Population structure and change
19
3.5 Migration
3.5.1 General migration In-migration
Of Afghanistan’s 3.4 million households, a sizable proportion 13 percent has household
members who were living elsewhere sometime during the five years preceding
the survey
Table 3.8. They may be either internal or international migrants. This overall
percentage hides significant variation: 28 percent of Kuchi households have migrants.
Furthermore, rural households 13 percent are more migratory than urban households
10 percent. Especially in the western region – bordering Iran – households tend to be
quite migratory.
Table 3.8 Households, by migration status during past ive years, and by current residence
Residence Migration status of household
Without any migrant With migrants
All households Thousands
Percentages Thousands
Percentages Thousands
Percentages Urban
616 90
66 10
682 100
Rural 2,235
87 328
13 2,563
100 Kuchi
139 72
54 28
193 100
National 2,990
87 448
13 3,438
100
All in all, 730 thousand Afghans 6 percent lived somewhere else during the past five years, of which 46 percent lived abroad Tables 3.9 and
3.10. By comparison, other types of migration are relatively minor: rather surprisingly, rural to urban migration was almost negligible only 3 percent. In most developing countries rural-to-urban migration is the most
important type of move and also other research seems to indicate its importance in Afghanistan see e.g. AREU 2005. The reverse type of move was more frequent 14 percent. Obviously, Kuchi nomadic moves figure importantly as well,
but these too are dwarfed by immigration from abroad. There is some difference between women and men: among women, apart from international moves, Kuchi migration is most important.
Table 3.9 Population, by migration experience during past ive years, and by sex
Sex Migration experience
No migration With migration
Total Thousands
Percentages Thousands
Percentages Thousands
Percentages Male
5,572 91
565 9
6,137 100.0
Female 5,732
97 165
3 5,897
100.0 Both sexes
11,304 94
730 6
12,034 100.0
All over the world, people mostly migrate when they are young adults. We see this pattern reflected among the Afghan men. Like the latter, Afghan women too migrate young, but the difference in age distribution between migrant and non-
migrant women is small. There is also little difference in educational levels between in-migrants and non-migrants, although migrants slightly more often attended primary school, compared withnon-migrants.
Migration definitions
An in-migrant is defined as someone who during the past five years lived outside
the current area of residence for at least three consecutive months. In many cases this in-migrant is a ‘return-migrant’, that is someone who lived in the current area
of residence before. The term ‘in-migrant’ is used here irrespective of whether the migrant arrived from elsewhere within Afghanistan or from abroad.
An out-migrant is anyone aged 15 years or older who was a household member
one year ago but has moved away and is no longer considered a member of the household. Note that out-migration is under-estimated to the extent that complete
households have moved away. A seasonal migrant is someone who during the past twelve months spent at least
one month away from the household for seasonal work.
Population structure and change
20
Neighbouring Iran is by far the most important place of origin of in-migrants, but it is even more important as a destination for out-migrants
Table 3.10. Apart from proximity, the fact that people speak the same language may explain part of Iran’s popularity as a destination. Pakistan remains an important country of origin, but it is somewhat surprising that it
figures rather marginally as far as out-migration is concerned. This might be related to the recent more strict position of the Government of Pakistan to Afghan citizens in the country. On the other hand, countries on the Arabian Peninsula
have become important destinations.
