Running away
The number of people emigrating is rising steadily every year. All these movements derive from the failure of societies to meet the fundamental needs and aspirations of their citizens, for safe places to live, or for jobs. Poverty and environmental degradation create scarcities that push people out of their original habitats. War and disintegration unsettle millions, and barring occasional hazards - a Chernobyl or Bhopal - famine, combined with political extremism and armed conflict account for the majority of migrations. Of late, large disparity in income levels have been found to be at the root of some of the largest population movements of all times.
Home less | |
Internally displaced persons registered by UNHCR, circa early 1995 | |
| Country | Number |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Mozambique Azerbaijan Croatia Tajikistan Afghanistan Cyprus Georgia Angola Armenia | 2,740,000 791,100 778,000 520,000 520,000 290,000 265,000 260,000 200,000 150,000 |
| TOTAL | 6,514,100 |
| Source: UNHCR, private communication, February, 3, 1995 | |
Job hunting | ||
The increasing need for employment, developing regions only, 1950-2010 | ||
| Year | Workers (millions) | Additional jobs needed (millions) |
| 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 | 802 916 1,120 1,416 1,778 2,138 2,511 | - 114 204 296 362 360 373 |
| Source: Ignacy Sachs, "Population, development, and employment," International Social Science Journal, Population: Issues and Policies (Oxford: UNESCO and Basil Blackwell Publishers, September, 1994) and Worldwatch calculations | ||
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