Migration is the movement of people from one place to another, and it is frequently linked to a change of permanent residence. At the macro level, there are inter-regional and intraregional disparities, and at the micro-level, there is a fundamental lack of employment opportunities, resulting in low living standards among various socio-economic groups. Internal migration and international migration are the two types of migration. Internal migration is the movement of people within a country from one location to another. International migration is the movement of people from one country to another in search of work, a place to call home, or a better standard of living.

Causes of Migration

• People are generally emotionally attached to their birthplace. However, millions of people leave their homes and birthplaces.
• There could be a number of reasons for this. These reasons can be divided into two groups:
• Pull factors, which attract people from different places, and Push factors, which cause people to leave their place of origin or residence.
• People in India migrate from rural to urban areas for a variety of reasons, including poverty, high population pressure on the land, and a lack of basic infrastructures such as health care and education.
• Natural disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclonic storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, and local conflicts, in addition to these factors, provide an additional push to migrate.
• People from rural areas, on the other hand, are drawn to cities by a variety of factors.
• The majority of rural migrants to urban areas are attracted by better opportunities, the availability of regular work, and relatively higher wages.
• Better educational opportunities, health care facilities, and entertainment options, among other things, are all significant pull factors.

Types of Migration

Internal migration (moving within a state, country, or continent) and external migration (moving outside of a state, country, or continent) are two types of human migration (moving to a different state, country, or continent.

Types of Migration in India

Internal Migration

• Internal migration is the movement of people within a country from one defined area to another.
• It is generally divided into the following
  • Rural to Rural (47%)
  • Rural to Urban (32%)
  • Urban to Urban (15%)
  • Urban to Rural (6%)

Types of Internal Migration

Rural to Rural

• According to the 2011 Census, this is the country’s most dominant migratory movement.
• Intra-regional and inter-regional characteristics are linked to intra-sectoral migration.
• In comparison to inter-regional migration, intra-regional migration involves larger migratory volumes.
• Marriage ceremonies and working as agricultural laborers are the two main reasons for this migration.
• For example, agricultural laborers moving from overpopulated to underpopulated areas, such as the Awadh-Rohilkhand plains to the Delta plains.
• Government decisions can sometimes have a significant impact.
• The resettlement of Sikhs in the Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh is an excellent example.
• The government also provided for the resettlement of 20,000 families as part of the Dandakaranya project.

Rural to Urban

• It is the second most noticeable migratory pattern.
• Since independence, inter-sectoral migration has been the most dominant migratory trend.
• It is the result of both push and pulls factors in rural and urban areas.
• However, since the 1981 census, the positive impact of rural development programs has resulted in a reduction in push factors, causing this trend to fall to second place.
• Megacities serve as a destination, with rural residents primarily from population surplus states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and MP serving as source areas.
• Rural-urban migration is primarily responsible for the country’s exponential growth in population and the number of megacities.
• There are intra-regional and inter-regional subcategories within this migratory trend.

Urban to Urban

• It primarily involves people moving from small towns to larger cities.
• This migration takes place in stages, with people moving from rural areas to small towns and then to larger cities (Class II to Class I towns)
• The majority of urban to urban migration occurs in search of better opportunities and a higher standard of living.
• It is dominated by middle-class individuals. In small towns, it creates a void.

Urban to Rural

• It is a reversal or push-back migration.
• It occurs at a high level of urbanization when cities are characterized by overcrowding, haphazard growth, and high living costs.
• It is less because it involves the elderly population migrating primarily after their professional commitments are completed.
• The technical term for this migratory movement is “counter-current migration”.

Rate of Migration in search of Jobs

External Migration

India’s external migration can be divided into three categories:

• Emigration: India’s emigration to various parts of the world.
• Immigration: People from various countries are immigrating to India.
• Refugee Migration: Involuntary or forced migration to India in the form of refugees has also been a significant trend.

Emigration

• India (17.5 million), Mexico (11.8 million), and China are the top three countries of origin for international migrants (10.7 million).
• India ($78.6 billion), China ($67.4 billion), and Mexico ($35.7 billion) were the top three remittance recipients.
• The United States ($68 billion) remained the leading remittance-sending country, followed by the United Arab Emirates ($44.4 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($36.1 billion).

Immigration

• Immigration is the process by which people become permanent residents or citizens of a different country.
• Immigration has historically benefited states in terms of social, economic, and cultural benefits.
• According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) International Migrant Stock 2019 report, India has overtaken China as the world’s leading country of origin for immigrants.
• The UAE was the most popular destination for Indian migrants, followed by the United States and Saudi Arabia.
• Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal were the countries with the most international migrants in India. One-third of all international migrants come from ten countries or less.
• India has the highest number of international migrants (17.5 million), followed by Mexico (12 million), China (11 million), Russia (10 million), and Syria (10 million) (8 million).

Refugee Migration

• A refugee is defined as “a person who is outside his country of nationality because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”
• After leaving his mother country, a refugee does not change his nationality. In India, for example, Tibetan refugees.
• Sri Lankan Tamils are another large group of refugees in India, having fled the island nation as a result of active discriminatory policies by successive Sri Lankan governments, as well as events such as the 1983 Black July Riots and the bloody Sri Lankan civil war.
• After 40,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar and sought refuge in India, the refugee debate resurfaced in the United States.

