Africa, internal migration

In this essay, internal migration is conceived as human movement within the boundaries of African territory. Internal migration in Africa is precipitated mainly by the socioeconomic and political system which is undergoing continuous modification as events in one part of the system cause a repercussion in another. As such, the African socioeconomic and political environment is seen as one of change: of an increasing degree of commercialization and industrialization, of rising health and educational standards, of changing government policies and better transportation services. Thus internal migration in Africa is largely determined by social, political, and economic development (Onokerhoraye 1993; de Haas 2009). Sub-Saharan African has the highest coefficient of variation in the net migration rate accommodating the top four countries, and 22 of the top 50 in the past fifty years (Lucas 2005). The recent rise in internal migration has been linked directly to the force of urbanization as well as to social and capitalist economic transformation which tend to affect human population (de Haas 2009). Keywords: identity politics; development; sustainable development; employment and unemployment; poverty; political economy; disease