Global demography and

Global Migration
 Global Demography
Demographic transition is a singular historical period
during which mortality and fertility rates decline from
high to low levels in a particular country or region. The
broad outlines of the transition are similar in countries
around the world, but the pace and timing of the
transition have varied considerably.
 Global
demography
The transition started in mid- or late 1700s in Europe. During that
time, death rates and fertility began to decline. High to low
fertility happened 200 years in France and 100 years in the
US. In other parts of the world, the transition began later. It
was only in the 20th century that mortality decline in Africa
and Asia, with the exception of Japan.
 Global demography
● According to Maddison (2001), life expectancy occurred in China in 1929 until
1931. Fertility decline in Asia did not begin until the 1950’s and so on. In the
case of Japan, it was until the 1930s that “total fertility rate did not drop below
five births per woman” (Shigeyuki et al., 2002).
● This resulted in rapid population growth after the Second World War, affecting
the age structure of Asia and the developing world. Specifically, the baby
boom in the developing world was caused by the decline of infant and child
mortality rates.
 Global demography
● There was a reverse in global population shares during the 20 th century as Africa,
Asia, Latin America, and Oceania had high levels of population growth rates.
According to Shigeyuki et al. (2002), population growth shows a more
remarkable shift: “between 1820 and 1980, 69.3% of the world’s population
growth occurred in Europe and Western offshoots. Between 1950 and 2000,
however, only 11.7% occurred in that region”.
 Global demography
● In terms of age structure, the overall trend in Japan and the West was
downward until 1950. Their dependency ratio was close to 0.5. It only
increased although temporary, when the baby boom after the 2 nd WW
occurred. Japan’s dependency ratio, however, increased between 1888
and 1920. Its dependency ratio was higher than the West between 1920
and the early 1950s. It dropped in 1970 and later since its precipitous
decline in childbearing during the 1950s and low fertility rates in recent
years.
Global demography
Dependency ratios started to disappear
because there is a decline in global birth rate.
The developing countries like India and Furthermore, the gap in fertility between the
the Philippines had higher West and the less developed countries
dependency ratios than the West in became smaller by the 21st century.
1900. A great increase in dependency
ratio was caused by the decline in Over the next 50 years, the cases of
infant and child mortality and high dependency ratios of these two areas in the
world will be reversed. The aging of
levels of fertility, with its peak around
populations will cause a rise in dependency
1970. ratio, starting in the West.
 Global The nuances of the movements of people around
the world can be seen through the categories of
Migration migrants—”vagabonds” and “tourists”.

Vagabonds Tourists
● Vagabonds are on the move ● Tourists, on the other hand, are
“because they have to be”—they on the move because they want to
are not faring well in their home be and because they can afford it.
countries and are forced to move
in the hope that their
circumstances will improve.
 Global Migration
● Refugees and vagabonds are forced to flee their home countries due to safety
concerns. Asylum seekers are refugees who seek to remain in the country to which
they flee.

● According to Kritz (2008), those who migrate to find work are involved in labor
migration. Labor migration is driven by “push” factors (e.g., lack of employment
opportunities in home countries), as well as “pull” factors (work available
elsewhere). Labor migration mainly involves the flow of less-skilled and unskilled
workers, as well as illegal immigrants who live on the margins of the host society.
 Global Migration
● Unlike other global flows, labor migration still faces many restrictions.
Many of these barriers are related to the Westphalian conception of the
nation-state and are intimately associated with it. Shamir (2005)
discussed that the state may seek to control migration because it involves
the loss of part of the workforce.
● An influx of migrants can lead to conflicts with local residents. Concerns
about terrorism also affect the desire of the state to restrict population
flows. (Moses, 2006).
 Global Migration
Migration is traditionally governed either by “push” factors
such as political persecution, economic depression, war,
and famine in the home country or by “pull” factors such as
favorable immigration policy, a labor shortage, and a
similarity of language and culture in the country of
destination. Global factors, which facilitate easy access to
information about the country or destination, also exert a
significant influence.
 Global Migration
Many countries face issues of illegal migration. The
United States faces a major influx of illegal Other countries with similar concerns about illegal
immigrants form Mexico and other Central immigration include Great Britain, Switzerland, and
Greece as well as countries in Asia.
American states (Thompson, 2008). A fence is being
constructed on the US-Mexico border to control this
flow of people. However, its efficacy is questioned
and it is thought that it will only lead illegal
immigrants to adopt more dangerous methods to
gain entry. In addition, tighter borders have also had
the effect of “locking in” people who might
otherwise have left the country.
 Global Migration
● A strong case can be made on the backlash against illegal immigrants. In the
North, such immigrants constitute a younger workforce that does work which
locals may not perform, and they are consumers who contribute to growth. They
also send remittances back to family members in the country of origin, which
improves the lives of the recipients, reduce poverty rates, and increase the level of
education as well as the foreign reserves of the home country. As a result,
specialized organizations play a major role in the transmission of remittances.
 Global
Migration
According to Malkin (2007), the Philippines is one of the leaders when it comes to the flow of remittances ($14.7 billion), next
to India ($24.5 billion) and China ($21.1 billion).

The term “diaspora” has been increasingly used to describe migrant communities. Of particular interest is Paul Gilroy’s (1993)
conceptualization of the diaspora as a transitional process, which involves dialogue to both imagined and real locales.
Diasporization and globalization are closely interconnected and the expansion of the latter will lead to an increase in the
former. Today, there exists “virtual diasporas”, which utilize technology such as the internet to maintain the community
teamwork.