International Migration (World Migration)

• The movement of people across international borders for the purpose of settling is known as international migration.
• International migrants relocate from one country to another on a regular basis.
• Shorter stays in another country should not be classified as permanent international migration, according to the United Nations.
• When passengers arrive in a country, they are asked whether they plan to stay for less than 3 months, in which case they are classified as visitors; between 3 and 12 months, in which case they are classified as short-term migrants; or for 12 months or more, in which case they are classified as long-term migrants.
• India has not always been affected by in-migration, but historical events such as Partition (1947-51), Buddhist Migration (1954-59), Bangladesh Liberation (1971), and Tamil migrants have all contributed to international in-migration in India.
• Indian out-migration began during colonial times, primarily after the end of the slave trade (1833), when a labor shortage prompted Indian migration from states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia’s Java for plantation agriculture.

Other Types

Based on Distance

• Intra-building: Movement within a building is referred to as intra-building movement (e.g. user-movements in an airport terminal or hospital)
• Inter-building: Pedestrian patterns within a complex of buildings are known as inter-building patterns (e.g. students moving over a University campus)
• Local-scale: Relocating within a town or city is a local-scale migration.
• Regional-scale: Migrating within a country from one county/state to another regional-scale migration (emigration/immigration).

Based on Duration

• Daily: Daily commute to and from work often results in “rush hours” which is called daily migration.
• Medium-term Temporary: This migration includes working for a few years in an overseas TNC branch office; enrolling in a university course; working in a developing city to repay rural debts.
• Permanent: Emigrating to another country with no plans to return is the Permanent Migration.

Based on Motive

• Forced (Environment): Escaping a drought/flood/desertification/eruption-prone area is the forced migration.
• Forced (Political): Religious, ethnic, racial, or political persecution, conflict, or war are all examples of forced (political) threats to freedom, safety, and liberty are the factors of Forced Migration. (Refugee and Asylum Seeker Information)
• Collective Behaviour: Keeping group cohesion by moving as part of a defined group (Traveller communities, nomadic groups, ethnic groups) is the collective behavioral migration.
• Personal Aspiration: Migrating with a desire to improve one’s or one’s family’s standard of living by obtaining economic and social benefits is included in this type of migration.
• Personal Well-Being: Migrating due to health-related reasons, or perceived quality of life (relocating to rural areas for a less frenetic pace of life) is called the Personal Well-Being Migration.

Conclusion

Though there are negative consequences of different types of migration, migration still increases employment opportunities and economic prosperity, which improves the quality of life. Migration also fills labor supply and demand gaps, efficiently allocating skilled, unskilled, and low-wage labor.

Population migration in India is a multifaceted phenomenon influenced by a variety of economic, social, political, environmental, and demographic factors. Migration patterns in India can be classified based on causes, directions, and types, reflecting the complexities of human mobility in a country characterized by regional disparities, cultural diversity, and socio-economic stratification.

Causes of Population Migration in India

Economic Factors
Economic motivations are the primary drivers of migration in India. A significant proportion of migration, particularly rural-to-urban migration, is influenced by the search for better employment opportunities, higher wages, and improved living standards.

• Rural Poverty: A lack of employment opportunities in rural areas forces people to move to urban centers.
• Urban Industrialization: Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai attract migrants due to their concentration of industries, services, and economic activities.
• Agricultural Distress: Unreliable monsoon patterns, fragmented land holdings, and declining agricultural productivity compel many farmers and laborers to migrate.

Social and Cultural Factors
Social factors, including education, marriage, and family ties, also contribute to migration.

• Educational Migration: Access to quality education in urban centers drives youth migration.
• Marriage Migration: Predominantly affecting women, this form of migration is culturally significant, as many women relocate to their spouse’s residence after marriage.

Environmental Factors
Natural disasters and climate-related challenges are critical factors for migration in certain regions of India.

• Floods, Droughts, and Cyclones: States like Bihar, Odisha, and Assam witness significant migration due to recurrent natural disasters.
• Climate Change: Rising sea levels and desertification in regions like Sundarbans and Rajasthan force people to relocate.

Political and Conflict-Related Factors
Political instability, ethnic tensions, and violence also cause migration, although less frequently than economic or social reasons.

• Internal Displacement: Communal riots or insurgencies, such as in Jammu and Kashmir or northeastern states, have resulted in forced migration.
• Development Projects: Large-scale infrastructure projects, such as dams and highways, displace thousands, exemplified by the Sardar Sarovar Dam project.

Demographic Factors
Population pressure in densely populated areas pushes migration toward regions with better land-man ratio or urbanized infrastructure.

Types of Population Migration in India

Internal Migration
Internal migration refers to the movement of people within the country. It can be classified into several subcategories:

• Rural-to-Urban Migration: This is the most prevalent form of migration in India, driven by economic opportunities in urban centers. Cities like Mumbai and Delhi see an influx of rural migrants seeking employment in industries, construction, or informal sectors.
• Rural-to-Rural Migration: Common among agricultural laborers, especially during harvesting seasons when labor demand spikes in certain regions.
• Urban-to-Urban Migration: Professionals moving between metropolitan areas for better career prospects or lifestyle improvements.
• Urban-to-Rural Migration: Although less common, this type of migration is observed among retirees or individuals returning to their native places.

International Migration
India has witnessed a significant number of outbound migrations as well as inbound migrations:

• Outbound Migration: India is one of the largest sources of emigrants globally. Migration to the Gulf countries for low-skilled labor, as well as to Western nations like the US, UK, and Canada for education and skilled jobs, is a defining characteristic.
• Inbound Migration: Refugees from Bangladesh, Tibet, and Sri Lanka have sought shelter in India due to political unrest in their home countries.

Seasonal or Temporary Migration
Seasonal migration, often associated with agricultural cycles or construction projects, is a hallmark of internal mobility. Migrants temporarily relocate during off-peak agricultural periods and return once work opportunities cease.

Forced Migration
Forced migration occurs due to compelling circumstances beyond the control of individuals:

• Environmental Displacement: Floods in the Brahmaputra valley or landslides in Uttarakhand.
• Conflict and Violence: Internally displaced persons in regions affected by insurgency or communal riots.

