What are the main economic pull factors?

The availability of jobs, especially where employers are actively recruiting; higher wages, including wages that are low by the destination's standards but high compared with the origin; a wider range of occupations and better prospects of promotion; training and higher education that leads to work; the ability to send remittances home; and, at the top of the labour market, specialist opportunities available in only a few world cities. Perceived opportunity matters as much as actual opportunity.

What are the main social push and pull factors?

Pushes include poor and overcrowded housing, weak or closing schools and health services, isolation and lack of amenities in remote areas, limited marriage or social opportunities in a small community, and family or community pressure to leave or to support relatives elsewhere. Pulls include joining family already at the destination, better schools, hospitals and housing, the presence of an established community from the same origin providing language and support, a wider range of services and entertainment, and a perceived better quality of life.

Explain why a migrant's perception matters as much as the real conditions at the destination.

Because people act on the information available to them, and that comes from relatives, returning migrants, recruiters, advertising, television and social media, all of which tend to emphasise success and understate difficulty. Expectations of wages, housing and acceptance are therefore often higher than the reality, which explains disappointment, downward occupational mobility on arrival and some return migration. It also explains why flows follow information channels: people move to the places they have heard about from someone they trust, which is why migration streams are so strongly channelled between particular pairs of places.

CCEA A-Level Geography 3910

Processes That Shape Fluvial Environments

Topic overview The drainage basin as an open system Storm hydrographs Factors influencing storm hydrographs Annual hydrographs and river regimes River erosion and transportation Deposition and the Hjulstrom curve Erosional and mixed river landforms Depositional river landforms

Human Interaction in Fluvial Environments

Topic overview Why rivers are channelised, and the methods used Environmentally sensitive and sustainable river management The causes of river flooding The effects of flooding on people, property and land

Global Biomes

Topic overview The global distribution of biomes The tundra biome: climate and soils The temperate grassland biome: climate and soils Climate change and tundra ecosystems

Small-Scale Ecosystems

Topic overview Biotic and abiotic components Ecosystems as open systems Trophic structure and ecological pyramids Nutrient cycling and the nutrient cycling model Plant succession and seral stages Climatic climax and plagioclimax vegetation

The Processes That Shape Our Weather and Climate

Topic overview The global energy balance Vertical and horizontal heat transfer in the atmosphere Ocean currents and the transfer of heat Pressure belts, the Coriolis effect and the pressure gradient The tri-cellular model, the global winds, and where it breaks down Jet streams and the upper westerly winds Global patterns of temperature, pressure, wind and precipitation Factors influencing air temperature

Weather in the British Isles

Topic overview How precipitation forms Air masses affecting the British Isles The polar front and the birth of a depression The life cycle of a depression, and its fronts The sequence of weather as a depression passes Anticyclones in summer and winter Isobars, wind, and the front symbols on a synoptic chart Station circles, recognising systems, and satellite images

Global Weather Issues

Topic overview The Pacific in a normal year: the Walker circulation El Niño events and their global consequences La Niña events and their global consequences How tropical cyclones form The structure of a tropical cyclone The impacts of a tropical cyclone on people and property Managing tropical cyclones: prediction, preparation and response

Population Data

Topic overview Census taking, vital registration, and how the data is collected The reliability of the data, and the use made of it

Population Change

Topic overview Fertility and mortality measures, and why crude rates are crude The demographic transition model The epidemiological transition

Population and Resources

Topic overview Overpopulation, underpopulation and optimum population Malthus and Boserup, and how they hold up Fertility policies, and evaluating one

Settlement Change and the Rural-Urban Fringe

Topic overview Defining rural and urban settlement The rural-urban continuum Issues affecting the rural-urban fringe Greenfield and brownfield development Suburbanisation Counterurbanisation

Planning in Rural Environments

Topic overview Why the countryside needs planning protection ASSIs and SSSIs Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty National parks A national park for Northern Ireland: the case for, the case against, and the verdict

Urban Challenges in MEDC and LEDC Cities

Topic overview Economic and social deprivation in the MEDC inner city Re-urbanisation in the MEDC city Gentrification and its consequences Urban growth and informal settlements in the LEDC city Service provision in the LEDC city Economic activity and the informal economy in the LEDC city

