Internal Migration and Development: Comparing Migration Intensities Around the World

Abstract

Migration is the principal demographic process shaping patterns of human settlement, and it serves an essential role in human development. While progress has been made in measuring international migration, internal migration statistics are as yet poorly developed in many countries. This article draws on a repository of data established under the IMAGE (Internal Migration Around the GlobE) project to address this deficit by constructing the first comprehensive league table of internal migration intensities for countries around the world. We review previous work, outline the major impediments to making reliable comparisons, and set out a methodology that combines a novel estimation procedure with a flexible spatial aggregation facility. We present the results in the form of league tables of aggregate crude migration intensities that capture all changes of address over one‐year or five‐year intervals for 96 countries, representing four‐fifths of the global population. Explanation for the observed differences has been sought, inter alia, in historical, structural, cultural, and economic forces. We examine the links between development and migration intensity through simple correlations using a range of demographic, economic, and social variables. Results reveal clear associations between internal migration intensities and selected indicators of national development.

Network of families in a contemporary population: regional and cultural assortativity

“…This finding is in line with a number of studies showing that the region of origin remains important for sociality of Europeans today [3]. Rates of internal migration are known to be higher in Finland and Scandinavia compared to Southern European countries [34], yet although a large proportion of Finns migrate to another region during the time of young adulthood, many eventually move back or closer to their region of origin once they have children themselves or after retirement [35]. Interestingly, the first and second largest connected components were predominantly populated by families rooted in a few specific regions.…”

Subsequent Migration of Immigrants Within Australia, 1981–2016

“…1This study on comparable internal migration indicators has been extended to include many more countries throughout the world in numerous recent papers as part of the IMAGE project led by Bell at the University of Queensland (see, e.g., Bell et al 2015). …”

Are People Changing Address Less? An Analysis of Migration within England and Wales, 1971-2011, by Distance of Move

“…This might seem a surprisingly low level to those familiar with the level of around 1 in 10 people moving in England and Wales in an average pre‐census year, but it is a well‐established phenomenon arising from the multiple‐moves issue just mentioned, dating back at least to Long () and confirmed most recently by Bell et al . ().…”