Internal and External Migration – Population and Settlement (Senior 1 Geography) | Ganzaa

Population and Settlement

Lessons

Senior 1 · Geography

Population and Settlement

5 lessons

Lesson 5 of 5

Internal and External Migration

22 min

2.7 million people on the move

The 2022 census asked every Rwandan where they were born. About 2.7 million people were living in a different district from the one they were born in. Figure 1 shows the biggest movements between provinces. Before reading on, find the two provinces that receive the most arrows. What might attract people there?

Figure 1. The five largest flows of lifetime migrants between provinces (people living in a province other than their province of birth). Drawn by Ganzaa from NISR's Census 2022, Table 30.

Definition

Internal migration: movement from one place to another within the same country. Example: a family moving from Gakenke to Nyagatare.

Definition

External (international) migration: movement from one country to another. Leaving a country is emigration; entering a country is immigration. Example: a Rwandan emigrating to Canada to study; refugees from Burundi immigrating to Rwanda.

Definition

Push factor: a problem in the place people live that encourages them to leave. Example: shortage of land for a growing family in Nyamasheke.

Definition

Pull factor: an attraction of another place that draws people towards it. Example: jobs, universities and hospitals in Kigali.

Definition

Net migration: the number of people who moved in minus the number who moved out. $\text{net migration} = \text{in-migrants} - \text{out-migrants}$ . A positive number is a gain; a negative number is a loss. Example: Gasabo District's lifetime net migration is +273,708.

Why people move

Type	Push factors (away from home)	Pull factors (towards the destination)
Economic	Too little land; farms divided among children; unemployment; low incomes	Jobs in Kigali and other towns; land for farming and cattle in the east; higher wages
Social	Few secondary schools, colleges or hospitals nearby; family problems	Universities, good schools, hospitals, piped water and electricity in towns; joining relatives
Environmental	Floods, landslides and eroded steep slopes (Unit 11); drought	Safer sites; more reliable rain; fertile land
Political	War, violence and persecution (refugees)	Peace and security; a welcoming host country

Gains and losses by district

District	Province	Moved in (born elsewhere)	Moved out (born here, living elsewhere)	Net lifetime migration
Gasabo	City of Kigali	412,692	138,984	+273,708
Nyagatare	Eastern	261,396	49,184	+212,212
Kicukiro	City of Kigali	258,296	89,921	+168,375
Musanze	Northern	67,088	73,669	−6,581
Nyamasheke	Western	15,726	122,478	−106,752
Gakenke	Northern	16,810	138,920	−122,110

Source: NISR, Census 2022, Table 32 (selected districts).

Worked example 1: net migration

412,692 people living in Gasabo were born in another district, and 138,984 people born in Gasabo live elsewhere. Find Gasabo's net migration, and express it as a percentage of its population (879,505).

\text{net migration} = 412\,692 - 138\,984 = +273\,708

\frac{273\,708}{879\,505} \times 100 \approx 31.1\%

Answer. A net gain of 273,708 people, equal to about 31% of Gasabo's population. Migration has made Gasabo, a district of the capital, far bigger than it would otherwise be.

Worked example 2: a losing district

For Gakenke, 16,810 people moved in and 138,920 moved out. Find the net migration and explain the sign.

16\,810 - 138\,920 = -122\,110

Answer. −122,110: a net loss. For every person who moved into Gakenke, more than eight moved out. Gakenke is steep, hilly and rural, with little spare land and few urban jobs.

Important

Case study: the two magnets, Kigali and the east

Kigali received about 836,000 lifetime in-migrants. It pulls young adults with jobs, universities, markets and services; this is rural–urban migration, and it explains why the urban population has a larger share of working-age adults (lesson 1).
The Eastern Province received about 948,000 in-migrants, the most of any province, including many born outside Rwanda. It pulls farmers from the crowded north and south with more land for crops and cattle and a lower density (433 per km², lesson 2). This is rural–rural migration. Nyagatare alone gained a net 212,212 people.
The losers are mainly steep, crowded rural districts of the Southern, Western and Northern Provinces, such as Gakenke, Nyamasheke and Ngororero.
External migration. The census counted 366,794 people born outside Rwanda, including 107,300 refugees, mainly from the DR Congo and Burundi (Unit 11). Many Rwandans also emigrate for study and work, and some return with new skills.

Effects of migration

	Area people leave	Area people move to
Positive	Less pressure on land; money sent home by migrants (remittances); returning migrants bring skills	More workers and customers; new businesses; a mix of skills and ideas
Negative	Loss of young, active workers; more old people and children left to farm; families separated	Crowding, housing shortages and informal settlements; pressure on schools, water and transport; unemployment if jobs are too few

Warning

Emigration or immigration? Emigration is Exiting a country; Immigration is coming In. And keep the signs right: net migration is in minus out, so a district that loses people has a negative number.

Push and Pull factors as drivers of migration, by Geography Lessons (3 min). Sort each factor you hear into the four rows of the push–pull table.

Discuss

A young woman from Nyamasheke is choosing between moving to Kigali to look for work and moving to Nyagatare to farm. Using the push and pull table and the case study, give two reasons for each choice. What would you advise her, and why?

Tip

Answer migration questions on both ends and both signs: the area people leave and the area they reach, with a positive and a negative effect for each. That four-box answer covers every mark.

✦

Practice

Distinguish between internal and external migration, and give an example of each.
Give two push factors and two pull factors behind rural–urban migration in Rwanda.
A district had 45,000 in-migrants and 72,000 out-migrants. Calculate its net migration.
Using Figure 1, name the two provinces that received the largest flows, and give one pull factor for each.
Nyagatare's net migration was +212,212 and its population 653,861. What percentage of its population does the net gain represent?
Give one positive and one negative effect of migration on the area people leave.
"Rural–urban migration does more good than harm to Kigali." Give arguments for and against, and a conclusion.

Show answersHide answers

Internal: within one country (e.g. Gakenke to Kigali). External: between countries (e.g. refugees from Burundi to Rwanda; a Rwandan studying abroad).
Push: shortage of land, unemployment, few services, hazards. Pull: jobs, universities and schools, hospitals, electricity and water in towns.
$45\,000 - 72\,000 = -27\,000$ , a net loss.
The City of Kigali (jobs, services, education) and the Eastern Province (land for farming and cattle; lower density).
$\frac{212\,212}{653\,861} \times 100 \approx 32\%$ .
Positive: less pressure on land, or remittances sent home. Negative: loss of young workers, leaving mainly children and old people.
For: workers, customers, new businesses and skills. Against: crowding, housing shortages, informal settlements, pressure on services, unemployment. A conclusion might say it does more good if housing, transport and jobs are planned to grow with the population.

Remember

Migration is internal or external; push factors drive people out, pull factors draw them in.
Net migration = in − out; Kigali and the Eastern Province gain, steep rural districts lose.
Migration affects both the area left and the area reached, positively and negatively.

12.7 million people on the move

2Why people move

3Gains and losses by district

4Effects of migration

5Discuss

2.7 million people on the move

Why people move

Gains and losses by district

Effects of migration

Discuss