Migration in Rwanda: Types, Causes and Consequences – Population in Rwanda (Senior 4 Geography) | Ganzaa

Population in Rwanda

Lessons

Senior 4 · Geography

Population in Rwanda

4 lessons

Lesson 4 of 4

Migration in Rwanda: Types, Causes and Consequences

25 min

Who moved where, 2017–2022?

The 2022 census asked everyone where they had lived five years earlier. Comparing the answers with where people live now gives a map of recent movement. Figure 7 shows, for each district, how many more people arrived than left (blue) or left than arrived (orange).

Figure 7. Net recent migration by district, 2017–2022. Drawn by Ganzaa from NISR, RPHC5 Table 32. Kicukiro (+74,722) and Nyarugenge (+2,757) are not labelled.

Describe the pattern: which two parts of the country gained? Which lost? Is there a connection between Figure 7 and the density map of lesson 2?

Definition

Migration: the movement of people from one place to another to live, for a long or short time. In-migrant (immigrant): a person who arrives; out-migrant (emigrant): a person who leaves. Net migration = in-migrants − out-migrants.

In the census, a lifetime migrant lives in a district other than the one where they were born; a recent migrant lives in a district other than the one where they lived five years earlier (NISR, 2023).

Push factors drive people away from a place; pull factors attract them to another.

Types of migration

Basis	Types	Rwandan examples
Boundary crossed	Internal (within the country); international (across borders)	889,000 recent migrants moved between provinces in 2017–2022; 366,794 foreign-born people lived in Rwanda in 2022
Origin and destination	Rural–urban, rural–rural, urban–rural, urban–urban	Rural–urban to Kigali; rural–rural to farmland in the Eastern Province; 93,663 recent migrants moved from Kigali to the Eastern Province
Choice	Voluntary; forced (refugees, displaced people)	Job-seekers moving to Kigali; refugees from neighbouring countries in camps such as Mugombwa
Duration	Permanent; temporary or seasonal; daily (commuting)	For example, seasonal farm work at harvest time; daily commuting into Kigali from neighbouring districts

Where people go

Figure 8. Net recent migration between provinces, 2017–2022. Drawn by Ganzaa from NISR, RPHC5 Table 31.

Two provinces gain: the City of Kigali received 354,970 recent in-migrants and the Eastern Province 306,091. The Western Province received the fewest (45,783) and sent out 217,445. Of the 30 districts, 18 sent out more lifetime migrants than they received; the gainers were Kigali's three districts, Kamonyi, Rubavu and all seven districts of the Eastern Province (NISR, 2023, Table 32).

Worked example 1: comparing districts fairly

Problem. Gasabo gained 97,473 recent migrants and Rwamagana 64,924. Their populations were 879,505 and 484,953. Which gained more relative to its size?

\text{Gasabo: } \frac{97\,473}{879\,505} \times 1\,000 = 111\ \text{per } 1\,000 \qquad \text{Rwamagana: } \frac{64\,924}{484\,953} \times 1\,000 = 134\ \text{per } 1\,000

Interpretation. Gasabo gained more people, but Rwamagana gained more for its size: in five years, about one resident in eight was a net newcomer. Rwamagana is next to Kigali and on the main road east, so it attracts both workers and farmers.

Worked example 2: how one-way is the flow?

Migration efficiency compares net flow with total (gross) flow: $E = \frac{\text{in} - \text{out}}{\text{in} + \text{out}} \times 100$ .

E_{\text{Kigali}} = \frac{354\,970 - 180\,613}{354\,970 + 180\,613} \times 100 = 32.6\% \qquad E_{\text{West}} = \frac{45\,783 - 217\,445}{45\,783 + 217\,445} \times 100 = -65.2\%

Interpretation. Kigali has large flows both ways (many people also leave it), so its efficiency is moderate. The Western Province's flow is strongly one-way, outwards: for every person who arrives, almost five leave.