Voluntary Migration
Voluntary migration, driven by aspirations for better opportunities, accounts for a significant portion of migration flows. It is often linked to economic or educational objectives.

Reverse Migration
During the COVID-19 pandemic, India witnessed an unprecedented scale of reverse migration, where millions of workers returned from cities to rural areas due to job losses and uncertainty.

Implications of Migration in India

Migration, while often a survival strategy, has significant implications for both the origin and destination regions.

• Urban Overcrowding: Rapid urbanization due to migration strains infrastructure in cities, leading to challenges like slum proliferation and pollution.
• Rural Depopulation: The out-migration of working-age populations affects rural economies, leading to labor shortages and reduced agricultural output.
• Cultural Integration and Conflict: Migration brings cultural diversity but can also create social tensions in destination areas.
• Economic Benefits: Remittances sent by migrants to their families are a lifeline for rural households, improving their living standards.

Conclusion

Population migration in India is a dynamic process shaped by a combination of push and pull factors. Understanding its causes and types is essential for crafting policies that address its challenges and harness its potential. Proactive measures such as regional development, rural employment programs, and infrastructure improvements in urban areas can help mitigate the adverse effects of migration and ensure balanced regional growth.

The distribution of the world’s population is a complex phenomenon influenced significantly by various geographical factors. These factors determine the density, concentration, and dispersion of people across the globe, shaping settlement patterns, economic activities, and cultural development. The primary geographical influences on population distribution include physical features, climate, soil fertility, water resources, natural vegetation, minerals and resources, and accessibility and location.

Physical Features

Physical features such as topography and altitude play a critical role in population distribution. Plains are generally more populated than mountainous regions due to their suitability for agriculture, infrastructure development, and transport networks. For instance, the Indo-Gangetic Plains in South Asia and the North China Plain have some of the highest population densities globally. Conversely, rugged and high-altitude regions such as the Himalayas, Andes, and Rocky Mountains are sparsely populated due to challenging living conditions, limited arable land, and harsh climates.

Climate

Climate is one of the most significant determinants of population distribution. Moderate climatic zones, such as those with temperate climates, attract higher population densities because of their suitability for agriculture, human habitation, and overall livability. Examples include much of Europe, the eastern United States, and parts of East Asia. In contrast, regions with extreme climates, such as the Sahara Desert, the Arctic, and the Amazon Rainforest, are sparsely populated due to challenges posed by extreme heat, cold, or dense vegetation.

Soil Fertility

Fertile soils are essential for agriculture, which supports human settlements. Areas with rich alluvial soils, such as river basins and deltas, tend to have dense populations. The Nile Delta, Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, and the Yangtze River Basin are prime examples of densely populated regions with fertile soils. Conversely, areas with poor soils, such as sandy deserts or rocky terrains, have sparse populations.

Water Resources

Access to freshwater is a crucial factor influencing where people settle. Rivers, lakes, and groundwater sources not only support drinking water needs but also facilitate agriculture, industry, and transportation. Major population centers worldwide are located near significant water bodies, such as along the Nile, Amazon, Yangtze, and Mississippi Rivers. In contrast, arid and semi-arid regions like the Atacama Desert and parts of the Middle East have lower population densities due to limited water availability.

Natural Vegetation

The type of natural vegetation in a region also affects its population distribution. Dense forests, such as the Amazon Rainforest or the Congo Basin, are sparsely populated due to their challenging terrain, risk of diseases, and difficulty in clearing land for settlement. Grasslands and open woodlands, on the other hand, are more hospitable and tend to support higher populations.

Minerals and Resources

The availability of mineral resources has historically influenced settlement patterns, particularly in regions where mining and resource extraction are significant economic activities. For example, areas rich in coal, iron ore, and oil, such as the Ruhr Valley in Germany and parts of the Middle East, attract populations due to employment opportunities and industrial development. Conversely, resource-poor regions often have sparse populations.

Accessibility and Location

Proximity to coasts, trade routes, and urban centers greatly impacts population distribution. Coastal regions tend to have higher population densities due to access to maritime trade, fishing, and moderate climates. Prominent examples include the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, Southeast Asia, and Western Europe. Inland areas far from trade routes or with poor accessibility tend to have lower population densities.

Historical and Cultural Factors

Although not purely geographical, historical and cultural factors interact with geography to influence population distribution. Fertile river valleys, such as the Tigris-Euphrates, Indus, and Nile, have supported human civilization for millennia, creating enduring population concentrations. Similarly, regions with favorable geography have often become centers of culture, trade, and governance, reinforcing their high population densities over time.

In conclusion, geographical factors like topography, climate, soil fertility, water availability, natural resources, and accessibility fundamentally shape global population patterns. While these factors are interrelated, their individual impacts can be seen in the stark contrasts between densely populated areas like the Ganges Basin and sparsely populated regions such as the Sahara Desert. Understanding these patterns is essential for effective urban planning, resource management, and sustainable development.

In the expression ‘population geography’, the term ‘population’ signifies the subject matter and “geography refers to the perspective of investigation. Population geography implies the investigation into human covering of the earth and its various facets with reference to physical and cultural environment. Although population geography is, in the early 21st century, a well- established subfield of human geography, this was not always the case. “A Case for Population Geography.” Presidential address G. T. Trewartha 1953 is recognized as the original call for the establishment of a population geography subfield within the discipline. Since most of the world humanity lives in the less developed parts of the world, a significantly larger proportion of the net addition in world population during the first half of the twentieth century came from this part. The need for a more detailed account of demographic characteristics resulted in a switch over from macro to micro level studies, which, in turn, facilitated population mapping. World population continued to grow at increasing pace. The growing availability of population data after the Second World War facilitated mapping of the other demographic attributes pertaining to different regions of the world. There was a growing consciousness among the people regarding population expansion and its effects on economic development. The less developed countries had also begun experiencing redistribution of population within their boundaries from rural to urban areas. The emergence of large cities and their manifold problems became a compelling focus for research by geographers.

