Page 37 - Health, Population and Environment Education 9

Factors Affecting Migration
Migration is one of the major factors affecting population. It is the artificial factor of
population change which causes increase or decrease of population. People keep on
moving from one place to another place, within the same country. Such type of internal
migration changes population in a place but it does not change the population of a country.
People from mountain region and hilly region migrate to big cities or Terai region in Nepal.
There is decrease of population in mountain and hilly region and increase of population
in big cities and Terai region. But, the population of Nepal is not changed. Similarly, some
people migrate to foreign countries as well. Some people from our country migrate to
foreign countries. That type of international emigration called emigration causes decrease
of population in our country. Likewise, some people from other countries migrate to our
country. That type of international migration called immigration increases population in
our country.
Migration is the movement of people from one place to another place either temporarily
or permanently due to various reasons. Generally people migrate due to pull and push
factors.

Pull factors
Those factors which attract people to come and live in
a particular place are called pull factors. For example,
availability of facilities like health services, education,
transportation, communication, drinking water,
electricity, sanitation, presence of cultivable land, fresh
air, favourable climate, opportunity of employment,
maintenance of security, etc. Fig: 19

Push factors
Those factors which force people to change their place
and migrate somewhere else are called push factors.
For example, lack of facilities like health services,
education, transportation, communication, sanitation,
scarcity of drinking water, lack of cultivable land,
fresh air, spreading of disease, increase of pollution,
occurrence of natural calamities, occurrence of war,
occurrence of disasters like earthquake, volcanic
eruptions, forest fire, hurricane, cyclone, tsunami, Fig: 20
extreme harsh climate, etc.

Major causes of migration

a. Social Factors

i. Marriage
In our society, marriage is compulsory. Sooner or later, everyone likes to get married.
Generally, females migrate to their husband’s home after marriage. When a female of
GREEN Environment Population and Health Education Book-9 37