Abdukadir Abdullahi Sheik Abdukadir*
| Abdullahi Ilyas Osman
© 2024 The authors. This article is published by IIETA and is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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The research is conducted in two major regions of Somalia: Lower and Middle Shabele in order to get a deep insight in the idea of socio-economic rural-urban migration patterns. People from rural areas prefer to move toward big cities under different socioeconomic factors. This research study revolves around the concept of rural-urban migration from the countryside of Somalia. It is briefly defining the concept of rural-urban migration. As urbanization is the process by which rural communities starts growing in an urban area or cities for the growth of expansion, for their standards of living, for excellent health facilities, for high education, jobs and several other social and economic reasons. The target areas from Lower and Middle Shabele are: Marka, Barawe, while from Afgoi Province the researcher will include Johar, Balcad, because these are the cities where people used to migrate immensely. The sample size will be 100 people from different areas. This research will be based on quantitative. Data is collected through questionaire. Results will be presented in tabulation and percentage form. The suggestions will be presented by the researcher according to the results of the data.
urban migration, social perspective, economic perspective, Lower and Middle Shabele-Somali
Migration is a universal phenomenon that occurred because of different reasons. A person leaves his native place when he begins to feel dissatisfaction from what he has, or we may say that a person moves from one place to another when he wants to fulfill his dreams. Migration is taking place for several reasons, and some of them include the development of job opportunities in other cities or the downfall of agriculture in that specific area, due to which it has believed that migration, can go up. The performance of the organizations is also depending on recruiting these rural migrants, who are coming from different regions. Increasing industrial growth is also a reason behind the increasing rate of migration. People travel or migrate to find better job opportunities and to secure a better performance in a short time. Due to this reason, it is observed that the population in big cities rapidly increased, because many people come to these cities to find jobs, which is causing trouble for other people who are living in that city for a long time.
Migration, both taking place at the international and national level, has considered a general feature of the world and has been seen in both developed and developing nations.
Local movement is seen in high numbers in Somalia [1] because people from rural areas travel to urban areas for numerous purposes such as; finding jobs and trying to look into prospects of a better future. In the past, many studies have been carried out to check the reasons behind rural to urban migration, because migration in Somalia from rural to urban areas is taking place rapidly. The movement is taking place for many reasons because it has believed that social factors are changing in the cities quickly and attracting people from rural areas who look for a better future.
Increasing industrial growth provides more chances for employment in the cities, and people used to migrate in search of better opportunities. Because of this rapid movement, the population of the cities increased. Urbanization, on the one hand, is beneficial while, on the other side, it is causing troubles for people. The process of migration in Somalia is not a new concept, and trends in these migrations have varied over time.
Furthermore, it has been found that the process of migration is sometimes changing, and due to this reason, people from rural areas are changing their perceptions. This research aims to investigate the trends of migration in Somalia and the reasons behind it. However, this research is limited to analyzing the socioeconomic perspectives only when many other reasons might be present behind the movement.
Movement from villages to cities is taking place for many reasons, and some of them include elevating their living standards and trying to find better socioeconomic opportunities for meeting their daily needs and achieve their aims. Waseem et al. [2] argued that urbanization is rapidly evolving, and because of that reason, many people are coming to urban areas. In addition, when the economy is improving, the structural transformation takes place, hence causing a decline in share values of agriculture and making it difficult for people of rural areas. Thus in search of better job opportunities, they go to cities [3].
In this research, the problem, which has under investigation, is to find out the reasons behind increasing rate of migration from rural to urban areas of Somalia. For this reason, social and economic perspectives have been taken into consideration because they are considered important to investigate. According to the research findings [4], the management of different organizations prefers to hire people from rural areas, because they know that these workers are good and can work at low salaries. Due to this reason, it is believed that the performance of these organizations is mostly relying on hiring these people at low salaries and getting the best out of them.
People who are living in rural areas are not well aware of the tactics people in urban areas deploy to hire them, and hence they are attracted towards the low salaries being offered. Due to this reason, Richter et al. [5] reported that the performance of these people who are working at low rates is not good as compared to those who got their degrees from urban cities universities. This research aims to explore the reasons behind the lack of focus on hiring candidates from urban areas and focus on rural areas. The focus of this investigation is on understanding the reasons behind the development of an engaging platform for both people of rural and urban areas to create balance between them. The current research will consider social and economic factors and then allow in understanding the reasons behind this high reason for migration from rural to urban areas.
The research objectives which have been compiled for this investigation are: to examine the socio-economic causes of migration from rural to the urban area of middle and lower regions in Somalia, and to examine push and pull factors of rural-urban migration in middle and lower Shabele regions in Somalia.
2.1 Definitions of key-terms
Migration is an essential phenomenon in any society. Still, before discussing migration in detail, it is appropriate to view what we mean by social, economic perspectives, which become the base of the movement. We also have to take a bird’s-eye view of the words "rural and urban" because these are two major spots in society from where the movement of the inhabitants could be recorded.
