About population migration

How did population migration happen? Western demographers summarize this phenomenon as the result of thrust and pull or repulsion and attraction. Looking back on the history of population migration, population development must adapt to the natural ecological environment and social and economic development, which is the objective requirement of human society. However, due to many reasons, the development of population is often incompatible with the development of natural environment and social economy, so the disharmony between man and land is the fundamental reason for population migration. It can be seen that population migration, as a complex population phenomenon, is forced by many external factors and influenced by a series of natural, economic and social factors.

1. Natural ecological environment

The natural ecological environment provides an irreplaceable material basis for human survival, and human survival cannot be separated from certain natural environment and resource conditions. At the same time, the regional difference of natural ecological environment is also one of the reasons for population migration from one place to another. Generally speaking, human beings always migrate to areas with superior natural environment and rich natural resources. Especially under the condition of low productivity, people tend to concentrate on plains and valleys with mild climate, fertile soil and abundant aquatic plants, which are suitable for farming. Various natural disasters (such as floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, temporary or persistent climate deterioration, pests and diseases, plagues, etc.). ) Either it causes large-scale population migration, or it forces people to leave their homes in batches and move to other places to settle down through serious damage to production.

2. Economic factors

The influence of natural conditions on population migration is always realized through human economic activities. Therefore, economic factors are of great significance to population migration. The unbalanced economic development between countries and regions is the main reason for population migration. Generally speaking, the population migration rate is higher in areas with high economic development level and higher in areas with backward economy.

The change of production layout and the development of new areas will often change the flow and direction of population distribution and migration. The rise of large-scale production projects and the development of new fields can provide more jobs and more opportunities for career success, so they are very attractive and lead to a large influx of people. For example, the development of the American continent coincides with the influx of immigrants from Europe and Africa.

In addition, population migration is also restricted by traffic development to a great extent, and the distance and scale of population migration are closely related to the development and layout of traffic. Before modern times, the ocean isolated the old and new continents, and the development of modern means of transportation made the ocean a channel for transportation and contact between the old and new continents, which also led to an increase in the distance and scale of population migration. The opening of new traffic lines is often accompanied by large-scale population migration.

3. Social and cultural factors

As mentioned earlier, population migration is a very complicated social phenomenon, which is influenced by many factors. In addition to natural and economic factors, the role of various social and cultural factors (such as politics, religion, culture, etc.). ) can't be ignored.

Political factors sometimes play a very important role in population migration. The government usually formulates certain economic and population policies to limit or encourage population migration. For example, in 1878, the Qing government lifted the ban on immigration to the northeast, which led to a large number of people in the customs area migrating to the northeast. Population migration caused by political reasons is often forced, for example, Nazi Germany expelled Jews during World War II, and the white racist regime in South Africa drove urban blacks into "black homes".

The influence of cultural and educational factors on population migration is more and more obvious. People always move from areas with low education level and backward educational facilities to cultural and educational center areas in order to get a good education for themselves or their children. Immigrant areas are also willing to accept talents with high cultural literacy and strong skills, which often leads to brain drain in underdeveloped areas.

In addition, many religious activities often cause population migration. For example, the long journey of West African pilgrims to Mecca lasted for several months; Population migration caused by religious wars (such as the Crusades and the Muslim conquest of West Africa and North Africa); And the forced migration caused by religious persecution (such as the persecution of pagans by Catholicism in medieval Europe).