CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1Background of the study

Migration which may be a temporary or permanent basis refers to the movement of people
from one geographical area to another. Generally migration can be either internal which is the
movement of people with in the territory of a country, or international/external migration
which refers to the movement of people with crossing the territory of the country.

Rural-urban migration which stays in contrast to international migration, refers to the

movement of people from the rural or non-urban areas to the cities or urban areas, it is form
of what so- called internal migration which means the movement of people with in the
territory of a country.

According to UNDESA (2015), the number of international migrants reached 244 million in
2015. But the same report revealed that a considerably higher number of migrants, about 740
million, are engaged in internal migration (moved within their countries), mainly from rural
to urban areas or from one rural area to another. Moreover, According DFID, (2004),
estimated that in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) about 50 to 80% of each rural household has at
least one migrant member (Fassil & Mohammed, 2017).

Migration is one of the important factor after fertility and mortality that affect the
demographic changes in a country. It influences size, composition and distribution of
population. One of the most significant migration patterns has been rural to urban migration
—the movement of people from the countryside to cities in search of various opportunities.
(Kumari, 2014).

Historically, rural to urban migration has played a significant role in the urbanization process
of several countries and continues to be significant in scale, even though migration rates have
slowed down in some countries (Lall et al., 2006). Also Todaro (1976) reported that the
major sources of the growth of urban population in developing countries will not only be
natural population increase but also the continuing migration of rural people to the urban
centres

Migration rates reached its historical maximum in the 19th century in Europe, the proportion
of people living in cities increased more than doubling, the people moved from rural and
gathered in cities with greater frequency than previously imagined, cities had grown at their
highest pace ever. This urbanization resulted from crises that shook rural areas and people
moved many times in the search for a secure livelihood(page Moch, 2011)

Many developing countries in the world are currently experiencing an unprecedented rate of
urbanization. It is also clear that, unlike the experience of currently developed countries, the
process of urbanization presently taking place in developing countries is not in consonance
with rapid industrialization. Rather, it is the consequence of growing population pressure in
the rural areas (Kasahun, 2000)

In Africa, urban growth rates are among the highest in the world, averaging about 7 percent
annually, with several cities having growth rates in excess of 10 percent. Associated with this
urbanization has been a large increase in open urban unemployment which generally exceeds
10 percent of the urban labour force and consists largely of young school-Leavers.(Byerlee,
1974).

Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced a noticeable increasing rate of migration in recent years,
although international migration has been extensive in the past decades and has received
more attention, internal migration is far more significant in terms of the numbers of people
involved (W. Naude, 2010).

Although the population of Somalis are predominantly rural, there are strong patterns of
rural-urban migration. Rapid urban migration become has become a particular issue in
Hargeisa city where majority the majority of returning Somali refugee from Ethiopia have
chosen to settle(UNDP Somaia, 2001).

In Somaliland, rural-urban migration is quite common especially in areas where drought is

frequent. Members of rural households which migrating within Somaliland, 42 percent
moved to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, and 12 percent moved to urban centres other
than Hargeisa (World Bank, 2015)

The decision of migration is based on the prevailing conditions and the reason for it varies
from one individual to another. Generally, migration is a response of individuals to better
their place of origin’s economic and non-economic opportunities as well as having in mind
positive expectations from the destination.

Some of the responsible factors for migration are classified by Greenwood based on regional
differences between the receiving and sending regions and on individual characteristics of
migrants(Greenwood, 1985) . Also Etzo, (2008) categorised the determinants that affect the
migration decision of individuals and families in sub-Saharan Africa as economic
determinants, demographic determinants, gravity variables, labour market determinants,
conflict, and environmental determinants

There are several reasons for population mobility from place to place. Reasons for migration
to urban centres in particular are more complex. However, the causes of migration are usually
identified as two broad categories, namely “pushing” and “pulling” factors. For example,
people of a certain area may be pushed off by poverty and other natural factor to move
towards towns for employment. On the other hand, better employment opportunities or the
need for better facilities in urban areas may also pull people to different urban areas. In
addition, the decision to migrate from one place to another may also be influenced by non-
economic factors such as the need to join relatives, the need to be free from cultural and
family restriction and obligation and so on. In general, however, as to the causes of migration
scholars conclude that migration is a response by humans to a series of economic and non-
economic factors (Teshome & Belete, 2020)

In more developed countries, internal migration went to the peak in their ear of urbanization
and industrialization, also migration trends were existing until the pre-industrialization era.
But at this time many people moved to cities as their life cycle and economic circumstances
dictated, on the other hand national state became a major employer as The bureaucratization
of government functions, the growth of state postal and education systems More employment
in constructions and industries, were the pulling factors of people form non-urban areas (page
Moch, 2011).

survey conducted in Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda has
considered education, marital status, age, ethnicity, and number of births as determinates of
rural out-migration. The survey also indicated that poor economic opportunities of rural areas
have been a considerable factor for out-migration taking into account the case of Northern
Ghana where migration towards the prosperous coastal towns is prevalent (Brockerhoff &
Eu, 1993).

In the Horn of Africa migration from rural to urban living is increasing. There are
multiple factors driving this, such as climate change, especially drought, or insecurity as
well as pull factors such as employment and education opportunities, access to other
services and changing expectations of young people. For some migrations is aspirational
with people choosing to move to increase their options, for others the decision to move
may be escape physical or economic insecurity(European Union Emergency Trust Fund
for Africa, 2019).

Somaliland suffered precipitously during its union with Somalia with low levels of
investment followed by a ruinous civil war that destroyed most of the country’s infrastructure
and capital. Despite having gone through a destructive civil war, after independence
Somaliland managed to establish a government that secured political stability and peace. This
allowed new forms of economic production and encouraged economic growth (SNDPII,
2017). This led the economy to recover rapidly, increase in production, rebuild physical,
social and human capital, on the other hand thousands of people migrate to the cities and
speedy urbanization began, at the same time more slums and shanty towns formed due to the
vast migration trends and this brought pressure to local municipalities to provide the required
social services at the same time unemployment increased. According OCVP, (2017) Youth
unemployment remains the biggest challenge in Somaliland.

For the past decades, Somaliland has seen an increase in hazardous events such as droughts,
flash floods, massive land degradation, and invasion of alien species. These hazardous
climate events caused a large number of rural people to migrate from the rural to urban cities,
while especially capital cities accept 70% of the total inter-migraters. This become the major
determinant of internal migration occurring in the last years (Abdulkadir G, 2017).