GeographyISC Class 12 · Migration Trends

Types, Streams and Causes of Migration (ISC Class 12 Geography)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Migration is the movement of people across an administrative boundary to settle for a long period. It is internal (intra-state or inter-state) or international, and it flows in four streams: rural-rural, rural-urban, urban-urban and urban-rural. Push factors at the origin and pull factors at the destination drive it, and its causes are natural, economic, political and social, with marriage the main reason for women and work for men.

Notice that push factors drive people out of the origin while pull factors attract them to the destination, so migration flows from push to pull.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration

1. Meaning. Migration is the movement of people from one place to another across an administrative boundary with the intention of settling for a long period or permanently. Daily commuting and tourism are not migration. A migrant is a person who has moved from the place of birth or last residence. The census counts migrants by place of birth and by place of last residence. In-migration is movement into an area, out-migration is movement out, and net migration is the difference (in-migrants minus out-migrants).

2. Step-wise migration. It takes place in stages: a person moves from a village to a nearby small town, then to a larger city, and finally to a metropolis. Each step adds skills, savings and contacts. For example, a worker from a village in Bihar may first work in Patna and then in Delhi.

3. Push and pull factors. Push factors at the place of origin: poverty, unemployment, small and fragmented holdings, low agricultural productivity, droughts, floods and crop failure, lack of schools and hospitals, conflict and insecurity, and natural disasters. Pull factors at the destination: jobs and higher wages, better education and health care, security and social freedom, and relatives or people from the same region. In India, rural-urban migration is driven more by push factors than by the pull of well-paid jobs, so many migrants end up in the informal sector and in slums.

4. Types. National (internal) migration is movement within the country: intra-state (within the same state, for example from a village in Maharashtra to Pune, the largest category) and inter-state (for example from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab or Gujarat). International migration crosses national borders: skilled professionals go to the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia, semi-skilled and unskilled workers go to the Gulf countries (a source of large remittances, especially to Kerala), and immigration into India is mainly from Bangladesh and Nepal. Migration may also be permanent, seasonal or temporary, and voluntary or forced.

5. Streams. Rural-rural is the largest stream by numbers, dominated by women moving after marriage, with farm labourers moving to prosperous irrigated regions. Rural-urban is dominated by men seeking jobs and drives urbanisation and slum growth. Urban-urban runs mostly from smaller to larger cities and becomes dominant at an advanced stage of urbanisation. Urban-rural includes retired people returning home and migrants who return after losing jobs, as in the 2020 lockdown.

6. Causes. Natural: droughts, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides and environmental degradation (out-migration from drought-prone western Rajasthan or flood-hit north Bihar). Economic: employment, higher income, industrialisation, unequal regional development and dam or mining projects that displace people. Political: Partition (1947), the 1971 war, conflict, insurgency and transfer policies. Social: marriage, joining family, education, health care, discrimination and kin networks.

7. Consequences. In-migration areas face overcrowding, slums, unemployment and pressure on water, sanitation and transport. Source areas gain remittances and skills but lose young adults, leaving women, children and the elderly. Out-migration rates differ between states because of regional inequality in jobs, dependence on rain-fed farming, exposure to floods or droughts and lack of facilities, being high from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and low from Maharashtra.

Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration: key facts

Net migration: In-migrants
minus out-migrants
positive means net gain
Types: $I n t er na l : in t r a - s t a t e, in t er - s t a t e ∣ I n t er na t i o na l : e mi g r a t i o n, immi g r a t i o n$
Streams: $R u r a l - r u r a l ∣ R u r a l - u r ban ∣ U r ban - u r ban ∣ U r ban - r u r a l$
Causes: $N a t u r a l ∣ E co n o mi c ∣ P o l i t i c a l ∣ S oc ia l$
Total change: Natural increase
plus net migration
gives total population change

How to answer Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration questions

Classify each migration case by type, stream, cause and factor.

