Textbook: Migration | AP Human Geography - Grade 9 PDF Download

 Page 1


107 CHAPTER 5: MIGRATION
CHAPTER 5
Migration
Topics 2.10–2.12
Topic 2.10 Causes of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain how different causal factors encourage migration. 
(IMP-2.C)
Topic 2.11 Forced and Voluntary Migration
Learning Objective: Describe types of forced and voluntary migration. (IMP-2.D)
Topic 2.12 Effects of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain historical and contemporary geographic effects of 
migration. (IMP-2.E)
More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn 
strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each 
generation, they have proved to be the most restless, the most 
adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people.
—President Bill Clinton, speech at Portland State University, 1998
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Somalian refugees fled to Kenya to escape drought and conflict in 2011. (See Topic 2.11 for more 
on forced migration and refugees.)
Page 2


107 CHAPTER 5: MIGRATION
CHAPTER 5
Migration
Topics 2.10–2.12
Topic 2.10 Causes of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain how different causal factors encourage migration. 
(IMP-2.C)
Topic 2.11 Forced and Voluntary Migration
Learning Objective: Describe types of forced and voluntary migration. (IMP-2.D)
Topic 2.12 Effects of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain historical and contemporary geographic effects of 
migration. (IMP-2.E)
More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn 
strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each 
generation, they have proved to be the most restless, the most 
adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people.
—President Bill Clinton, speech at Portland State University, 1998
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Somalian refugees fled to Kenya to escape drought and conflict in 2011. (See Topic 2.11 for more 
on forced migration and refugees.)
108 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
2.10
Causes of Migration
Essential Question: How have different causal factors encouraged 
migration?
In his 1998 commencement address at Portland State University (see previous 
page), President Bill Clinton highlighted the ongoing impact of immigrants 
coming to the United States. The United States is the most populous immigrant 
country in the world. Like many countries in the Americas and Australia, 
most residents are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. United 
States culture, institutions, and population are the products of five centuries of 
immigration.
Migration’s Push and Pull Factors
World history is a story of constant movement. Migration is the permanent or 
semipermanent relocation of people from one place to another. Since the first 
humans lived in eastern Africa, people have been on the move. Early humans 
were very mobile, searching for nuts, seeds, and fruits, and hunting for animals 
to eat. As agriculture developed, people moved less in search of food and urban 
settlements began. However, people continued to move, from rural to urban 
areas, and from settlement to settlement.
Most people who move do so in search of a better life. They are part of 
a voluntary migration, or a movement made by choice. The choice usually 
combines a decision to move away from someplace with a decision to move 
toward someplace else:
• Geographers classify the reasons that people migrate to a specific 
location. People generally decide to move because of push factors, which 
are negative circumstances, events, or conditions present where they live 
that compels a person to leave.
• Once migrants decide to leave, they usually choose a destination based 
on its positive conditions and circumstances, or pull factors.
• From the perspective of a receiving country, an immigrant is a person 
who migrates across an international border with the intention of staying 
permanently. 
• From the perspective of the country the migrant is leaving, the person 
is viewed as an emigrant. When people migrate away from somewhere,  
they emigrate.
Page 3


107 CHAPTER 5: MIGRATION
CHAPTER 5
Migration
Topics 2.10–2.12
Topic 2.10 Causes of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain how different causal factors encourage migration. 
(IMP-2.C)
Topic 2.11 Forced and Voluntary Migration
Learning Objective: Describe types of forced and voluntary migration. (IMP-2.D)
Topic 2.12 Effects of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain historical and contemporary geographic effects of 
migration. (IMP-2.E)
More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn 
strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each 
generation, they have proved to be the most restless, the most 
adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people.
—President Bill Clinton, speech at Portland State University, 1998
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Somalian refugees fled to Kenya to escape drought and conflict in 2011. (See Topic 2.11 for more 
on forced migration and refugees.)
108 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
2.10
Causes of Migration
Essential Question: How have different causal factors encouraged 
migration?
In his 1998 commencement address at Portland State University (see previous 
page), President Bill Clinton highlighted the ongoing impact of immigrants 
coming to the United States. The United States is the most populous immigrant 
country in the world. Like many countries in the Americas and Australia, 
most residents are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. United 
States culture, institutions, and population are the products of five centuries of 
immigration.
