Question

What is the impact of rural-urban migration on the age and sex structure of the place of origin and destination?

Answer 1

Migration leads to redistribution of the population within a country. Rural-urban migration is one of the important factors contributing to the population growth of cities. Age and skill selective outmigration from rural areas have an adverse effect on rural demographic structure. High out-migration results in a serious imbalance in age-sex composition. The male population within the working-age group migrates out of rural areas leaving females, children, and old aged people, which increases the share of the dependent population in rural areas. The situation is especially difficult for females because they have to look after both domestic and economic work in the villages, leading to higher participation of women in agriculture without a decrease in their household workload. Also, it leads to loss of human resources from the rural areas, leaving them with unskilled people thus reducing the total productivity and hence hampering the development of rural areas. Urban areas receive heavy in-migration of the working-age male population, causing the sex ratio to be highly unfavorable for females, which gives rise to crimes against women and increases their vulnerability.