Table 3.10 Place of origin of in-migrants and place of destination of out-migrants
Place of origin Destination In-migrants
Out-migrants Thousands
Percentages Thousands
Percentages Same province, urban
77 11
19 6
Same province, rural 79
11 28
9 Other province, urban
119 16
22 7
Other province, rural 118
16 6
2 Pakistan
102 14
17 5
Iran 228
31 175
56 Arabian Peninsula
2 32
10 Other country
5 1
15 5
Total 730
100 315
100
Three in five of those who in-migrated sometime during the past five years, originally moved away because of work- related reasons see also Section 4.5. Seeking security or protection was the reason to move for another 12 percent
also see Section 3.5.2 below, while 7 percent migrated for family-related reasons marriage or family reunification. Education and health were fairly unimportant reasons. Those who moved abroad but have since returned, almost
universally went there to work or look for work. The exception is Pakistan, where 48 percent had moved because of security reasons. Inter-provincial migration too is dominated by labour migrants. The mean duration of residence
elsewhere was 21 months. Especially migration to the Arabian Peninsula and to countries other than Iran and Pakistan, is dominated by fairly short-term stays: 21 and 38 percent of migrants to these destinations stayed at most half a year.
Out-migration
While 13 percent of the households house an in-migrant, 7 percent saw a household member leave during the past year. Out-migration is almost twice as important in rural as in urban areas. In the latter – much smaller – category, less than
5 percent of the households has an out-migrant. Of the 12.8 million Afghans of 15 years and older, 312 thousand – 2.4 percent – have moved out of their household in the past year. This figure is – to an unknown extent – an underestimation
of the general out-migration rate, as it does not take into account those households who moved as a whole. Although based on the survey we cannot make reliable estimates of total out-migration, the survey does provide data on the
characteristics of migrants who left their household behind. An overwhelming majority of three-quarters of all out-migrants went abroad, with Iran being the most popular destination 56 percent of all out-migrants. Almost all international out-
migrants are men Figure 3.5; only in rural-to-rural migration women are in the majority, probably because of marriage. Kuchi migration too involves many women, equally with men. Out-migrants are considerably younger than the general
population: almost half the male out-migrants and six out of ten women out-migrants are under 25 Table 3.11.
It is difficult to compare the educational distribution of the population by migration experience. For out-migrants the data are by educational attainment, for the general population by educational attendance. However, as far as comparison is
possible, there seems little difference in education between the resident population and the out-migrants. There is no clear evidence of a brain drain and international migrants do not seem to be higher educated than internal migrants.
Most out-migration is work-related, four out of five out-migrants leave for work elsewhere. This is particularly true for the international destinations, and it forms a clear indicator of poverty and the lack of local income-generating opportunities.
For rural and short-distance urban migrants, marriage is an important reason to migrate, while for those heading for the towns education plays a role. Security and protection is an important motive for intra-provincial migrants. Pakistan as
well as countries outside the region attract students.
Population structure and change
21
Three out of four male out-migrants work as employees, while female out-migrants are more likely not economically active; also in their role as migrants, women remain a largely untapped economic resource. Only among women moving
abroad about one in three works as an employee.
Figure 3.5 Percentage male among out-migrants, by type of move
Table 3.11 Percentage distribution of population, by migration experience, and by sex, age
a
Sex, age Resident population
Out-migrants during
past year No migration
experience In-migrants
past 5 years Total
Male 1516-24
33 31
33 49
25-39 31
45 32
42 40+
36 24
35 9
Total 100
100 100
100
Female 1516-24
32 34
32 59
25-39 36
34 36
29 40+
32 33
32 12
Total 100
100 100
100
a
In-migrant population ages 16 and over, out-migrants ages 15 and over.
3.5.2 Security and returnees
As a consequence of the many years of war and civil unrest, a considerable number of people have fled, once or repeatedly. In recent years, large numbers of refugees and internally displaced have started to return or have resettled
elsewhere in Afghanistan. When asked, 60 percent of all households report that this large influx of refugees has affected them negatively during the past year, whether directly or indirectly. Such negative effects are more keenly felt in rural
areas 65 percent and among Kuchi households 61 percent than in the towns 39 percent.
In order to estimate the size of the phenomenon, heads of households were asked if their household had returned from displacement from outside or inside Afghanistan. Table 3.12 provides the main results. A total of 265 thousand
households have returned, 8 percent of all households and representing over two million people. Displacement has affected Kuchi households most. Half the households were internally displaced, either within the same province, or in
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