DEFINITION

• According to Trewartha, population geography is concerned with the understanding of the regional differences in the earth’s covering of people (Trewartha, 1969:87)
• John 1. Clarke, suggested that population geography is mainly concerned with demonstrating how spatial variation in population and its various attributes like composition, migration and growth are related to the spatial variation in the nature of places (Clarke, 1972:2)
• Wilbur Zelinsky defines it as “a science that deals with the ways in which geographic character of places is formed by and, in turn, reacts upon a set of population phenomena that vary within it through both space and time interacting one with another, and with numerous non- demographic phenomena” (Zelinsky, 1966).
• R.J. Proyer suggested that population geography deals with the analysis and explanation of interrelationship between population phenomena and the geographical character of places as they both vary over space and time (Proyer, 1984:25).

NATURE

Trewartha proposed a very comprehensive outline of the content of the sub-discipline, which many subsequent geographers seem to have adhered to.

Broadly speaking, the concerns of population geography, according to Trewartha, can be grouped into three categories:

1. A historical (pre-historic and post-historic) account of population: Trewartha suggested that where direct statistical evidence is not available, geographers should adopt indirect methods, and collaborate with anthropologists, demographers and economic historians.
2. Dynamics of number, size, distribution and growth patterns: In Trewartha’s opinion, an analysis of world population patterns, population dynamics in terms of mortality and fertility, area aspect of over and under population, distribution of population by world regions and settlement types and migration of population (both international and inter-regional) form an important part of analysis in population geography.
3. Qualities of population and their regional distribution: He suggested two broad groups physical qualities (e.g., race, sex, age, health etc.), and socio-economic qualities (e.g., religion, education, occupation, marital status, stages of economic development, customs, habits etc.)

Population geography studies the formation of the population in different territories in terms of structure, density, specific clustering (cities and rural communities), and the conditions that determine the particular forms of settlement.

The main concern of population geography revolves round the following three aspects of human population:

1. Size and distribution, including the rural-urban distribution of population.
2. Population dynamics past and present trends in growth and its spatial manifestation; components of population change, viz., fertility, mortality and migration.
3. Population composition and structure. They include a set of demographic characteristics (such as age-sex structure, marital status and average age at marriage etc.), social characteristics (such as caste, racial/ethnic, religious and linguistic composition of population; literacy and levels of educational attainment etc.), and economic characteristics (such as workforce participation rate and workforce structure etc.)

Population geography receives important primary data from demography, which reveals the geographic aspects of natural and migration population change. Population geography also uses field teams for observation and investigation. It studies the physical forms of inhabitance (types of residences according to spatial differences, the nature of planning and engineering for populated points , and so on), because all of these features are reflected in the regional characteristics of the physical makeup of cities and rural settlements. The location of the population both throughout the country and within its regions and the territorial organization of the population are basically determined by the nature and geography of production. The population density of individual populated points is usually related to their national economic functions, and the population density of regions reflects

the degree of their economic development. At the same time the established location of population exerts in its turn an influence on the geography of production. The natural environment’s influence on settlement occurs primarily through production. can be seen that the study of population is multidisciplinary in nature, involving an understanding of biology, genetics, mathematics, statistics, economics, sociology, cultural anthropology, psychology, politics, geography, medicine, public health, ecology, etc.

SCOPE

The scope of population studies is quite wide. The quantitative aspect is concerned with a quantitative study of the size, structure characteristics and territorial distribution of human occurring and in populations the changes them. Under the planned socialist economy, the practical tasks of population geography include quantitative and qualitative assessment of labor resources and a search for the forms of settlement most responsive to the requirements of production and the cultural and domestic needs of the population . A study of the conditions of habitation in different natural geographic regions reveals the connections between population geography and medical geography. Research on ethnography and the economics of labor is closely associated, and sometimes intertwined, with population geography. The development of methods of making population maps is very important Hence, while describing, comparing or explaining the determinants and consequences of population phenomena, social phenomena have to be taken into consideration.

Population geography has a special place in economic geography because people, as the main productive force, are employed in all economic sectors and, up to a point, their location has an all encompassing significance. The population is at one and the same time the producer and consumer of material goods. Population geography studies, systems and structures- the forms of settlement in relation to the spatial nature of production, the characteristics of the geographical environment, the economic geographical condition of population employment, and population migrations. Together with differences in the natural growth of population, migrations determine the course of territorial redistribution of population. A prominent place is given to the classification and typology of populated points.

One statement that can be made without reservation is that the boundary between population geography and demography, sociology, or economics can be difficult to locate. The consensus is that demographers focus more on fertility research, whereas population geographers tend to focus on migration. With the advent of more-sophisticated methods, in particular those related to geographical information systems (GIS) or remote sensing, and the ever-increasing availability of data at multiple spatial scales, the fundamental importance of space and geography has become more mainstream in population studies across the social sciences. This evolution is apparent in the development of a multidisciplinary subfield called spatial demography that is neither traditional population geography nor pure demography.

The demographic transition theory examines the relationship between economic progress and population expansion. It analyses variations in the birth and death rates, as well as the population growth rate, in accordance with the process of growth and development. It is also used to characterize and forecast any area’s future population. According to the hypothesis, as civilization evolves from rural agricultural and illiterate to urban industrial and literate, the population of any region shifts from high births and high deaths to low births and low deaths. 