2.1.1 Economic development
This is an umbrella term. It is defined as the growth and progress economically. Contemporarily, economic development is said to become secure financially and achieve economic stability. This term has been used in this research study to comprehend the reasons behind migration. Economic development is the most pivotal aspect of human migration.
In economic development, Somalia achieved the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative Completion Point in December 2023, resulting in $4.5 billion in debt service savings and a decrease in external debt. Despite climatic shocks and security issues, Somalia is rebuilding economic development institutions for urbanization, digital technologies, and investments. However, severe droughts, floods, and pandemics have slowed the transition from fragility, affecting real GDP growth and poverty reduction [6].
2.1.2 Socioeconomic perspectives
It is pertinent to social sciences where studies have illustrated how economic activities are influencing social processes in societies. Generally, it is the best way to analyze to what extent modern societies progress, stagnant or regress due to economic conditions. More particularly, socioeconomic standards are relevant to analyzing social (health and education facilities) and economic (rate of employment and improved living standards). This key term has been used in relation to migration as people migrate for the sake of improving their socioeconomic perspectives. Somalia's socioeconomic landscape shows that 70% of the population is below the poverty line, with 90% experiencing multidimensional poverty, including inadequate education, water, sanitation, and electricity access.
2.1.3 Industrialization
It is a comprehensive process where socioeconomic order of any society transformed from agricultural to industrial. It has been defined as the rampant growth of industries, and ultimately this becomes the prevalent domain of any national economy. These key terms has used in a research study in relation to understanding that urban areas are more industrialized and provide multipronged opportunities for people. Somalia, despite not being an industrialized nation, has several industries such as the fish industry, milk processing plant, sugar refineries, and leather tanning factories.
2.1.4 Structural transformation
It is a process of developing rural agro-based economy into a modern urban industrial-based economy. Cities transform to become more favorable for migrants and increase the process of urbanization. This term unequivocally exemplifies that people migrate due to social mobility.
2.1.5 Urbanization
It is the process of migration where people migrate from rural to urban areas for the sake of different reasons. It is a significant decrease in the rate of population in rural areas and an increase in the population rate of urban regions. This is how new cities developed, and the ways of modern societies adopt to facilitate people living in cities. Urbanization is closely interlinked with migration in this study. Urbanization in Somali territories is transforming society through the growth of urban centers, investment, redistribution, inclusion, and exclusion, making them attractive places for living, working, trading, education, and socializing.
2.1.6 Migration
It is defined as a migrant person who leaves his native place for some other area. He could have any legal status. It does not matter whether he left the place voluntarily or by force or what were the causes of his migration; he would have been called a migrant. Keeping in view in this definition, migrants are of two types: labor migrants and displaced people [7]. Apart from this, Fan [8] defines migration as a change of residence on the part of a native.
2.2 Theoretical perspective of migration
There are different interpretations of migration in various theories, and all the theories differ from each other in one way or another. The differences among these theories occur on the base of the conceptual and structural framework. Theories are required as a base for research. Therefore, we will have a look at different theories to understand them and to analyze the difference between them. We also study theories so that we may choose one of them for the present research. Let us take a birds-eye view of all these theories.
2.2.1 Neo-classical theory
While taking a birds-eye view of the Neo-Classical theory, one comes to know that people migrate because of economic issues. In the villages, they get less salary while cities offer a better pay package. On the other hand, in Tadaro Model of migration, it has seen that people think of migration when they make a comparison between rural and urban wages.
It is one of the earlier theories, which focus supply and demand as a driving force behind the production, pricing and consumption of goods. It could be understood at two levels (1) Macro-level (2) Micro-level. According to this theory, at macro level migration is the result of geographical distance between labour supply and labour demand. Such differences could be raced down both at national and international level
People migrate from one country to another because of the difference in wages. The founders of this theory are of the view that labour's wage difference is the reason for migration. Therefore, if we cut it down, we can stop migration. At a micro level, this theory states that people who migrate want greater return over a specific period. So we may say that this theory not only includes wage differences but also includes individual features [9].
2.2.2 Push and pull theory
Table 1. Main factors that push and pull causes of poepl’s migration in Somalia
|
Variables |
Push |
Pull |
|
Socio-cultural |
Social discrimination, family expansion, Crime, religious restrictions and Social Injustice |
Family reunion, family or community Commitments, education and cultural Opportunities, health services |
|
Political |
Political instability, ethnic conflict, Propaganda |
Access services to the public |
|
Economic |
Poverty, unemployment, slow economic growth low wages, land tenure issues, landlessness, mechanization of agriculture, depleting resources, lack of infrastructure |
Employment and business opportunities, higher wages, potential better standard of living |
|
Environmental |
Environmental Degradation, Natural Disasters, Food Security, Disease, Climate Change And Water Scarcity |
Lack of or a high number of people space, environmental quality |
Variables push pull: Main factors that push and pull causes of poepl’s migration
Socio-cultural factor: Social discrimination, family expansion, Crime, religious restrictions and Social Injustice Family reunion, family or community Commitments, education and cultural Opportunities, health services.
