Question

What are the Consequences of Migration?

Answer 1

a. Demographic consequences:

1. It changes the age and sex composition of the population.
2. Migration of females after their marriage leads to a decline in sex ratio in the source regions and increases in the sex ratio in the regions of destinations.
3. The migration of male workers in search of jobs decreases the independent population of the source regions which increases the dependency ratio.

b. Social consequences:

1. The migration of people from different regions towards an urban area leads to the formation of a plural society.
2. It helps the people to come out of narrow-mindedness and people become generous.

c. Economic consequences:

1. The migration of more people from overpopulated to underpopulated regions results in the imbalance of the resource-population ratio.
2. In some cases, the regions of over and under population may become the regions of optimum population.
3. Migration may influence the occupational structure of the population of an area.
4. Through this, it will certainly affect the economy of the regions also.
5. Brain drain is a consequence of migration.
6. Brain drain refers to the migration in which skilled people from economically backward countries move to developed countries in search of better opportunities
7. Eventually, this leads to backwardness in source regions. This is called a “backwash effect”.

d. Environmental consequences:

1. The large-scale movement of people from rural to urban areas causes overcrowding in cities and puts heavy pressure on resources.
2. It leads to the rapid growth of cities.
3. The overpopulation in urban areas leads to the pollution of air, water, and soil.
4. Scarcity of drinking water, lack of space for housing, traffic congestion, and poor drainage are the common environmental problems that prevail in urban areas.
5. The lack of space for housing and the rising land cost lead to the formation of slums.