Demographic transition theory

• Demographic transition is a concept coined by Warren S. Thompson (1929) and later popularized by Frank W. Notestein (1945) to describe a historical process of change that explains trends in births, deaths, and population increase in today’s industrialized civilizations, particularly European societies.
• For the most part, this process of population transition began in the late 18th century.
• The demographic transition should be viewed as a generic description of the evolutionary process rather than a ‘rule of population expansion.’
• In a nutshell, it is a theory that aims to explain universal principles that govern how human populations develop in size and structure as a result of industrialization.
• It is widely acknowledged as a valuable technique for describing a country’s demographic history.
• When civilization advances from a mostly rural, agricultural, and illiterate culture to a dominating urban, industrial, literate, and modern society, the theory postulates a certain pattern of the demographic shift from high fertility and high mortality to low fertility and low mortality.
• It is commonly seen as a three-stage process:
  • that the fall in fertility precedes the decline in immortality.
  • that fertility would eventually fall to equal mortality.
  • The socio-economic transformation of society occurs along with its demographic transformation.
• The demographic transition hypothesis is distinguished by prominent transition stages.
• The shift from high to low birth and mortality rates may be separated into three stages (other researchers, such as Haggett, 1975, divide it into four or five stages):
• Pre-transition stage – High and erratic birth and mortality rates, with minimal population increase.
• Stage I: Rapid population increase, high birth rates, and lowering mortality rates.
• Stage II: Slow population increase due to low birth and death rates.
• Stage III: Birth and mortality rates both fall significantly, resulting in zero population growth.
• According to the idea, pre-industrial cultures were characterized by stable populations with a high mortality and birth rate. It makes a minor assumption and inhibits population growth.

Demographic transition theory

First Stage

• Stage of High Birth Rate and High Death Rate.
• The country is at a low level of economic development in the first stage.
• Agriculture is the people’s major source of income.
• The people’s level of living is poor. Due to lack of medical services, diseases, famines, and illiteracy, the death rate is high. Because of social and economic factors, the birth rate is high.
• The following are the most significant characteristics of this stage:
  • The bottom of the population pyramid is expanding in the first stage.
  • A stable population with a high birth rate, a high infant mortality rate, and a high death rate results in a low life expectancy.
  • There are a lot of young folks and very few aged ones.
  • High fertility rate (8 or higher)
  • A religiously dominated society
  • The economy is stagnant, and there is no excess subsistence style of life.
  • Sierra Leone and Somalia are two examples.
• The first stage has a high fertility rate and a high mortality rate because humans reproduce more to compensate for fatalities caused by diseases and erratic food availability.
• Population growth is sluggish, and the majority of people work in agriculture, where big families are advantageous.
• Life expectancy is low, and the majority of the population is uneducated and lacks access to modern technologies.
• All of the world’s countries were at this stage two hundred years ago.

The second stage

• The stage of high birth rate and the low death rate is also known as the stage of population explosion.
• The birth rate is high while the death rate is low during this period. As a result, the population grows at a rapid pace.
• At this point, income begins to grow and economic activity begins to expand. The mortality rate is rapidly decreasing as a result of improved health care and a nutritious diet.
• Due to socio-economic backwardness and restricted access to contraception, the birth rate remains high.
• The following are the most significant characteristics of this stage:
  • At this point in time, the population pyramid is Rapidly Growing
  • Population growth has been quite fast (population explosion)
  • The death rate is rapidly declining, yet it remains lower than the birth rate.
  • The fertility rate is still high.
  • A high rate of birth
  • Natural growth at a rapid pace
  • Infant mortality is decreasing.
  • A large number of teenagers
• Fertility remains high at the start of the second stage, but it gradually drops. This is accompanied with a decrease in mortality.
• Improvements in sanitation and health care result in a decrease in mortality. Because of this disparity, the net gain to the population is substantial.

Third Stage

• Stage of Declining Birth Rate and Low Death Rate.
• In the third stage, low population growth is caused by a dropping birth rate and a low mortality rate.
• Along with the country’s economic progress, fundamental changes in the economy begin to take place.
• A big population begins to congregate in cities. People begin to view large families as a liability.
• As a result, the birth rate begins to plummet. The mortality rate has remained low.
• The population’s growth rate is slowing. India is in the midst of a demographic transformation.
• The following are the most significant characteristics of this stage:
  • The third step of the Population Pyramid is Stationary
  • Population increase is slowing.
  • The birth rate is quickly falling.
  • The drop in fertility rates
  • The death rate is gradually decreasing.
  • The birth rate is nearing the mortality rate.
  • a long life expectancy
  • A rising number of senior citizens

Fourth Stage

• Stage of Low Birth Rate and Low Death Rate.
• Population stability occurs in the fourth stage when there is a low birth rate and a low mortality rate.
• People’s level of life rises dramatically at this stage as a result of fast economic progress.
• The size of the family has a higher importance in terms of quality of life.
• The following are the most significant characteristics of this stage:
  • The Population Pyramid is Shrinking
  • Population growth that is stable or sluggish
  • The birth rate is low.
  • The death rate is low.
  • a long life expectancy
  • The birth rate is almost equal to the mortality rate.
  • The fertility rate is near to or lower than 2.1.
  • There are many elderly people.

Last Stage

• Fertility and mortality both fell significantly in the last period. The population is either constant or steadily increasing.
• The population grows urbanized, literate, and technologically advanced, and family size is purposely limited.
• This demonstrates that humans are incredibly adaptable and capable of adjusting their fertility.
• Different nations are now in various stages of demographic transformation.

