Migration: why people move

Throughout history people have moved, for work, for safety or to join family. Migration changes both the places people leave and the places they go.

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Key words

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another to live.
Emigrant: someone leaving a country. Immigrant: someone arriving. Net migration = immigrants minus emigrants.
Internal migration is within a country (such as rural to urban); international migration crosses borders.
Voluntary migration is by choice (such as for a job). Forced migration is when people must flee, such as from war, persecution or disaster.
A refugee has fled their country because of war or persecution. An asylum seeker has asked for protection as a refugee and is waiting for a decision. An internally displaced person (IDP) has been forced from home but is still in their own country.

Push and pull

Push factors make people leave: few jobs, poverty, conflict, persecution, drought, natural disasters.
Pull factors attract people: jobs and higher wages, safety, education, healthcare, family already there.
Obstacles can stop or slow migration: distance, cost, borders and visas, and dangerous journeys.

Forced displacement today

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported that 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by the end of 2024. Of these, 73.5 million were internally displaced in their own countries.
UNHCR says about two-thirds of refugees live in countries neighbouring their own, not in rich, faraway countries.
Effects: migrants often send money home (remittances), and they fill jobs and pay taxes in destination countries. But origin areas can lose young workers, and services in destination areas may need to expand.
Worked example

A family leaves a drought-hit farming village for a city in the same country to find work. Classify this migration.

  1. It stays within one country, so it is internal.
  2. It is from the countryside to a city, so it is rural to urban.
  3. Drought pushed them, but they chose to move for work, so it is usually described as voluntary (economic) migration.

Answer: Internal, rural-to-urban, mainly economic migration.

Key idea

Migration is moving to live somewhere else: internal or international, voluntary or forced. Push factors drive people away; pull factors attract them; obstacles get in the way. UNHCR: 123.2 million forcibly displaced at the end of 2024, 73.5 million of them inside their own countries; most refugees stay in neighbouring countries.

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Extra practice

2 more questions

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  1. What is an emigrant?

    1. Someone who moves into a country
    2. Someone who leaves a country to live elsewhere
    3. Someone on holiday
    4. Someone who never moves
    Show the answer

    Answer: Someone who leaves a country to live elsewhere

    Emigrants exit; immigrants arrive.

  2. Which of these people is a refugee?

    1. A family who fled war in their country to a neighbouring country
    2. A worker who moved for a higher salary
    3. A student studying abroad for a year
    4. A family moving to a bigger house nearby
    Show the answer

    Answer: A family who fled war in their country to a neighbouring country

    Refugees flee war or persecution.

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Practise this lesson free (6 questions)All KS3 Geography lessons

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Sources and references

Checked by the GCSE-ready editorial team, 16 October 2026. Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.