To explain a migration factor, name the factor, link it to the evidence supplied, and say how it affects the decision to move. Questions on this appear when you are given a short case, a table of movements or a map of origins and destinations, as in population and settlement evidence.
How do you build a supported explanation?
- Identify the origin and destination and the type of move, for example rural to urban.
- Sort the evidence into push factors at the origin and pull factors at the destination.
- Pick the factor the evidence supports most strongly and quote it.
- Add a link word: “so”, “which means”, “therefore”.
- Add a limit: other factors, such as family ties or cost of moving, also affect individual choices.
Worked example
Invented case: Region R is mostly farmland. City C, 80 km away, has a growing construction sector.
| Evidence | Detail |
|---|---|
| Region R farm income | fell over five years |
| Region R schools | few secondary schools |
| City C | construction jobs advertised |
| Journey | 80 km by road |
Explanation: A push factor from Region R is falling farm income, so some households have less money from farming. A pull factor to City C is the number of construction jobs, which offers wages. Together these make moving to City C a realistic choice for some people. Family ties and the cost of moving will also affect who decides to go.
Net migration calculation (invented): in a year, 12,000 people move into City C and 8,500 leave. Net migration = 12,000 − 8,500 = +3,500. The city has 250,000 people, so the rate is 3,500 ÷ 250 = 14 per 1,000.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken answer: “People from the countryside are poor and uneducated, so they all move to the city.”
This describes a group of people, not conditions. It claims all of them move, and the evidence given says nothing about education.
Correction: use the evidence. “Falling farm income in Region R is a push factor. Construction jobs in City C are a pull factor. So some people from Region R may move.” The correction names conditions, uses cautious wording and stays inside the data.
Self-check
1. City D (invented) gains 9,200 people and loses 11,000 in a year. Its population is 120,000. Give net migration and the rate per 1,000.
Show answer
9,200 − 11,000 = −1,800. Rate = −1,800 ÷ 120 = −15 per 1,000, a net loss.2. Classify as push or pull: (a) a new factory opens in the destination; (b) a flood damages homes in the origin.
Show answer
(a) Pull factor, because it is an attraction at the destination. (b) Push factor, because it is a condition at the origin.3. Rewrite “Young people always leave villages because they are bored” as a supported sentence, using this evidence: “village has no college; city has three colleges.”
Show answer
"The lack of a college in the village is a push factor and the three colleges in the city are a pull factor, so some young people may move to continue their education."Where does this lead next?
Migration changes the places people move to. See how in comparing settlement functions. Earlier, reading a population structure diagram shows the age pattern that migration can change.
If your explanations name a factor but never link it to the evidence, a teacher can mark your written answers with you in IGCSE Geography one-to-one tuition.