Demographic transition theory – Stages

Criticism

• Although the idea of demographic transition has been extensively praised by demographers, it has also been severely questioned.
• Some detractors have even gone so far as to suggest that it cannot be termed a theory.
• Demographic transition stages are not necessarily shown in chronological order.
• Due to the withdrawal of the social security system, former USSR nations other than Russia saw rises in mortality rates and entered the first stage of the demographic transition from the second and third stages of the demographic theory.
• First and foremost, this hypothesis is founded only on factual data or the experiences of Europe, America, and Australia.
• Second, it is not predictive, and its stages are segmented and unavoidable.
• Third, the importance of man’s technological discoveries, particularly in the field of medicine, cannot be overstated in terms of their ability to slow the rate of death.
• Fourth, it neither provides a basic explanation for the process of fertility decrease nor identifies the critical variables involved.
• Fifth, it does not provide a time range for a country to go from one level to the next.
• Finally, it does not bode well for the world’s emerging countries, which have lately witnessed exceptional population increase due to a dramatic drop in death rates.
• Despite these critiques and flaws, the demographic transition theory does give an adequate depiction of the world’s demographic history at the macro level of generalizations.
• The transition process for every nation may be simply understood as an empirical generalization generated from studying the demographic trend in the West.

Conclusion

Demography is a discipline that is light on theory but long on quantification. Nonetheless, demography has yielded one of the most well-documented generalizations in the social sciences: the demographic transition. The demographic transition hypothesis investigates the relationship between economic growth and population growth. It examines fluctuations in the birth and death rates, as well as the population growth rate, in relation to the growth and development process.

INTRODUCTION

Demography is the scientific study of human population and its components. Social Demography and public health are important components of any development activities and development policy. Social demography focuses on the trends and pattern of population change which directly affects development and economic growth of the country. It is the study of human population and the empirical, critical, systematic, statistical and mathematical way to know about the reproductive change of population (Fertility and Mortality) and the socio-economic change of the population (Migration) in a particular geographic area. Planned population growth positive have effect in the society while unplanned population growth affects negatively not only physical resources and natural resources but human resources too. These trio resources affects by the population growth and public health. All the policy makers and development agents should know the demographic trends, population pattern, population distribution and population structure of the society in ords to formulate effective population and health policy. There are various causes of morbidity and ailments which are either communicable or non-communicable ailments. It is important to know the trends and pattern of diseases among different sects of the population of the country.

There is a well known saying “Development is the best contraceptive”, which means that development is affected by population growth and population growth is affects development and vice versa. Population growth can be checked through various family planning methods. Now ageing is a new demographic phenomenon in the world which forced to introduce health care for elderly. This unit gives an overview of population studies.

WHAT ARE POPULATION AND POPULATION STUDIES?

Population is a group of human beings in terms of human population while population studies means mass of living being at a particular location in particular time. According to Meriam Dictionary “the total of individuals occupying an area or making up a whole” is called population. According to Hans Raj “any statistical investigation is concerned with one or more characteristics of a set of individuals or objects. This group of objects may be animate or inanimate, existent or non-existent, real or hypothetical, finite or infinite and is known as population or universe in a statistical sense. Representative part of population is called sample in statistical studies of population. Demography deals only human population studies scientifically.

Demography and population studies are not mutually exclusive in nature. Demography deals statistical study of human population but not individual human, while population studies deal all aspects of human population i.e., population size, composition and distribution. Population study focuses on the three components of population- birth, death and migration. These population components alter population at any place.

Population Size means total number of people living in a particular area during definite period of time. Whether population is higher in one place as compared to the other place, which area has more population, etc. are covered in the size of population studies. Population size is important for policy makers, planners, legislature, medical professionals, educationist, industry, social scientists and important for government programme and development schemes. Thus, size of population indicates the number of persons in the population.

Similarly, composition of population is also important for population policies and programmes. Population composition deals with the age and sex of population. Composition of population influences components of population dynamics such as fertility, mortality and migration. Population composition can be determined by the age –sex population pyramids. Thus composition of population deals with the structure and characteristics of population.

Population distribution means characteristics of population in both rural and urban residences. It deals how population is distributed within an area or country. This is also an important component of population studies by indicating how population is growing in a particular area and what is the nature of population. Thus, population distribution is all about the arrangements of the population in different spaces and residences (Rural or urban) in a specific definite time.

MEANING OF POPULATION STUDIES

According to Thompson (1958) population studies is concerned with a few relevant questions :

• What is the change of population size and how it has changed? What is importance of these changes in terms of human welfare?
• What is the distribution of population in particular area or place of residences?
• What kind of population is living in a group, community and what are the different characteristics of these group and community of population?

Thus, population study is all about the population size, distribution, composition and their characteristics. For example population India in 2011 was 1210 million, in 2001 it was 1027 million and in 1991 it was 864 million. It means during 2001 to 2011 India’s population size has increased by 183 million while during previous decade (1991 to 2001) increased by 163 million. We can also know the population change in both rural and urban areas by age and sex from the population studies. Population of area is changing due to three components of population i.e., birth (fertility), death (mortality) and migration (movement of the people from one location to other). Population is cause and consequence of development which is determined by population growth, socio-economic development and degradation of environment or natural resources of the country.

Why Population Studies?

It is a well known facts that universe is for human welfare and human welfare is being influenced by the use of available natural resources, physical resources, human resources and environment. Based on population growth and its characteristics, all the resources are being utilized for the well-being of human resources. For example, growth of population affects growth of agriculture, industry, educational institution, energy, transportation, medical care institution, etc. Population studies show the path of sectoral development. Therefore, population study is important for economical aspects of population, political issues of government, planning and programmes related issues and challenges, social phenomenon, administrative process, to know the situation analysis gap in development and human welfare.

