and econometric analysis. The results of this study showed that 76.2% of the migrants left their home at age ranges between 15 and 25 years. Similarly, it was found that 48% of the migrants were attending junior education level, while 28 and 13% of the migrants were attending secondary and primary education levels, respectively. Moreover, 80% of migrants in the study area were not married as at the time of their migration. In addition, the study found that the main reasons for rural-urban migration in the study areas were better jobs opportunities in the urban areas (44%), rural poverty (26%), search for further education (10%), starting new business (8%), to be free from restrictive culture (8%) and better urban services (4%). The regression analysis of the Probit model indicated that age, years of schooling, relatives at receiving areas, monthly income at sending areas and family size significantly affect rural-urban migration. Policies aimed at reducing rural-urban migration should focus on creating viable farm and non-farm activities for rural unbanked youth.

Who and Why? Understanding Rural Out-Migration in Uganda

“…As a coping strategy, adult household members may be allowed to leave to eventually reduce the number that would otherwise require direct support. This effect of household size on out-migration is consistent with findings from migration studies in western and eastern African countries, which asserted that larger families are more likely to have out-migrants [9, 30,33,[41][42][43].…”

“…In addition, educated household members have greater social capital, which supports them when they migrate. Previous empirical findings on the determinants of rural-to-urban migration-for example, in Ethiopia [41], Bangladesh [34], and Tanzania [45]-reported a higher likelihood of rural-to-urban migration among households with a high education level.…”

Births and deaths in Sidama in southern Ethiopia: findings from the 2018 Dale-Wonsho Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS)

“…Furthermore, there was no information collected on migration, so we could not calculate the population change due to population movements. From other areas of southern Ethiopia, we know that migrations can be seasonal and large [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Determinants of Internal-Migration in Ethiopia: Qualitative Review

“…On the other hand, male migrants are more probable to be pulled either by marriage, by the attraction of job opportunities, or higher expected income in urban areas, while a female is more likely to be pushed out of the rural area, maybe due to the non-availability of jobs, family size or lack of adequate income. (Fassil and Mohammed, 2017). Age: There is a positive relationship between a young household head age and the odds of sending a migrant (Osawe, 2013;Akhter and Bauer, 2014;Ferrone and Giannelli, 2015;Atsede and Marianne, 2016).…”

“…Therefore, the family members decide to migrate in search of a job in urban areas due to decreased in income caused by the nonavailability of non-agricultural jobs. According to Fassil and Mohammed (2017), as the size of the family increases, its per capita income decreases and family members may migrate to seek work elsewhere. The family size of migrants at the time of migration was found in the large, average family size of 4-6 per household (Bundervoet, 2018).…”