Measuring Development

Topic overview Why 'development' resists definition Two economic measures: GDP and GNI per capita Two social measures: infant mortality and adult literacy Two composite measures: the HDI and the Gender Inequality Index Using the measures together to describe global contrasts

Reducing the Development Gap

Topic overview The Millennium Development Goals: aims and framework Evaluating two Millennium Development Goals The 2030 Agenda and the Global Goals How the Global Goals build on the Millennium Development Goals Globalisation as a route to development in LEDCs Aid and development in LEDCs, and judging development in one

Emerging Markets

Topic overview What an emerging market is BRICS and MINT: what the labels group, and why they are contested Why emerging markets have grown, and one economy studied

Data Collection

Topic overview Collecting primary data in the field Sampling methods: random, systematic, stratified and pragmatic Point, line and quadrat sampling Ordnance Survey maps and map reading Photographs and satellite images as evidence Synoptic charts and remotely sensed data

Data Processing

Topic overview Geographical information systems, and mapping techniques Annotated sketch maps, and the graph types Triangular graphs Mean, median, mode and range Spearman's rank correlation Nearest neighbour analysis Chi-squared (A2 only)Location quotient (A2 only)Developing investigative skills, and the conventions of mapping and graphical work

Fieldwork Skills and Techniques

Topic overview Framing a geographical question and designing the enquiry Fieldwork safety, hazards and contingency planning Choosing and justifying sampling techniques for an investigation Collecting quantitative and qualitative evidence Describing and evaluating data collection methods Presenting evidence in cartographic, diagrammatic and graphical form Choosing and applying statistical techniques Analysing evidence and drawing conclusions Evaluating methods, evidence and the limitations of conclusions

Planning and Recording an Investigation

Topic overview Choosing an issue, hypothesis or question Identifying appropriate sources and methods Describing the study area, stating aims, and recording data

Plate Tectonics: Theory, Margins and LandformsTectonics

Topic overview The structure of the Earth and the driving mechanism The evidence for continental drift and plate tectonics Constructive margins: processes, ocean ridges and rift valleys Conservative margins: processes and why they build nothing Destructive margins: subduction, trenches and island arcs Collision margins and fold mountains Matching landform to margin: the classic confusions

Volcanic Activity and Its ManagementTectonics

Topic overview Magma composition, viscosity and eruption style Volcanic activity at constructive margins Volcanic activity at destructive margins Hot spots and intraplate volcanic activity Hazards of volcanic activity Benefits of volcanic activity Preparing for volcanic activity: monitoring, planning and protection Responding to volcanic activity and evaluating the response

Seismic Activity and Its ManagementTectonics

Topic overview The nature of a seismic event Seismic waves: P, S and L waves Seismic shaking and its impacts Liquefaction Tsunamis Attempts to predict seismic events Preparing for seismic activity Responding to seismic activity and evaluating the response

Locations and Climates of the Major Tropical BiomesTropical

Topic overview The Hadley cell and the ITCZ Tropical forest: distribution, climate and biomass Tropical grassland: distribution, climate and biomass Hot desert, and the tropical biomes compared

Management and Sustainability in Arid and Semi-Arid Tropical EcosystemsTropical

Topic overview Why irrigation is needed, and the methods used The benefits of irrigation and its environmental problems The socio-economic problems of irrigation, and the solutions

Management and Sustainability in the Tropical Forest EnvironmentTropical

Topic overview Trophic structure, the nutrient cycle, and why clearance is so damaging The zonal soil of the tropical forest Large-scale development and its threats to the forest ecosystem Attempts to achieve sustainable development in the tropical forest

Coastal Processes and FeaturesCoastal

Topic overview Waves and wave energy Wave refraction and coastal alignment Marine erosion, transport, longshore drift and deposition Landforms of high-energy coasts Landforms of low-energy coasts

Regional Coastlines: Submergence, Emergence and Rising Sea LevelCoastal

Topic overview Eustatic and isostatic change Coastlines of submergence Coastlines of emergence Rising sea level and the threat of climate change

Coastal Management and SustainabilityCoastal

Topic overview Environmental Impact Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis Sediment cells and Shoreline Management Plans Hard engineering strategies Soft engineering strategies Choosing and evaluating a management strategy

