Migration in West Africa: Demographic Aspects.

Abstract

This is the first study ever attempted of the large-scale movement of population in this region. It describes the demographic aspects of the flow of millions of people both across and within national boundaries - flows that have important consequences for the distribution of resources and the social and economic development of the countries affected. The study is based on data from recent censuses and surveys - for some countries the first ever conducted - in the Gambia, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Upper Volta. The authors discuss the volume and direction of external and internal migration in the nine countries and present the socioeconomic characteristics of migrants and nonmigrants that are apparent from the available data. The volume of the flow is considerable. From 1965 to 1975 six countries had a net gain of 1.3 million people from migration alone, while three countries experienced a net loss of 1.2 million; about 4.4 million people migrated within their respective countries. For both international and internal movements, the direction of the flow is from the interior toward the coast and from rural to urban areas, a trend that affects the regional and national development of the individual countries and contributes to the problems of urban growth. Recent migration diverges from historical patterns and reflects changes in economic opportunities and political stability in the region. Migrants tend to stay longer at their destination than in the past and are more family oriented, as shown by increases in the percentages of women and children among long-distance migrants. Other findings of the composition of migrants by age, sex, education, occupation, and so on will assist researchers and planners of economic and social policy in the countries of origin and destination.