Internal migration or domestic migration is
human migration
Human migration is the movement of people from one place to another with intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location (geographic region). The movement often occurs over long distances and from one country to another (ex ...
within a country. Internal migration tends to be travel for education and for economic improvement or because of a natural disaster or civil disturbance, though a study based on the full
formal economy
An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.
Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countri ...
of the United States found that the median post-move rise in income was only 1%.
Cross-border migration often occurs for political or economic reasons. A general trend of movement from rural to urban areas, in a process described as
urbanisation, has also produced a form of internal migration.
History
Many countries have experienced massive internal migration.
* The
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
has experienced the following major migrations:
** A massive internal migration from the eastern states
toward the west coast during the mid-19th century.
** Three waves of large-scale migration of
African Americans: first from the agricultural south to the industrialized northeast and midwest in the
early 20th century, a second movement in the same direction with new additional destination to the West from roughly
1940 to 1970, and finally
a reverse migration from other parts of the country to the urban south beginning in the late 20th century and continuing to the present.
** The
depopulation of the rural Great Plains since the early 20th century, with many rural counties today having less than 40% of their 1900 population.
** A steady migration, starting during the
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...
of the 1930s but accelerating after World War II, of all ethnicities toward the
Sun Belt of the southern and western U.S.
** An ongoing migration of mostly working- and middle-class people of all ethnicities, but especially
whites, from California to other states since about 1990, called the
California Exodus
The California exodus is an alleged mass emigration of residents and businesses from California to other U.S. states, especially Texas and Florida. The cause and existence of this migration have been extensively debated. The term became popular ...
.
* The
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
has historically seen several migrations from the north of England to the south, and also from
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
(more recently
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
) and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
to England. This was most prevalent during the
industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, and also in the aftermath of the
Great Famine of Ireland.
* In
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
, the
drift to the north has seen the
South Island gradually losing population to the main urban area,
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, in the country's far north.
* In
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, due to a
centralised government and almost unequal distribution of government power and funds, people from
the provinces head to
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
to look for better jobs and opportunities. This has been continuing since then, although in much smaller numbers now, with
Metro Cebu and
Metro Davao now increasingly becoming more popular as alternative destination for internal migrants.
* In
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, during the
country's economic miracle in the 1950s and 1960s, the so-called "
industrial triangle" of
Northwest Italy
Northwest Italy ( it, Italia nord-occidentale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Northwes ...
experienced waves of immigrants coming from
Southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
, due to the southern portion of the country remaining underdeveloped and stricken with poverty. The peak was reached between 1955 and 1963, when as much as 1,300,000 southern workers moved to the northern industrial cities. After a pause in the 1980s the north–south migration has resumed, this time headed to other areas of the north and
Central Italy.
*
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, between the 1950s to 1970s, had a strong migration of the population from the
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
to the regions of
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
and
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...
, due to the industrialization of
Southeast of Brazil, in contrast to the drought and poverty of the Brazilian Northeast.
Secondary migration
A subtype of internal migration is the migration of immigrant groups—often called secondary or onward migration. Secondary migration is also used to refer to th
migrationof immigrants within the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
.
In the United States, the
Office of Refugee Resettlement, a program of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...
's
Administration for Children and Families, is tasked with managing the secondary migration of resettled
refugees. However, there is little information on secondary migration and associated programmatic structural changes. Secondary migration has been hypothesised as one of the driving forces behind the distribution of
resettled refugees in the United States.
See also
*
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
A ...
*
Internal colonialism
*
Internal passport
*
Foot voting
*
Migrant worker
References
{{Authority control
Human migration
Demographic economics