Natural Climate Change: Evidence, Causes and the Arrival of the HoloceneClimate

Topic overview Evidence for past climate change: ice cores, pollen and ocean-floor deposits Causes of long- and medium-term climate change The end of the last glaciation and the arrival of the Holocene

Lowland Glacial LandscapesClimate

Topic overview Ice sheet formation and glacial and fluvioglacial processes Landforms of glacial deposition: till, drumlins, moraines and erratics Landforms of fluvioglacial deposition: eskers and outwash plains Socio-economic development in lowland post-glacial environments

Current Global Climate Change: Human Causes and ImpactsClimate

Topic overview The greenhouse effect and the enhanced greenhouse effect Evidence for recent climate change and its links to human activity Present and potential impacts of climate change

Managing Global Climate ChangeClimate

Topic overview Mitigation: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and capturing carbon Adaptation: reducing vulnerability to climate change International action: the Kyoto Protocol, the IPCC and progress so far

Cultural Groups, Social Inequality and LandscapeCultural

Topic overview Why cultural groups exist Differences between cultural groups Cultural nationalism and its expression Social inequality: exclusion and discrimination as distinct mechanisms Inequality by ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexuality and class Social constructions of nature and landscape

MigrationCultural

Topic overview Push and pull factors: economic, social, political, cultural and environmental Barriers to migration, and its implications for services, the economy and stability Voluntary and forced migration, and immigration as a political issue

The Geographies of CyberspaceCultural

Topic overview Cyberspace, economic change and cultural globalisation Minority cultures, virtual communities and the digital divide

Sustainable Development in SettlementsPlanning

Topic overview Sustainability, and the urban ecological footprint Carbon footprints and waste management Energy consumption and water supply

Urban Design, Planning and Management for SustainabilityPlanning

Topic overview Eco-towns, eco-cities, residential space and defensible space How greenfield and brownfield development relate to sustainability Retail parks, leisure facilities and open space

Traffic and TransportPlanning

Topic overview The sustainability of transport by sea, air and land Public transport, integrated networks, and restrictions on car use Pedestrian and cycling policies, and judging a traffic management strategy

Defining EthnicityEthnic

Topic overview Race, nationality, language and religion as defining factors Ethnicity as socially constructed and self-ascribed Role, residential concentration, age and gender in perceived identity

Processes That Create and Maintain Ethnic DiversityEthnic

Topic overview Colonisation, annexation and international migration Segregation as a process maintaining diversity Multiculturalism as a process maintaining diversity Economic, social and spatial outcomes of ethnic diversity

Ethnic ConflictEthnic

Topic overview The causes of ethnic conflict The nature of ethnic conflict Social, economic and territorial outcomes of ethnic conflict Ethnic cleansing, international intervention and peace processes

The Changing Nature of TourismTourism

Topic overview The growth of mass tourism as a global industry Positive social and economic impacts of tourism The pleasure periphery and the Butler model of resort development

Challenges and Management of Mass TourismTourism

Topic overview The challenges arising from mass tourism Strategies to reduce the negative impacts of mass tourism

Ecotourism: Opportunities, Challenges and RegulationTourism

Topic overview Defining ecotourism The benefits of ecotourism The negative impacts of ecotourism Regulating ecotourism internationally

Decision Making in Geography

Topic overview What a decision-making exercise asks of you Adopting and maintaining a role Reading maps as evidence Reading photographs as evidence Reading statistics and data as evidence Reading reports and written sources as evidence Reading infographics and diagrams as evidence Processing and presenting supplied quantitative data Interpreting and evaluating the information provided Examining conflicting values Considering alternative choices Making and justifying a recommendation on greater overall benefits Structuring and supporting the decision

Migration

3 subtopics
9 things to know
Unit A2 2
A2 2 option A, Cultural Geography

What Migration covers

Migration is examined in Unit A2 2, Processes and Issues in Human Geography. It covers push and pull factors: economic, social, political, cultural and environmental, barriers to migration, and its implications for services, the economy and stability and voluntary and forced migration, and immigration as a political issue.

Where it is assessed

Unit A2 2

Processes and Issues in Human Geography, one option of four, 24% of A level.

