The big idea: Voluntary internal migration is when people choose to move home within their own country — for example from a region with few jobs to a fast-growing city.
No one is forced to move (that would be forced migration). People move because they expect a better life somewhere else in the same country.
These moves change places: the areas people leave and the areas they move to both feel the effects.
Key terms
- Internal migration - moving home but staying inside the same country (no border is crossed).
- Voluntary - the migrant chooses to move; it is not forced by war, disaster or eviction.
- Source area - the place migrants leave (origin).
- Destination area - the place migrants move to.
- Net migration - arrivals minus departures; a positive figure means a place is gaining people, a negative figure means it is losing them.
Everyday examples: A young worker moving from a quiet rural town to a capital city for a job; a family leaving an expensive city for a cheaper coastal region; a graduate moving across the country to study or start a career.
Push and pull factors
- Pull (to the destination) - more jobs, higher wages, better services, study, family or a nicer climate.
- Push (from the source) - few jobs, low pay, poor services, farm failure or limited opportunities.
- Most internal migrants are young, working-age adults - the group an economy depends on most.
How it can hold development back: Internal migration is not always good for the whole country. When young workers all drain out of one region into a few big cities, the source region loses its workforce while the destination is overwhelmed - so the national economy can be held back even as the city grows.
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Both ends of the move change: Every internal move has two places: the area people leave and the area they arrive in. Each gets social and economic consequences - and they are usually opposite.
Source area - what people leave behind
- Social - an ageing population left behind, fewer young people, schools and clubs closing, a 'hollowed-out' community.
- Economic - a smaller workforce, businesses closing, falling demand and house prices.
Destination area - where people arrive
- Social - a younger, growing population, but pressure on housing, schools and hospitals; possible tension over crowding.
- Economic - more workers and consumers, but rising house prices and congestion.
A real pattern: Australia: In Australia, people have moved out of New South Wales (around Sydney) towards Queensland for cheaper housing, jobs and a warmer climate. NSW lost the most people to interstate migration, while Queensland gained the most - so Queensland's coast booms while parts of NSW empty out.
How this is tested: Paper 2 Q4 often opens with an infographic / map of interstate migration. You Identify the state with the largest net loss, State the range of values, Suggest why survey data on reasons might be unreliable, and then a 6-mark 'To what extent' asks how alike population change is across the country. Read the figures carefully and quote the units (people).
| State / territory | Net interstate migration (people) |
|---|---|
| Queensland | +97,000 |
| Victoria | +8,000 |
| Tasmania | +5,000 |
| Western Australia | -9,000 |
| South Australia | -12,000 |
| New South Wales | -107,000 |
IB-style question - read the infographic
Using the table above: (a) identify the state with the largest net loss to interstate migration [1]; (b) state the range of net migration values shown [1]; (c) describe how alike, or not, population change is across these states [2].
How to answer each part
- (a) Identify the largest loss. Scan for the most negative figure - New South Wales at -107,000.
- (b) State the range. Range = highest minus lowest value: +97,000 (Queensland) to -107,000 (NSW), a range of 204,000 people.
- (c) Describe how alike. It is not alike - change is very uneven: some states gain strongly (Queensland +97,000) while others lose heavily (NSW -107,000), so the country is not changing in the same way everywhere.
Final answer
(a) New South Wales; (b) +97,000 to -107,000 (range 204,000); (c) very uneven - some states gain, others lose.