The third component of population growth is migration. Migration is the movement of people across regions and territories. Migration can be internal (within the country) or international (between the countries). Internal migration does not change the size of the population, but influences the distribution of population within the nation. Migration plays a very significant role in changing the composition and distribution of population. In India, most migrations have been from rural to urban areas because of the “push” factor in rural areas. These are adverse conditions of poverty and unemployment in the rural areas and the “pull” of the city in terms of increased employment opportunities and better living conditions. Migration is an important determinant of population change. It changes not only the population size but also the population composition of urban and rural populations in terms of age and sex composition. In India, the rural-urban migration has resulted in a steady increase in the percentage of population in cities and towns. The urban population has increased from 17.29 percent of the total population in 1951 to 31.80 percent in 2011. There has been a significant increase in the number of ‘million plus cities’ from 35 to 53 in just one decade, i.e., 2001 to 2011.

Migration _{Image Courtesy: Wikipedia}

This video explains migration as a control of population in India.

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