Demography and Population Studies

Demography and population studies are not mutually exclusive in nature of application and both influences each other in the study of population. Various scholars have defined demography as per their operational use in the study. Demos is Latin word which means people and graphy means organizing for study. Thus demography is the science of people. It is the mathematical and statistical study of the size, composition and spatial distribution of human population and of the changes over time in these aspects through the operations of the five processes such as fertility, mortality, marriage, migration and social mobility. Although, it means a continuous descriptive and comparative analysis of trends in each of these processes and in their net result, its long run goal is to develop theories to explain the events that it charts and compares (Bogue, 1969). Thus, demography deals with statistical model of population studies.

Population studies are the application of demographic techniques for the human welfare aspects and development of population. A population study covers not only demographic technique, but also all the aspects of development under the available resources by using technology and human resources. Thus population studies deals with the size, composition and distribution of population according the demographic trends of particular area. Thus, we can say that demography is the part of population studies. Population studies is method of scientific study of the factors related to socio-economic, political, health, cultural, environmental, psychological, regional, agriculture and industrial development, etc., for human welfare. Population studies are the study of development issues and challenges and factors influencing development. Demography is quantitative study of population, while population studies are the qualitative study of the peoples.

IMPORTANCE OF POPULATION STUDIES

Population studies are complex exercise of administrative process and policy dimensions as well as development issues. Without knowing population size, distribution, composition, population characteristics and trends of demography, any development programmes is like letting loose off the arrow in darkness (Prasad and Das, 2016). The importance of population studies are as follows:

• Economic Development – population studies determined by economic structure and economic characteristics of the population. Population studies led the working age population and their dependency on economic working age population. The dependency ratio is the best indicator of population studies of economic development aspects. Likewise industrial development and agriculture and non agriculture occupation are also concerned of population studies. Population growth and economic growth rate go together. Needs of business hubs such as shopping centres, banking facilities, transportation, economic zone development, marketing centres, etc. are related population structure.
• Political affairs – Population studies are important for political affairs of the country at national and international level. Firstly, we can find out the increasing rate of voters and secondly, how immigration and emigration rate is influencing national important in global politics.
• Programme and Planning – Population studies is the base of development programme and planning based on the rate of population growth, fertility rate, mortality rate and migration rate. Population growth either by natural or by socio-economic and political process forces programme planners to formulate effective plan to implement sectoral development across the social group and at various places.
• Agriculture and Food Security – Two thinkers of population and agriculture are Malthus and Boserup, who have thought about the growth of agriculture and population. Both thinkers contradicted to each other. Malthus said that growth of agriculture is arithmetic, while population growth is geometric and after certain point of time people will die because of shortage of food. While, Boserup was thinking positively and said that population is assets of the country and if population increases, it will lead to use technology and human resources to boost agriculture growth.
• Social – Population studies is one of the sources of information regarding social development and social infrastructure need for human population. Population study is the source of information for fertility differential among the social groups. It is also base of social security and social welfare schemes. Cinema halls and Entertainment Parks are developed based on population trends of any area.
• Infrastructure – population studies is the best source of data for infrastructure development such as roads, water, housing, educational institution, power generation, health care facilities and other facilities. Playground and recreation centre are need of the hours based on population characteristics.
• Law and governance – population studies also ensure the number of security personnel required for maintaining law and order in the locality.
• Cyber and Internet – population study that can provide help to projecting population and their requirement of the cyber, telecommunication, internet facilities, mobile phones, sim subscribers to link the world population in the present era. Computer technology is helping to manage a large population in short duration and computer technology need arises because of population growth.
• Insurance and Health Insurance – Population studies are important tools for insurance organization and insurance professionals. Insurance for different categories can be determined by the study of characteristics of the population and demographic dividend in the country.

Thus, importance of population studies cannot be separated from any developmental process. Everything is for population and population is for everything available in the earth.

Migration is the movement of people from one location to another, either permanently or temporarily. Population redistribution is mostly influenced by migration. India has seen waves of migration from all over the world throughout its history. Southeast Asia, as well as Central and West Asia, have sent the most migrants. They have established themselves and their homes in many regions of India. Like this, a large number of Indians have left their homeland to seek better opportunities elsewhere in the world.

One of the main reasons people migrate is in search of a better life. Many Indian migrants are accommodated by nations in North and South America, Western Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and South-East Asia. Some people move in search of work opportunities, to join family, or to study. Others move to escape conflict, or human rights violations. Still others move in response to the adverse effects of climate change etc.

What is Migration?

Migration is the process of moving to another nation, state, or neighborhood in search of better chances for settlement. The place from which someone moves and the place they go to are referred to as the Place of Origin and Place of Destination, respectively, when individuals move.

Migration Meaning

Migration refers to the movement of individuals or groups of people from one place to another, typically across regional, national, or international borders. This movement can be temporary or permanent and may occur for various reasons, such as economic opportunities, better living conditions, escape from conflict or persecution, or to be with family

Migrations can be divided into some major groups. Firstly, migration can be classified as either internal or international. There are movements of people and families inside any nation (such as from rural to urban areas), but these are not the same as movements from one nation to another. Second, migration might be forced or voluntary. The majority of voluntary movement, whether domestic or international, is done in search of more favorable housing or employment conditions. People who have been forcibly transferred as slaves or prisoners, or who have been driven out by their governments during war or other political unrest, are typically the subjects of forced migrations. Voluntary migrations of refugees from war, starvation, or natural disasters fall in between these two types.

Causes of Migration

Migration choices are influenced by several factors. Moving away from one’s birthplace is never simple. Most people have a very deep emotional relationship with that location. Millions of people migrate despite this, leaving behind their birthplace. The reasons why people migrate can be grouped under two headings when considering migration.