Migration’s Push and Pull Factors
World history is a story of constant movement. Migration is the permanent or 
semipermanent relocation of people from one place to another. Since the first 
humans lived in eastern Africa, people have been on the move. Early humans 
were very mobile, searching for nuts, seeds, and fruits, and hunting for animals 
to eat. As agriculture developed, people moved less in search of food and urban 
settlements began. However, people continued to move, from rural to urban 
areas, and from settlement to settlement.
Most people who move do so in search of a better life. They are part of 
a voluntary migration, or a movement made by choice. The choice usually 
combines a decision to move away from someplace with a decision to move 
toward someplace else:
• Geographers classify the reasons that people migrate to a specific 
location. People generally decide to move because of push factors, which 
are negative circumstances, events, or conditions present where they live 
that compels a person to leave.
• Once migrants decide to leave, they usually choose a destination based 
on its positive conditions and circumstances, or pull factors.
• From the perspective of a receiving country, an immigrant is a person 
who migrates across an international border with the intention of staying 
permanently. 
• From the perspective of the country the migrant is leaving, the person 
is viewed as an emigrant. When people migrate away from somewhere,  
they emigrate.
109 2.10: CAUSES OF MIGRATION
Economic Push and Pull Factors
The most common reason people migrate is that they lack jobs and economic 
opportunities. These migrants go to areas offering greater chances for economic 
prosperity.
EXAMPLES OF ECONOMIC PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Factory workers in the U.S. 
Rust Belt states, beginning 
in the 1970s
Unemployment rose 
among factory workers, 
particularly in traditional 
manufacturing states 
such as Michigan and 
Pennsylvania.
Many factory workers 
moved to southern 
states such as Kentucky 
and Tennessee, as 
manufacturers opened new 
factories there.
Farmers in rural China, 
beginning around 1950
Increased use of machines 
and consolidation of small 
farms into fewer large 
farms reduced the number 
of farmers needed to raise 
crops.
Farmers moved to China’s 
large cities, increasing 
the urban population 
from 64 million in 1950 to 
850 million by 2020.
Social Push and Pull Factors
People will often migrate when they experience discrimination and persecution 
because of their ethnicity, race, gender, or religion. They move to locations 
where they can practice their culture safely. People are often influenced by 
kinship links, or ties with relatives who have already settled in a place.
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Mormon migration, 
1845–1857
Anti-Mormon violence 
in Illinois and Missouri 
resulted in dozens of 
deaths, including that of 
leader Joseph Smith.
Approximately 70,000 
Mormons migrated to 
the Great Salt Lake area, 
a place chosen for its 
isolation and agricultural 
opportunities.
Hindus and Muslims during 
and after the partition of 
India, 1947–1957
Violence resulted in 
around 1 million deaths.
More than 14 million 
people migrated in hopes 
of finding safety in a new 
country.
Political Push and Pull Factors
People who oppose the policies of a government often migrate because they 
face discrimination, arrest, and persecution. Such political migrants move to 
countries where they feel safe and have protection from the danger they faced 
in their home country.
Page 4


107 CHAPTER 5: MIGRATION
CHAPTER 5
Migration
Topics 2.10–2.12
Topic 2.10 Causes of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain how different causal factors encourage migration. 
(IMP-2.C)
Topic 2.11 Forced and Voluntary Migration
Learning Objective: Describe types of forced and voluntary migration. (IMP-2.D)
Topic 2.12 Effects of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain historical and contemporary geographic effects of 
migration. (IMP-2.E)
More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn 
strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each 
generation, they have proved to be the most restless, the most 
adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people.
—President Bill Clinton, speech at Portland State University, 1998
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Somalian refugees fled to Kenya to escape drought and conflict in 2011. (See Topic 2.11 for more 
on forced migration and refugees.)
108 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
2.10
Causes of Migration
Essential Question: How have different causal factors encouraged 
migration?
In his 1998 commencement address at Portland State University (see previous 
page), President Bill Clinton highlighted the ongoing impact of immigrants 
coming to the United States. The United States is the most populous immigrant 
country in the world. Like many countries in the Americas and Australia, 
most residents are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. United 
States culture, institutions, and population are the products of five centuries of 
immigration.
