Migration

• Affects the size and age of the population
• Migration - the movement of people from place to place. It can be internal (within a society) or international
• Immigration - movement into an area or society
• Emigration - movement out of an area or society
• Net migration - the difference between the numbers immigrating and the numbers emigrating. It's expressed as a net increase or a net decrease due to migration
• Until the 1980s, the numbers immigrating were lower than those emigrating
• One consequence of immigration: produces an ethnically diverse society
• One result of this has been greater diversity of family patterns
• However, more people have left the UK than have entered
• 1962-1990: a series of immigration and nationality acts places severe restrictions on non-white immigration

• The UK has always been a net exporter of people: more people have emigrated to live elsewhere than have come to settle in the UK
• The main reasons for emigration have been economic
• Push factors: economic recession, unemployment at home
• Pull factors: higher wages, better opportunities
• In the early part of the century there were often labour shortages in the destination countries
• After 1945, the poor British economy compared with other industrial countries acted as an incentive to emigrate
• Some groups have been driven to migrate by religious, political or racial persecution
• Assisted passage schemes: the UK or receiving country's government pay part, or all of, the costs of migration
• These schemes were important for encouraging emigration
• They were often introduced partly for political or ideological reasons, e.g. strengthen international relations or to boost the white population of the former colonies

• Recent patterns have seen increasing levels of both immigration and emigration
• 2004: net migration of 223,000 - the highest new inflow of people since 1991
• The main reason for the increase was the expansion of the EU in 2004 to include 10 new members
• This gave their citizens the right to live and work in the UK
• Immigrants and emigrants were typically young, and slightly more likely to be male
• The main reasons for migration are study or work
• However, a significant number of emigrants in the UK are older (40%). In many cases, they move to retire
• The UK's low fertility rate (1.84 children) means the existing population cannot replace itself
• If it were not for net migration, the UK's population would be declining in size

• The fact that migrants are mainly of working age reduces the dependency ratio
• On the other hand, immigrant women tend to have higher fertility rates, which contributes to a higher dependency ratio by adding more children to the population
• This also reduces the average age of the population and, in time, produces more workers
• As a result, the dependency ratio will be lowered when these children reach working age
• Evidence suggests that the longer an immigrant group is settled in the country, the closer their fertility rates comes to the national average

• During industrialisation (19th Century), there was a population shift from the largely agricultural South to the industrial North
• This was done to take up jobs in textiles, mining, shipbuilding and iron and steel
• This produced a corresponding shift from rural to urban living
• During the 20th Century these industries began to decline and newer ones such as motor cars, electrical engineering and chemicals began to develop in the South and Midlands
• There began a population shift in the opposite direction in search of economic opportunities
• Recently, London and the South East have exerted an important pull because of the growth of the finance and service industries located there
• A corresponding trend has been suburbanisation - the growth of large residential areas surrounding the major cities
• In recent years there has been a reverse of the outflow of the population from inner city areas

Population size is influenced by natural change (births and deaths) and net migration (immigration and emigration).

The UK has an ageing population. Effects of this may include greater need for expenditure on health care and pensions, ageism, and an increase in the dependency ratio.

Until the 1980s, more people left the UK than arrived to settle. Migration has complications for age structure and fertility rates. Reasons for migration can involve both 'push' and 'pull' factors.