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MIGRATION

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A permanent or semi-permanent change of residence of an individual or group of people

Balance between immigration and emigration (net migration)= Factor in population change

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214 million3.1% of world population

Estimated number of international migrants worldwide The total number of international migrants has increased over the last 10 years from an estimated 150 million in 20002 to 214 million3 persons today.

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Migration as a factor in population change

Net migration: balance between immigration and emigration

Key terms Page 158Classification of migration:-Forced/voluntary - International- Rural-urban /urban-rural

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Classification of Migration

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Causes of migration• Affected by changing physical, economic,

social, cultural and political circumstances• In the same country: economic and social

factors• International migration restricted by

immigration laws.

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Migrants can be divided into five main categories: settlers, contract workers, professionals, unauthorised workers, and asylum seekers and refugees.

Settlers – These are people who intend to live permanently in their new country. Most head for the main countries of settlement, notably the United States, Canada and Australia. Around one million travel per year, the majority of whom are joining close family members.

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Contract workers – They are admitted to other countries on the understanding that they will stay only for a specific period: the length of their contract. Some are seasonal workers. Others will be on longer-term contracts, of a year or more. Most are to be found in the Gulf countries.

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Professionals – These include employees of transnational corporations who are moved around from one country to another. These tend to involve fairly small numbers, typically fewer than 1% of people employed in local affiliates are expatriates.

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Unauthorised workers – Sometimes called undocumented or illegal immigrants. There are significant numbers in most immigration countries. Some have been smuggled in, others are overstaying their visas, or are working on tourist visas.Asylum seekers and refugees – slide 19

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Migration tends to be subject to distance-decay – the number of migrants declines as the distance between origin and destination increases.Refugees tend to move only short distances economic migrants travel greater distances

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Recent changes in patterns of international migration

The changing nature of international migration

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• 3.1% of the world populationNet migration rate per 1000 people for selected countries,2005

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The Increasing Importance of Labour-related Migration

Sharp rise in the number of people migrating to the world’s richest countries for work. The rise in labour-related migration has been for both temporary and permanent workers and across all employment categories – skilled workers, seasonal employees, trainees, working holiday-makers, transfers of staff within TNCs, and cross-border workers. Of the major industrial economies, only Japan has not had a significant influx of migrant workers.

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Refugees and asylum seekers

• Refugees: persons unable or unwilling to return to their homeland for fear of persecution or those who have been displaced forcibly by other factors.

• Number has declined (?)Based on data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of refugees stood at 15.4 million in 2010 compared to 15.9 million in 2000 – a decline of around 500,000. However, due to a change in classification and estimation methodology in a number of countries, figures as from 2007 are not fully comparable with pre-2007 figures.• Characteristics: Large volume, non-selective, over

short distance.

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• Often caused by war, famine and natural hazards

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Asylum seekers

An asylum seeker is someone who has fled his own country and applies to the government of another country for protection as a refugee. Until a request for refuge has been accepted, the person is referred to as an asylum seeker. Only after the recognition of the asylum seeker's protection needs, he or she is officially referred to as a refugee and enjoys refugee status, which carries certain rights and obligations according to the legislation of the receiving country.

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Asylum seekers in the eu

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Having peaked in 1992 (670 000 applications in the EU-15) and again in 2001 (424 200 applications in the EU-27), the number of asylum applications within the EU-27 fell in successive years to just below 200 000 applications by 2006. From this relative low point there was a gradual increase in the number of applications and by 2011 the number of asylum seekers in the EU-27 reached just over 300 000 .

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Countries of origin of (non-EU-27) asylum seekers in the EU-27 Member States,

2010 and 2011

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The latest figure marked a considerable increase in relation to the year before, with an additional 42 875 applicants, in part due to a considerably higher number of applicants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tunisia and Nigeria (see Table 1). As in the two previous years, Afghani and Russian citizens topped the ranking of asylum seekers in the EU-27 in 2011; just over 28 000 applicants for asylum in the EU were Afghanis (nearly 10 % of the total number of applicants), while Russians accounted for just over 6 % of the total.

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Pakistanis were the third largest group of asylum seekers in the EU-27 in 2011, recording a 70 % increase compared with 2010. The largest increases in applicants were recorded for individuals from several African countries that were characterised by civil unrest and political change during 2011 – for example, Tunisia, Libya or the Ivory Coast.

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Number of (non-EU-27) asylum applicants in the EU and EFTA Member States and their age distribution, 2011

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The number of asylum applicants and their relative importance (for example, their number in relation to the total population of the country where the application is lodged) varies considerably between EU Member States. The highest numbers of asylum seekers in 2011 were reported by France and Germany – each of these receiving more than 50 000 applicants (see Table 2). This was considerably higher than in any of the other EU Member State; Italy, Belgium, Sweden and the United Kingdom followed with between 34 000 and 26 000 applicants. The total number of persons seeking asylum in these six Member States accounted for more than three quarters (77 %) of the EU-27 total in 2011.

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Age structure

The vast majority (nearly 80 %) of asylum seekers in the EU-27 in 2011 were aged less than 35 (see Table 2); those aged 18-34 accounted for more than half (55 %) of the total number of applicants, while minors aged less than 18 accounted for almost one in four applicants.

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The Role of Immigration in Population Growth

• As birth rates have fallen in many countries resulting in a lower rate of natural increase, immigration has become a more and more important component in population growth.

• In many MEDCs immigration is already responsible for about half of population growth. In several countries it is offsetting what would otherwise be population decline. This has been the case in Germany since 1986; in Italy since 1993; and Sweden since 1997.

• Also, in a number of countries births to foreign and foreign-born nationals account for a sizeable proportion of total births.

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