Migration’s Push and Pull Factors
World history is a story of constant movement. Migration is the permanent or 
semipermanent relocation of people from one place to another. Since the first 
humans lived in eastern Africa, people have been on the move. Early humans 
were very mobile, searching for nuts, seeds, and fruits, and hunting for animals 
to eat. As agriculture developed, people moved less in search of food and urban 
settlements began. However, people continued to move, from rural to urban 
areas, and from settlement to settlement.
Most people who move do so in search of a better life. They are part of 
a voluntary migration, or a movement made by choice. The choice usually 
combines a decision to move away from someplace with a decision to move 
toward someplace else:
• Geographers classify the reasons that people migrate to a specific 
location. People generally decide to move because of push factors, which 
are negative circumstances, events, or conditions present where they live 
that compels a person to leave.
• Once migrants decide to leave, they usually choose a destination based 
on its positive conditions and circumstances, or pull factors.
• From the perspective of a receiving country, an immigrant is a person 
who migrates across an international border with the intention of staying 
permanently. 
• From the perspective of the country the migrant is leaving, the person 
is viewed as an emigrant. When people migrate away from somewhere,  
they emigrate.
109 2.10: CAUSES OF MIGRATION
Economic Push and Pull Factors
The most common reason people migrate is that they lack jobs and economic 
opportunities. These migrants go to areas offering greater chances for economic 
prosperity.
EXAMPLES OF ECONOMIC PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Factory workers in the U.S. 
Rust Belt states, beginning 
in the 1970s
Unemployment rose 
among factory workers, 
particularly in traditional 
manufacturing states 
such as Michigan and 
Pennsylvania.
Many factory workers 
moved to southern 
states such as Kentucky 
and Tennessee, as 
manufacturers opened new 
factories there.
Farmers in rural China, 
beginning around 1950
Increased use of machines 
and consolidation of small 
farms into fewer large 
farms reduced the number 
of farmers needed to raise 
crops.
Farmers moved to China’s 
large cities, increasing 
the urban population 
from 64 million in 1950 to 
850 million by 2020.
Social Push and Pull Factors
People will often migrate when they experience discrimination and persecution 
because of their ethnicity, race, gender, or religion. They move to locations 
where they can practice their culture safely. People are often influenced by 
kinship links, or ties with relatives who have already settled in a place.
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Mormon migration, 
1845–1857
Anti-Mormon violence 
in Illinois and Missouri 
resulted in dozens of 
deaths, including that of 
leader Joseph Smith.
Approximately 70,000 
Mormons migrated to 
the Great Salt Lake area, 
a place chosen for its 
isolation and agricultural 
opportunities.
Hindus and Muslims during 
and after the partition of 
India, 1947–1957
Violence resulted in 
around 1 million deaths.
More than 14 million 
people migrated in hopes 
of finding safety in a new 
country.
Political Push and Pull Factors
People who oppose the policies of a government often migrate because they 
face discrimination, arrest, and persecution. Such political migrants move to 
countries where they feel safe and have protection from the danger they faced 
in their home country.
110 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
EXAMPLES OF POLITICAL PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Anti-communist Cubans 
after Fidel Castro’s 
Communist takeover in 1959
Opponents of Castro 
were jailed or killed if they 
spoke out against Castro’s 
government.
Opponents of Castro fled 
to the United States, where 
they were protected.
The Dalai Lama and Tibetan 
government officials, after 
China’s takeover of Tibet in 
1950
The Chinese persecuted, 
arrested, and killed many 
Tibetans who opposed the 
takeover.
The Dalai Lama and his 
supporters fled Tibet 
to India in 1959, which 
allowed them to set up a 
government in exile.
Environmental Push and Pull Factors
People often migrate to escape harm from natural disasters, drought, and other 
unfavorable environmental conditions. Such migrants move to areas that are 
not under the same environmental stresses. 
EXAMPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Farmers from Colorado, 
Kansas, Oklahoma, and 
Texas, 1930s
A severe drought caused 
thousands to lose their 
farms.
Farmers moved to 
California hoping to find 
work.
Residents living near the 
Fukushima Nuclear Power 
Plant in Japan, 2011
An earthquake and 
tsunami damaged nuclear 
reactors, releasing 
radioactive materials.
Residents near the power 
plant resettled to cities 
around Japan.
Demographic Push and Pull Factors
Some countries are unbalanced demographically. For example, in the case of 
a gender imbalance, young adults may not find someone to marry. Or if the 
population is too young, the country may eventually become overpopulated. 
