The impact of migration on demographic structure

5. THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION?

1. Migration affects the demographic structure of the population. It produces changes in both, the native countries of migrantsand which they settle.

2. The interaction of populations with different cultures has social impact on the countries that receive migrants.

5. THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE EFFECTS ON THE HOME COUNTRIES OF MIGRANTS -

Emigration has consequences for the native countries of migrants: 1. Positives: a) It creates a source of income.: Emigrants transfer saving back to their families in their home country. b) It prevent unemployment reaching high levels: If fewer people of working age stay in a country, there is less competition for the remaining jobs.

2. Negatives: a) Countries lose highly qualifies and well-trained workers when they decide to look for better professional opportunities abroad. If they are successful, their friends sometimes decide to follow them. b) Younger people are much more likely to emigrate than older people and age structure becomes unbalanced. c) More men than women emigrate, so gender structure is affected.

d) Family life is badly disrupted when family members are separated from each other.

5. THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE CONSEQUENCES FOR DESTINATION COUNTRIES OF MIGRANTS - Immigration has a great influence on the destination countries: 1. Positives: a) Age: Population grow and get younger. The arrival of young people leads to an increase in the birth rate. This is benefcial for regions that have ageing populations. b) Wealth: Immigrants contribute to the economy by working and paying taxes.

2. Negatives: a) Immigrants may have problems of adaptation. Racism is a problem. b) Mafias exploit illegal immigrants by taking them across frontiers without official papers. These immigrants then find themselves in a very difficult situation.

5. THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE -

WHAT IS A POPULATION PYRAMID? A population pyramid breaks down a population according to age and sex.

The people who live in a region are divided into five-years ge groups, which are represented on a bar graph.

Younger people are shown at the bottom and older people at the top.

This type of graph is a useful way of showing the demographic characteristicsof a region.

Steps: 1. Collect the data.

2. Draw the pyramid: - Draw a vertical axis and a horizontal axis on a paper.

- the left side of the horizontal axis is for men and the right side is for women. The vertical axis gives age groups in five-years periods. The youngest age group is at the bottom and the oldest at the top. Each group is represented by a single bar.

3. Analyse the pyramid: a) Pyramid with a triangular shape: - It has a high birth rate and a high mortality rate.

- There is a very low proportion of older people.

- This is characteristic of societies of developing countries. b) An inverted pyramid : - It indicates a declining population.

- It my be found in developed countries - It has a low fertility rate and high life expectancy