Push Factors

These are the kinds of things that drive people away from their own countries. They are forced to leave their rural birthplace and migrate to urban areas due to unfavorable conditions. Although poverty is a major contributing factor, other factors encourage migration, such as a lack of access to healthcare and education and excessive population pressure on the land.

In addition to these, local violence and natural calamities such as floods, cyclonic storms, droughts, earthquakes, etc. are other reasons why people migrate from the rural region. There is not enough infrastructure in rural areas to shield residents from natural calamities. They are thus subjected to the fluctuations of nature, which might result in harm to people and property.

Pull Factors

People are drawn to metropolitan places from rural areas by a variety of pull factors. For the bulk of rural migrants, consistent employment opportunities with somewhat greater pay are the primary attractions.

Better healthcare facilities, more leisure options, and easier access to educational facilities are all major draw factors. In general, living circumstances are better in urban regions. The benefits of living in a city are large, ranging from well-maintained sanitation and hygiene to well-constructed housing.

Types of Migration

Migration is the term for when individuals relocate inside a country or across international borders. It has been discovered through research on migration that migrants can be classified into the following groups:

1. Considering the Place of Origin and Destination of Migrants

a) Internal Migration

People moving about inside the borders of a nation or state. A shift of residence within a state, region, city, or municipality is referred to as internal migration. Internal migration is additionally classified into four types:

• Rural to Urban Migration (R-U): The movement of population from rural areas to the nearby towns and cities mainly in search of better livelihood and standard of living, i.e., employment, education, and recreation facilities.
• Rural to Rural Migration (R-R): Mostly agricultural workers, because of marriages, and sometimes looking for land for cultivation.
• Urban to Urban Migration (U-U): The relocation from one metropolitan community to the next looking for more significant compensation and another market for business potential opens doors.
• Urban to Rural Migration (U-R): The movement from urban areas or cities to rural areas to get freed off the urban problems like air pollution, overcrowding, noise pollution, and returning to their native place after retirement from jobs.

b) International Migration

This indicates that people are relocating across international borders. An international migrant is a person who relocates to a different nation. International migrants are additionally classified as:

• Legal Immigrants: Legal immigrants are the individuals who moved with the lawful authority of the beneficiary country.
• Unlawful Immigrants: Unlawful immigrants are individuals who moved without lawful authorization.
• Refugees: Refugees are those who crossed a worldwide limit to get away from abuse.

2. Considering How Long Migrants have been in a Particular Area

Considering how long migrants have been in a particular area, it is divided into the following:

• Short-term Migration: The migrants stay outside just for a brief length prior to getting back to their place. Examples: Tourists, business trips.
• Long-term Migration: The migrants stay outside, essentially, for a couple of years. Examples: Companies send their employees for projects and students for education.
• Seasonal Migration: Usually, a group of people moves from their local spots during a specific season and return after the finish of that season. Agriculture-based labor is an example of seasonal migration.

3. Considering How Prepared Each Person is for Migration

It is divided into the following:

•  Voluntary Migration: If the movement happens on migrant choice, drive and want to reside in a good place. Example: Business company CEOs.
• Involuntary Migration: If the relocation happens against the desire of migrants, it is called involuntary migration. Example: Refuges.

Benefits of Migration

The following are some of the benefits or advantages of migration:

• Migrants send money to their homes, helping in the growth of the economy of the region.
• International Indian migrants are one of the major sources of foreign exchange in India.
• States like Punjab, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu receive a huge amount of money from their international migrants.
• Green revolution in Punjab, and Haryana result because of people’s migration from Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
• Leads to the balanced distribution of the population according to resources within a country.
• Migrants act as a bridge of social change in rural areas.
• Exposure to new technologies and learning the importance of girls’ education can greatly affect the changes in orthodox families.
• Intermixing of people from diverse cultures and respecting each other.
• The mindset among people changes because of exposure.

Impact of Migration

Although the choice of migration may make good sense, it does cause issues for the communities where the migrants are coming from and going. Migration has an impact on the political, social, cultural, economic, and demographic sectors.

1. Economic Growth

Both internal and international migrants’ contributions are very beneficial to the areas from which they have moved. The funds are utilized for a variety of purposes, including purchasing food, paying off debt, getting married, treating illnesses, educating kids, building homes, and more. Conversely, uncontrolled migration to India’s urban areas results in undesirable population density increases and overpopulation.

2. Challenges and Opportunities

Migration can pose challenges, such as strain on local resources or competition for jobs. However, it also presents opportunities for growth and development if managed effectively through policies that address the needs of both migrants and locals.

3. Social Consequences

By contributing ideas, technology, and life skills acquired from living in cities, migrants help bring about societal transformation in their home countries. Migration also contributes to the blending of cultures which results in diversity. However, living apart from family can cause loneliness and anonymity, which can lead people to participate in undesirable activities like drug usage and criminality.

4. Demographic Changes

Within the working-age population, the male population from the rural areas moves to the city of metropolis leaving behind dependents in the countryside. This results in an imbalanced ratio of sexes. Without male assistance, women are forced to perform farm work in addition to household responsibilities. Also, the development of rural areas is hampered by the loss of human resources.

5. Environmental Consequences

Migration from rural areas strains the social and physical infrastructure already in place and results in urban overpopulation. Slums and unplanned settlements grow. In certain places, over-exploitation of natural resources causes pollution and resource depletion.

6. Cultural Exchange

Migration leads to the exchange of cultures. When people move to a new place, they bring their traditions, languages, and customs. This cultural diversity enriches the local culture and creates a melting pot of traditions.

7. Global Connections

Migration connects different parts of the world. Families and communities maintain ties across borders, contributing to a more interconnected global society.