Ravenstein Laws of Migration:

Introduction:

Ernst George Ravenstein was a British statistician who wrote two articles and published a paper entitled “The Laws of Migration” in 1885 which is based on the data related to migration between England and Wales in the 1880s decade. He argued that migration was not random but governed by general laws and this law was effected by variables such as distance, transportation, motive, etc. In his first thesis, he put forward the general laws of migration which concentrate to the internal migration, whereas second

is based onthe international migration.

Laws of Migration:

Law 1: Most of the migrants are from short-distance.

There is inverse relationship between the distance and the number of migrants(volume of migration). If there is short distance between the place of origin and destination, the volume of migration will be high compare to the longer distance. So, the majority of migrants go only short distance.

Law 2: Migration proceeds step by step.

Inhabitants of remote area tend to migrate towards the small town then after the larger city. Most of the people are not able to migrate directly towards the big cities from the rural areas.

Law 3: Each migration current produces a compensating counter-current.

The volume of migration stream is larger than the counter-stream. If we observe the trend of Nepalese migration, the flow of migration from Hill and Mountain to Terai and its counter-stream is from Terai to Hill and Mountain. Where, the volume of migration from Hill to Terai is much larger than its counter-stream.

Law 4: Most of the migrants are rural born

Urban born people are less migratory than the people in rural areas. Most of the people migrate for the betterment of their living and to acquire amenities. The urban natives are already utilizing the urban facilities ,so there is not necessary to migrate. But rural natives are deprived from facilities such as education ,health , transportation , communication and employment , so people migrate from remote area to urban area.

Law 5: Females are more migratory than males in short distance.

The volume of female migration is higher than the male in short distance as well as internal migration only. This is due to the marriage causes. Whereas, male are more common in international migration and cover long distance compared to the female.

Law 6: Migration increases with the improvement in technology.

The advancement of technology creates job opportunities as well as facilities for better livelihood .So, the size of migration increases with the development .

 

Law 7: There is always a motive behind migration especially economic motive

There is motive behind migration where as economic motive have primacy among the various factors governing magnitude of migration. Motive refer to the employment , education and better earning.