IGCSE Geography / Globalisation and migration

Why people migrate: push and pull revision notes

Edexcel International GCSE Geography (4GE1), chapter 8: Globalisation and migration, specification point 8.1c, 8.S2. Free lesson.

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Migration is the movement of people to live in another place. Push and pull factors explain why people leave one place and choose another, while flow maps show where people move and how many move.

How international migration has changed

Migration means moving to live in another place. It is international migration when people cross a border between countries. The number of international migrants has more than tripled since 1970, although migrants were still only 3.7% of the world's people in 2024. There were 84 million international migrants in 1970, 154 million in 1990 and 304 million in 2024. International migrants made up 2.9% of the world's people in 1990 and 3.7% in 2024. Most people do not move abroad.

How push and pull factors differ

Push factors are reasons to leave the place people live. Pull factors are reasons to choose a destination. You can sort both types into social, economic and political reasons. Social: Poor schools, poor healthcare and too little housing can push people away. Better schools and hospitals, or family already at the destination, can pull them there. Economic: Few jobs, low wages and poverty can push people away. More jobs and higher pay can pull them towards a destination. Political: War and persecution can push people away. Persecution means being attacked because of your…

How origin, obstacles and destination fit together

The origin is where a migrant starts, and the destination is where they end up. Push factors act at the origin, while pull factors act at the destination. People move when the reasons to leave and choose a destination outweigh the obstacles in between. Obstacles can include the cost of travel, distance, a new language and visas. A visa is a permit to enter a country. In voluntary migration, the migrant chooses to go. In forced migration, they have no choice. About 118 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2025.

How to read a flow line map

Each arrow shows a movement of people. Read where it starts and ends, the direction it travels and how wide it is. The arrow's width shows the number of migrants. An arrow from Mexico to the USA starts at Mexico, its origin, and points to the USA, its destination. The direction is north. The wide Mexico to USA arrow shows about 11 million people, the largest flow between any two countries. The narrower flow from Syria to Germany shows about 0.9 million people in 2025. It is forced migration caused by war.

How to explain a push factor clearly

Avoid saying only that people leave because of a poor quality of life. That is too vague to earn the mark. Name the specific problem, then explain what it causes, using so to connect the reason to migration. For example, few jobs and low wages can lead people to leave to find paid work. War can make an area unsafe, so people are forced to leave to protect their lives.