Geographers, such as Wilbur Zelinsky, saw a connection between 
migration patterns and the demographic transition model. (See Topic 2.5.) 
Zelinsky’ s theory, called the migration transition model, argues that countries 
in Stages 2 and 3 of the demographic transition model experience rapid 
population growth and overcrowding. This overcrowding limits the economic 
opportunities of the people and acts as a push factor. Thus, they migrate to less-
crowded Stage 4 or 5 countries, which offer greater economic opportunities 
with growing economies and aging populations. 
Page 5


107 CHAPTER 5: MIGRATION
CHAPTER 5
Migration
Topics 2.10–2.12
Topic 2.10 Causes of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain how different causal factors encourage migration. 
(IMP-2.C)
Topic 2.11 Forced and Voluntary Migration
Learning Objective: Describe types of forced and voluntary migration. (IMP-2.D)
Topic 2.12 Effects of Migration
Learning Objective: Explain historical and contemporary geographic effects of 
migration. (IMP-2.E)
More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn 
strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants. In each 
generation, they have proved to be the most restless, the most 
adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people.
—President Bill Clinton, speech at Portland State University, 1998
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Somalian refugees fled to Kenya to escape drought and conflict in 2011. (See Topic 2.11 for more 
on forced migration and refugees.)
108 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
2.10
Causes of Migration
Essential Question: How have different causal factors encouraged 
migration?
In his 1998 commencement address at Portland State University (see previous 
page), President Bill Clinton highlighted the ongoing impact of immigrants 
coming to the United States. The United States is the most populous immigrant 
country in the world. Like many countries in the Americas and Australia, 
most residents are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. United 
States culture, institutions, and population are the products of five centuries of 
immigration.
Migration’s Push and Pull Factors
World history is a story of constant movement. Migration is the permanent or 
semipermanent relocation of people from one place to another. Since the first 
humans lived in eastern Africa, people have been on the move. Early humans 
were very mobile, searching for nuts, seeds, and fruits, and hunting for animals 
to eat. As agriculture developed, people moved less in search of food and urban 
settlements began. However, people continued to move, from rural to urban 
areas, and from settlement to settlement.
Most people who move do so in search of a better life. They are part of 
a voluntary migration, or a movement made by choice. The choice usually 
combines a decision to move away from someplace with a decision to move 
toward someplace else:
• Geographers classify the reasons that people migrate to a specific 
location. People generally decide to move because of push factors, which 
are negative circumstances, events, or conditions present where they live 
that compels a person to leave.
• Once migrants decide to leave, they usually choose a destination based 
on its positive conditions and circumstances, or pull factors.
• From the perspective of a receiving country, an immigrant is a person 
who migrates across an international border with the intention of staying 
permanently. 
• From the perspective of the country the migrant is leaving, the person 
is viewed as an emigrant. When people migrate away from somewhere,  
they emigrate.
109 2.10: CAUSES OF MIGRATION
Economic Push and Pull Factors
The most common reason people migrate is that they lack jobs and economic 
opportunities. These migrants go to areas offering greater chances for economic 
prosperity.
EXAMPLES OF ECONOMIC PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Factory workers in the U.S. 
Rust Belt states, beginning 
in the 1970s
Unemployment rose 
among factory workers, 
particularly in traditional 
manufacturing states 
such as Michigan and 
Pennsylvania.
Many factory workers 
moved to southern 
states such as Kentucky 
and Tennessee, as 
manufacturers opened new 
factories there.
Farmers in rural China, 
beginning around 1950
Increased use of machines 
and consolidation of small 
farms into fewer large 
farms reduced the number 
of farmers needed to raise 
crops.
Farmers moved to China’s 
large cities, increasing 
the urban population 
from 64 million in 1950 to 
850 million by 2020.
Social Push and Pull Factors
People will often migrate when they experience discrimination and persecution 
because of their ethnicity, race, gender, or religion. They move to locations 
where they can practice their culture safely. People are often influenced by 
kinship links, or ties with relatives who have already settled in a place.
EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Mormon migration, 
1845–1857
Anti-Mormon violence 
in Illinois and Missouri 
resulted in dozens of 
deaths, including that of 
leader Joseph Smith.
Approximately 70,000 
Mormons migrated to 
the Great Salt Lake area, 
a place chosen for its 
isolation and agricultural 
opportunities.