Check the CCEA specification ↗

The 3 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What is migration, and how does it differ from other kinds of movement?

Key term

What are push and pull factors, and how do they work together?

Key term

What are the main economic push factors?

Key term

What is meant by a barrier to migration?

Key term

How do distance and physical geography act as barriers?

Key term

Explain how economic barriers restrict who can migrate.

Key term

Distinguish between voluntary and forced migration.

Key term

Define refugee, asylum seeker, internally displaced person and economic migrant.

Key term

Explain why the distinction between forced and voluntary migration matters in practice.

Take Migration further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Push factor vs Pull factor
Push factor: a condition driving people away from where they live. Pull factor: a condition attracting them towards somewhere else.
Voluntary migration vs Forced migration
Voluntary migration: moving by choice, usually for work or family. Forced migration: moving under compulsion, to escape war, persecution or disaster.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is migration, and how does it differ from other kinds of movement?
Model answer
Migration is a permanent or semi-permanent change of residence across an administrative boundary. It is distinguished from circulation, which is repeated movement with a return to the same home, such as commuting, shopping trips, seasonal work with a fixed base, or tourism. The distinction matters because migration changes the population of both origin and destination, whereas circulation changes only the daytime or seasonal distribution.
2
What are push and pull factors, and how do they work together?
Model answer
Push factors are the negative conditions at the origin that encourage people to leave; pull factors are the attractions of a destination that draw them in. In practice the decision to move is made by weighing the two against each other, filtered through the migrant's perception rather than the objective facts, and constrained by intervening obstacles such as cost, distance, law and family ties. That is why two people facing identical conditions may make different decisions, and why a strong push does not produce migration if the barriers are high enough.
3
What are the main economic push factors?
Model answer
Unemployment and underemployment; low or falling wages; the closure or decline of a dominant local industry such as fishing, mining, textiles or agriculture; mechanisation reducing the labour needed on the land; farm fragmentation through inheritance until holdings are too small to support a family; debt and lack of access to credit; poor prospects for advancement; and a general absence of opportunities for the qualifications young people now hold.
4
What are the main economic pull factors?
Model answer
The availability of jobs, especially where employers are actively recruiting; higher wages, including wages that are low by the destination's standards but high compared with the origin; a wider range of occupations and better prospects of promotion; training and higher education that leads to work; the ability to send remittances home; and, at the top of the labour market, specialist opportunities available in only a few world cities. Perceived opportunity matters as much as actual opportunity.
5
What are the main social push and pull factors?
Model answer
Pushes include poor and overcrowded housing, weak or closing schools and health services, isolation and lack of amenities in remote areas, limited marriage or social opportunities in a small community, and family or community pressure to leave or to support relatives elsewhere. Pulls include joining family already at the destination, better schools, hospitals and housing, the presence of an established community from the same origin providing language and support, a wider range of services and entertainment, and a perceived better quality of life.
6
Explain why a migrant's perception matters as much as the real conditions at the destination.
Model answer
Because people act on the information available to them, and that comes from relatives, returning migrants, recruiters, advertising, television and social media, all of which tend to emphasise success and understate difficulty. Expectations of wages, housing and acceptance are therefore often higher than the reality, which explains disappointment, downward occupational mobility on arrival and some return migration. It also explains why flows follow information channels: people move to the places they have heard about from someone they trust, which is why migration streams are so strongly channelled between particular pairs of places.

See the rest and revise

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book

2Open book

3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Processes That Shape Fluvial Environments

Human Interaction in Fluvial Environments

Global Biomes

Small-Scale Ecosystems

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

In long profile it is .

asymmetricalsymmetricalflat

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AChildren grow up among co-ethnic peers.

BThe heritage language remains in daily use.

CMarriage partners are met within the group.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Greenfield means land that has never been built on.

TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Migration revision questions

What does Migration cover in CCEA A-Level Geography?: 3 subtopics: push and pull factors: economic, social, political, cultural and environmental, barriers to migration, and its implications for services, the economy and stability and voluntary and forced migration, and immigration as a political issue. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Migration organised?: By the CCEA 3910 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

Every question in Migration, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Start revising, £5 a month See how the method works

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.