Study on Fractal Characteristics of Migration-Population Flow—Evidence from Egypt

Sidong Zhao,Zhishan Ma,Xingping Wang

doi:10.3390/ijgi10020045

Sidong Zhao, Zhishan Ma + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi10020045

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Abstract

Population migration is a major event of optimizing the allocation of production factors and a key way to construct regional relations and promote spatial reconstruction. However, there are few papers published on population migration that have a direct impact on the sustainable development of deserts owing to the more sensitive and complex man–earth relationship. Therefore, it is important to study the laws and characteristics of population migration in such regions. The study of Egypt by Zipf’s law shows that the spatial distribution of migration population size conforms to the law of power function with fractal characteristics of different types. The migration population is generally in a “Pareto” state in spatial distribution. Decentralization power is the leading driving force of spatial distribution, and scale-free regional distribution shows significant spatial agglomeration and gradient. Limited by research scope and “heavy tail” factors, Zipf’s law is not completely applicable. The spatial pattern and flow field characteristics of the migration population are analyzed in this paper by the conversion from “structural fractal” to “spatial fractal” based on scale-free geographic projection, providing the reference for the formulation of population governance policies and spatial planning strategies in Egypt and more desert countries.

Highlights

The slope of the rank-size rule-based double logarithm curve with linear fitting shows the law of the spatial distribution of the migration population flow size, and the linear fitting slope of most subjects is greater than 1, indicating that the spatial distribution of the size of migration-population flow is generally in the state of “Pareto”, and the decentralization power acts as a primary factor driving the spatial distribution
Based on the classical theory of rank-size distribution and its parameter significance, this paper explores the spatial distribution law of migration and floating population size in drylands and deserts, and conducts empirical research on Egypt as an example
The main conclusions reached are as follows: (1) the spatial distribution of migration-population flow in Egypt is in accordance with the law of power function on the whole on the two spatial scales of province and economic region within two dimensions of immigration and emigration

Summary

Introduction

Population migration is considered to be an event to re-allocate factors of production in space. The migration and movement of population in a specific space, to some extent, promotes the re-agglomeration and diffusion of social and economic factors [1]. With the booming of urbanization and industrialization, the migration population has become an important link between regions for interconnection and interaction. Population migration drives the social economy, urban transportation, regional culture, and other elements to move and communicate in space, constituting the vigor and vitality of a nation. The emergence and growth of the migration population has played a vital role in accelerating economic development, promoting urbanization and industrialization, and optimizing the geographical allocation of labor resources

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