2.10 Causes of Migration

A push factor is something that makes people want to leave a place, like war, unemployment or drought. A pull factor attracts people to a new place, like jobs, safety or family already living there. Most moves involve both. Geographers sort these factors into five categories.

• Economic: millions of workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal have moved to Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for construction and service jobs.
• Political: Syria's civil war, which began in 2011, pushed millions of people to flee, many to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Europe. Starting in August 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled violence in Myanmar for Bangladesh (UNHCR).
• Environmental: during the 1930s Dust Bowl, drought and soil erosion pushed many families from Oklahoma and nearby states to California. Today, sea-level rise threatens low-lying Pacific islands; a treaty between Tuvalu and Australia that took effect in 2024 lets up to 280 Tuvaluans a year move to Australia.
• Cultural: the Pilgrims and many later groups came to North America seeking religious freedom.
• Demographic: aging countries like Japan and Germany have opened more paths for foreign workers.

An intervening obstacle is something that stands in the way of a move. It can be physical, like a desert, sea or mountain range; legal, like visa rules or border controls; or economic, like the cost of travel. The dangerous Mediterranean crossing and the Darién Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama are physical obstacles many migrants face.

An intervening opportunity is a closer place that offers what the migrant was looking for, so they stop there instead of continuing. A migrant heading for the U.S. might find factory work in a northern Mexican city and stay. A family planning to move to a distant big city might settle in a nearer regional city. This fits distance decay (topic 1.4): closer opportunities often win.