1Check whether the boundary crossed is a state or a country (intra-state, inter-state, international).
2Identify the origin and destination (rural or urban) for the stream.
3Name the main cause category (natural, economic, political, social).
4Separate the push at the origin from the pull at the destination.
5Add the consequence at the destination or the source if asked.

Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

A worker's route from village to city

Suppose a young man leaves a drought-hit village, works first in a nearby town for two years, then moves to a large city and later to a metropolis for a better job.

Name the pattern of movement, the type of factor at the village, and the stream of the first move.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Movement in stages is step-wise migration.
Drought at the village is a push factor (natural cause).
Village to town is the rural-urban stream.

Answer: Step-wise migration; push factor (drought); rural-urban stream.

Memory hook: Village, town, city, metropolis: step by step.

Wedding and the largest stream

Suppose a girl from one village marries and moves to a village in a neighbouring state, and her cousin moves from a village to a city to take a job.

Name the stream and type for each and the main cause.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The girl: rural-rural, inter-state, social cause (marriage).
The cousin: rural-urban, economic cause (employment).

Answer: Girl: rural-rural, inter-state, marriage. Cousin: rural-urban, employment.

Memory hook: Marriage moves women; jobs move men.

Tricks to remember Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

Push at home, pull away
Push factors are at the origin; pull factors are at the destination.
Use it when: Push and pull.
N-E-P-S
Natural, Economic, Political, Social: the four cause groups.
Use it when: Causes.
Four streams: RR, RU, UU, UR
Rural-rural is the biggest; urban-urban dominates at an advanced stage.
Use it when: Streams.

Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Define migrant and step-wise migration · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Define (a) a migrant and (b) step-wise migration, with an example of (b).

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(a) A migrant is a person who has moved from the place of birth or last residence to another place.
(b) Step-wise migration is movement in stages, from a village to a small town, a larger city and then a metropolis.
Example: a worker moving from a Bihar village to Patna and then to Delhi.

Answer: (a) A person who has moved from the place of birth or last residence. (b) Movement in stages, for example village to Patna to Delhi.

Example 2: Types of internal migration · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

Name the two types of internal migration and give one example of each.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Intra-state: within a state, for example a village in Maharashtra to Pune.
Inter-state: between states, for example Bihar or Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.

Answer: Intra-state (village to Pune in Maharashtra) and inter-state (Bihar to Delhi).

Example 3: Push and pull · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain with two points each the push factors in the villages of eastern Uttar Pradesh and the pull factors in an industrial city that lead to rural-urban migration.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Push: poverty, unemployment and small fragmented holdings; floods and crop failure.
Pull: jobs and higher wages in industry, construction and services; better education and health care.
Note that in India push factors usually dominate, so migrants often enter the informal sector and slums.

Answer: Push: poverty, fragmented holdings, floods. Pull: jobs and wages, education and health care. Push usually dominates in India.

Example 4: Streams compared · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Compare rural-rural and rural-urban migration on the basis of main migrant group, main cause and effect on the destination.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Rural-rural: mostly women; marriage is the main cause; also farm labourers move to prosperous irrigated regions; it is the largest stream by numbers; it puts little pressure on the destination, though it supplies labour to prosperous farming regions.
Rural-urban: mostly men; employment is the main cause; it drives urbanisation and the growth of slums.

Answer: Rural-rural: women, marriage, largest by numbers; little pressure on the destination, with some labour supply to prosperous farming regions. Rural-urban: men, jobs, urbanisation, overcrowding and slums.

Example 5: Sketch-map style reasoning · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Case (invented): A sketch map shows arrows from a flood-prone north Bihar district to Punjab and Delhi, and from a Kerala district to the Gulf. (a) Name the type of each flow. (b) Name the main cause of each. (c) State one gain and one loss for each source area.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(a) Bihar to Punjab and Delhi: inter-state (internal) migration; Kerala to the Gulf: international migration (emigration).
(b) Bihar: natural (floods) and economic (jobs); Kerala: economic (work in the Gulf).
(c) Gain: remittances and skills; loss: young adults leave, leaving women, children and the elderly.