Causes

Push factors (source areas)	Pull factors (destinations)
Small, fragmented farms on crowded hills (Western, Northern and Southern provinces)	Jobs, trade and services in Kigali and secondary cities
Few jobs outside farming; low incomes	Available land for farming and grazing in the Eastern Province
Steep slopes, soil erosion and landslide risk, as in the floods and landslides of May 2023	Schools, universities and hospitals in towns
Lack of services in remote areas	Better roads, electricity and water
Conflict and insecurity in neighbouring countries (for refugees coming to Rwanda)	Peace and security in Rwanda; family and friends already there

Consequences

	Positive	Negative
Source areas	Less pressure on land; money sent home (remittances); returning migrants bring skills	Loss of young, active workers; ageing and feminised farm work; fewer people to maintain terraces
Destination areas	More labour for industry, construction and services; bigger markets; faster development	Rapid urban growth, unplanned settlements, pressure on housing, water, transport and schools; unemployment; in the east, pressure on rangeland and the edges of Akagera
Migrants	Higher incomes, education, access to services	High rents, insecure jobs, separation from family

The census shows one result clearly: the urban population is "more dominated by adult people in the working age group, a consequence of labour migration from rural to urban areas" (NISR, 2023).

Warning

The biggest gainer is not always the fastest-growing. Always compare migration with population (per 1,000) before ranking places. And remember the two census definitions: a "lifetime" migrant moved at some point since birth; a "recent" migrant moved in the last five years.

CrashCourse Geography #32: "Where and Why Do People Move?". Push and pull factors, forced and voluntary migration, and the effects on places. Apply each idea to one flow in Figure 8.

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Practice

Distinguish lifetime from recent migration, as defined in the 2022 census.
Give one Rwandan example of each: rural–urban, rural–rural and forced migration.
Nyamasheke lost a net 41,102 recent migrants from a population of 434,221. Calculate the net migration per 1,000 people.
The Eastern Province received 306,091 recent migrants and sent 116,399. Calculate its migration efficiency.
Explain two push factors in the Western Province and two pull factors of the Eastern Province.
Describe two consequences of rural–urban migration for Kigali.
"Internal migration helps Rwanda's development more than it harms it." Evaluate.

Show answersHide answers

Lifetime: living in a district different from the district of birth. Recent: living in a district different from the one lived in five years before the census.
Rural–urban: from the Southern Province to Kigali. Rural–rural: from the Northern or Western Province to farmland in Nyagatare or Kayonza. Forced: refugees from neighbouring countries in camps such as Mugombwa.
$\frac{-41\,102}{434\,221} \times 1\,000 = -94.7$ per 1,000.
$\frac{306\,091 - 116\,399}{306\,091 + 116\,399} \times 100 = 44.9\%$ .
Push (West): small farms on steep, crowded hills; erosion and landslide risk; few non-farm jobs. Pull (East): available land for crops and livestock; growing towns along main roads (Rwamagana, Bugesera) near Kigali.
More workers for construction and services and a larger market; but rapid growth, high rents, unplanned settlements and pressure on water, transport and schools.
Helps: moves labour to where jobs and land are, relieves pressure on crowded hills, raises incomes and remittances. Harms: strains urban services and housing, can create unemployment and unplanned settlements, and removes young workers from rural areas. On balance it supports development if towns plan for growth and create jobs.

Quick check

Which two provinces gained population by migration between provinces in 2017–2022?

Key points

Types: internal or international; rural–urban, rural–rural, urban–rural; voluntary or forced; permanent, seasonal or daily.
889,000 people moved between provinces in 2017–2022; Kigali (+174,357) and the Eastern Province (+189,692) gained; the West lost most (−171,662).
Push: small farms, few jobs, erosion and landslides, conflict abroad. Pull: jobs and services in towns, land in the east, security.
Consequences for sources, destinations and migrants are both positive and negative; compare places per 1,000 people.

1Who moved where, 2017–2022?

2Types of migration

3Where people go

4Causes

5Consequences

Who moved where, 2017–2022?

Types of migration

Where people go

Causes

Consequences