WG.6: Migration: Push & Pull Factors

Overpopulation

Push Factor: too many people, not enough housing

Lack of job opportunities

Push Factor: there are no jobs to be had

Land Availability

Pull Factor: Enough housing to meet the demands of the population.

Arable Land

Pull Factor: Fertile soil in which crops can be raised. Land good for farming.

Economic Opportunity

Pull Factor: Freedom to own one's own business, or find employment (usually found in democratic countries)

Refugee

Someone fleeing their homeland to avoid conflict or persecution.

Emigration

To EXIT or leave a country Push factors influence this

Immigrant

To come INTO a country Pull factors influence this

Push Factors

Conditions (bad) that make someone want to leave their home country. 1. Overpopulation 2. Religious Persecution 3. Lack of Job Opportunities 4. Agricultural decline 5. Conflict/War 6. Political Persecution 7. Natural Hazards 8. Limits on personal freedom 9. Environmental degradation

Pull Factors

Conditions (good) that make someone want to come to a country. 1. Religious Freedom 2. Economic Opportunity 3. Land Availability 4. Political Freedom 5. Ethnic and Family ties 6. Arable land

Diffusion of U.S. Culture to other regions

Evidence of cultural interaction: American ways of life spread to other parts of the world. Examples: 1. McDonald's in The Middle East 2. Basketball in China

Popularization of other cultural traditions in the U.S.

Evidence of cultural interaction: When immigrants make their home in the United States they introduce us to ways of life from their home country Examples: 1. Chinese New Year celebrations in ethnic neighborhoods 2. Mardi Gras (French Holiday) in New Orleans, Louisiana

Religious Freedom

Pull Factor: Freedom to practice (or not practice) any religion.

Ethnic and Family Ties

Pull Factor: The desire to live near people like you. Might move to a place where your relatives already are.

Political Freedom

Pull Factor: The right to vote for (elect) political leaders. (usually found in democratic countries)

Environmental Degredation

Push Factor: The destruction of nature usually by human interaction. 1. Deforestation = cutting down of trees 2. Air and water pollution = harmful toxins released by factories and cars, or by our garbage

Religious Persecution

Push Factor: being punished or singled out for your religious beliefs

Conflict

Push Factor: fighting between ethnic groups 1. The Hutus and Tutsis in Buruni and Rwanda 2. The Greeks and Turks in Cyprus

Political Persecution

Push Factor: lack of freedom, being punished for your political beliefs

Agricultural Decline

Push Factor: loss of soil fertility, no arable land

Natural Hazards

Push Factors: 1. Droughts = no rain 2. Famine = no food 3. Floods = water covers the land 4. Volcanic eruptions = lava creates new land 5. Earthquakes = shifting plate tectonics