Answer: (a) Inter-state; international (b) floods and jobs; work abroad (c) remittances gained; young adults lost.

Where students lose marks in Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Writing push factors for the destination
Push and pull are placed at the wrong end.
Do this: Push = origin; pull = destination.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks.
Mistake: Calling tourism or daily travel migration
Migration means settling for a long period.
Do this: Include the idea of settling across an administrative boundary.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Mixing intra-state and inter-state
The boundary crossed is not checked.
Wrong working
Village to Pune within Maharashtra: inter-state
Right working
Village to Pune within Maharashtra: intra-state
Do this: Ask whether the state line is crossed.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Forgetting the gender pattern
Marriage for women and work for men are central.
Do this: Mention both in stream and cause answers.
Usually costs: 1 mark.

Exam tips

Use one example for each term you define.
In sketch-map questions, name the type first, then the cause.
Separate push from pull in two short lists.
Mention consequences for both source and destination.

Practice questions on Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
A woman moves from a village in Haryana to a village in Uttar Pradesh after marriage. This is:
(a) intra-state, rural-urban
(b) inter-state, rural-rural
(c) international, rural-rural
(d) intra-state, urban-rural
Hint
Is a state line crossed? Where from and to?
Answer
(b) inter-state, rural-rural.
Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
A graduate leaves a small town for a metropolis to take a better-paid job. (a) Name the stream. (b) Why would this stream become more common as a country urbanises? (c) Is this push-led or pull-led?
Hint
Small to large cities; better job.
Answer
(a) Urban-urban. (b) When most people already live in towns, the main movement is from smaller towns to larger cities for better jobs, higher education and services. (c) Pull-led, as better jobs at the destination draw her.
Q3 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Match each situation with the cause group (natural, economic, political, social) and justify: (a) a family leaves after river-bank erosion, (b) a worker takes a factory job, (c) refugees cross a border after a war, (d) a student joins a distant college.
Hint
Droughts, jobs, Partition, marriage.
Answer
(a) Natural: erosion is an environmental hazard. (b) Economic: employment and income. (c) Political: war and conflict. (d) Social: education.
Q4 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
State three problems faced by large cities because of in-migration and two benefits to the source villages.
Hint
Overcrowding; remittances.
Answer
Problems: overcrowding and slums, unemployment, pressure on water, sanitation and transport (also pollution). Benefits to the source area: remittances and skills gained.
Q5 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
A passage states that migrants strain a city's services, yet the city's economy depends on them. (a) Name two factors that determine whether a person moves. (b) Give one reason why out-migration rates are high in Bihar but low in Maharashtra. (c) Name one effect on the source area.
Hint
Push and pull; regional inequality.
Answer
(a) Push factors at the origin and pull factors at the destination. (b) Unequal regional development: more industrial jobs in Maharashtra, dependence on rain-fed farming and floods in Bihar. (c) Loss of young adults, leaving women, children and the elderly, though remittances arrive.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.What is net migration?Show answer
In-migrants minus out-migrants.
2.Main reason for female migration?Show answer
Marriage.
3.Largest category of internal migration?Show answer
Intra-state migration.
4.Which stream dominates at an advanced stage?Show answer
Urban-urban.
5.Major sources of inter-state migrants?Show answer
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Types, Streams, Push and Pull Factors and Causes of Migration: frequently asked questions

What is step-wise migration?

Movement in stages from a village to a small town, a city and then a metropolis.

Who counts as a migrant in the census?

A person enumerated in a place different from the place of birth or last residence.

Why do many rural-urban migrants live in slums?

Push factors dominate and they enter the informal sector with low incomes.

Where do Gulf migrants send remittances?

Especially to Kerala.