Hindus and Muslims during 
and after the partition of 
India, 1947–1957
Violence resulted in 
around 1 million deaths.
More than 14 million 
people migrated in hopes 
of finding safety in a new 
country.
Political Push and Pull Factors
People who oppose the policies of a government often migrate because they 
face discrimination, arrest, and persecution. Such political migrants move to 
countries where they feel safe and have protection from the danger they faced 
in their home country.
110 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP
®
 EDITION
EXAMPLES OF POLITICAL PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Anti-communist Cubans 
after Fidel Castro’s 
Communist takeover in 1959
Opponents of Castro 
were jailed or killed if they 
spoke out against Castro’s 
government.
Opponents of Castro fled 
to the United States, where 
they were protected.
The Dalai Lama and Tibetan 
government officials, after 
China’s takeover of Tibet in 
1950
The Chinese persecuted, 
arrested, and killed many 
Tibetans who opposed the 
takeover.
The Dalai Lama and his 
supporters fled Tibet 
to India in 1959, which 
allowed them to set up a 
government in exile.
Environmental Push and Pull Factors
People often migrate to escape harm from natural disasters, drought, and other 
unfavorable environmental conditions. Such migrants move to areas that are 
not under the same environmental stresses. 
EXAMPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Farmers from Colorado, 
Kansas, Oklahoma, and 
Texas, 1930s
A severe drought caused 
thousands to lose their 
farms.
Farmers moved to 
California hoping to find 
work.
Residents living near the 
Fukushima Nuclear Power 
Plant in Japan, 2011
An earthquake and 
tsunami damaged nuclear 
reactors, releasing 
radioactive materials.
Residents near the power 
plant resettled to cities 
around Japan.
Demographic Push and Pull Factors
Some countries are unbalanced demographically. For example, in the case of 
a gender imbalance, young adults may not find someone to marry. Or if the 
population is too young, the country may eventually become overpopulated. 
Geographers, such as Wilbur Zelinsky, saw a connection between 
migration patterns and the demographic transition model. (See Topic 2.5.) 
Zelinsky’ s theory, called the migration transition model, argues that countries 
in Stages 2 and 3 of the demographic transition model experience rapid 
population growth and overcrowding. This overcrowding limits the economic 
opportunities of the people and acts as a push factor. Thus, they migrate to less-
crowded Stage 4 or 5 countries, which offer greater economic opportunities 
with growing economies and aging populations. 
111 2.10: CAUSES OF MIGRATION
EXAMPLES OF DEMOGRAPHIC PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Group and Place of Origin Push Factors Pull Factors
Farmers in Europe, 1800s The population of 
industrial countries 
increased, while land 
became scarce.
European migrants came 
to the United States, in part 
because the Homestead 
Act gave them plots of land.
Young educated people in 
less-developed countries in 
Latin America, North Africa, 
the Middle East, and Asia
Many people in less-
developed countries live 
in areas where population 
is growing very quickly 
and unemployment and 
underemployment is high.
Developed countries in 
North America and Europe 
with aging populations 
need workers for difficult 
jobs, so they attract 
immigrants from less-
developed countries.
Intervening Obstacles and Opportunities
Migration consists of more than just push and pull factors. Geographer Everett 
Lee introduced the idea in 1966 that migrants may encounter intervening 
obstacles, barriers that make reaching their desired destination more difficult. 
These obstacles might be political, such as laws restricting immigration and 
border patrols. They could be environmental, such as deserts or oceans for 
migrants to cross. Walls and fences that constructed at borders would be 
considered both political and environmental (physical) barriers or obstacles. 
Migrants can face economic obstacles in the form of costs incurred in migration. 
Migrants may also encounter opportunities en route that disrupt their 
original migration plan. These are known as intervening opportunities. For 
example, a migrant might find a job along the way.
LEE’S MODEL OF MIGRATION
Origin Destination
Intervening Obstacles
LEE’S MODEL OF MIGRATION
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+
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INTERVENING OBSTACLES
Type of Obstacle Example
Economic A migrant lacks enough money to reach a destination.
Social A migrant gets married to someone who lives along the 
migration route and settles in that person’s community.
Political A migrant cannot get a visa needed to pass through a 
country to get to his or her final destination. 
Environmental A migrant cannot cross a sea, desert, or mountain range.