Migration
High School
Definition
The movement of people from one place to another to live, whether within a country or across borders. Migration is driven by 'push' factors such as conflict or poverty and 'pull' factors such as jobs and safety.
Worked examples
The Great Migration (1916–1970): Six million African Americans moved from the rural South to Northern and Western cities seeking factory jobs and escaping Jim Crow laws.
Push factors were racial discrimination and limited opportunities; pull factors were industrial jobs and greater freedom.
Syrian refugees fleeing to Europe (2015): Millions crossed borders to escape civil war and find safety in Germany, Sweden, and neighboring countries.
War and violence were the push factors; security, asylum rights, and economic opportunity were the pull factors.
Common mistakes
- Migration only means moving to a different country. → Migration includes both internal moves within a country and international moves across borders. People who move from a village to a city in the same country are also migrants.
- All migration is forced by war or disaster. → Migration can be voluntary for jobs, education, or family, or forced by conflict, persecution, or natural disasters. Many people migrate by choice to improve their lives, not just to escape danger.
- Push factors attract people to a new place. → Push factors drive people away from their home; pull factors attract them to the destination. Push = reasons to leave (poverty, conflict); pull = reasons to go somewhere (jobs, safety).
Where you'll use it next
You'll apply migration concepts when studying urbanization, immigration policy, demographic change, the causes and effects of historical events like the Dust Bowl or European colonization, and current global refugee crises in geography and civics.
See also
Refugee CrisisImmigration StoriesPopulation DistributionHuman GeographyUrbanizationDemographic Transition Model
Reviewed by Pat Cheng, M.Ed. — StudyPug Curriculum Lead · Last updated June 6, 2026