Political factor: Political instability, ethnic conflict, Propaganda Access services To the public Economic Poverty, unemployment, slow economic growth low wages, land tenure issues, landlessness, mechanization of agriculture, depleting resources, lack of infrastructure Employment and business opportunities, higher wages, potential better standard of living
Environmental factor: Environmental degradation, natural disasters, food security, disease, climate change and water scarcity → Lack of or a high number of people space, environmental.
Study of Ahmed and Tariq [10] presented a compact theory of migration. It points out certain factors, which point out the causes of people's migration. These factors are (1) Factors related to the place of origin (2) Factors associated with the place of destination (3) Intervening obstacles (4) Personal factors.
By Push factors, we mean natural disasters, lack of job opportunities, possession of economic and cultural capital, family breakup, etc. On the other hand, pull; factors are greater security, better job opportunities, or expecting an exciting life (Table 1).
2.3 National and international migration
Migration has done at two levels (1) National level (2) International level. Migration at the national level has also called internal migration, and this movement could be seen from rural to rural, rural to urban, and urban to urban areas. On the other hand, international migration has seen when people used to move from one country to another country.
2.4 Drivers of migration
There are many macro and micro factors of one's migration which are described by Van Hear et al. [11]. These factors have described as Insufficient Economic and Human Development.
By human development, we mean a process of enhancing people's freedom and opportunities in order to improve their well-being. It gives common people the freedom to decide what they want to do and how they want to live. Apart from this, economic development means that people's income is growing from low to high. In other words, it may be said that people's living standard is improving. Castelli [7] has of the view that unbalances in human development is increasing day by day, and it is because of different economic and political reasons.
2.4.1 Increasing population caused urbanization
The human population is rapidly increasing mainly in Africa and Asia because of high fertility and a weak birth control system. In the World Bank's report, Western countries' birth rate is low. That is why Western countries are making progress in the Industrial field. On the other hand, in developing countries, jobless people are increasing. As a result, the flow of migration is increasing.
2.4.2 Weather conditions
The warmer climate is affecting human health. This change in climate occurre because of industrial smoke and waste that become the cause of disease. Some such people migrate because of the severe weather condition that affects their health. This environment indirectly affects social, political and economic matters.
2.4.3 War and dictatorship
Threats of war and impacts of dictatorship also force people to migrate because in their own country they do not get basic needs and rights of life, especially education for females. Such migrants include displaced people as well.
2.4.4 Land grabbing
Land grabbing is another factor that leads to migration. Land grabbing means that some foreigner government occupies an area illegally. This exploitation leads towards migration. It has impacts on the economic level as well. The loss of their property forces them to migrate to another area in search of a job.
2.4.5 Religion
Human beings also move from one place to another because of religious issues. People want such area whether they could freely promote their faith. Such division has seen in 1947 when Hindu, Muslim and Sikh migration took place on a large scale because of religion. Similar is the case in Palestine and other countries. This was the primary example in the subcontinent.
2.4.6 Sexual identity
Some people migrate from one country to another for their sexual identity. Every society put some restriction on Lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people. Still, there are some countries where they feel psychologically relax, so they move towards those parts of the world.
2.4.7 Education
Usually, it has thought that most of the time-poor and illiterate people migrate from one country to another under economic pressure. Still, some migrants migrate from one place to another to get an education and learn a skill so that they may improve their lifestyle.
2.4.8 Personal wish to migrate
Such migrants do not migrate under social or economic pressure; instead, it is their heart desire to migrate though several wishes are at the back of this decision. To add in one line, it could be said that these are the reason, which becomes the cause of migration from one country to another or from one area to another in the same region.
2.5 Rural-urban migration
The present research is mainly focusing on rural-urban migration. In this kind of migration, people usually move from agricultural areas towards non-agricultural communities. People who used to come from rural background usually transform their skills, attitude, motivation and behavioral patterns according to urban environment.
2.6 Situation of migration in Somalia society
Inside an evolving country as Somalia relocation from village areas to city areas often occur. Moreover, this typically influences the state of the economy concerning the country. The movement of individuals from provincial to urban territories in Somalia has viewed as the most compelling social factor that causes to change the present circumstance of the economy and the public.
The impact of migration is different for every individual. Individuals travel from countryside is to metropolises since they desire a decent living standard. Financial progress becomes the reason of structural conversion. As an outcome, it is a wrench for farming on one hand whereas furthermore, this provides escalation for manufacturing zone. Whereas manufacturing thrives, employment will upsurge in metropolitan areas. This has significantly stated as the growth of cities. In addition, this is precisely why relocation occurs in Somalia.
2.7 Somalia's unique socioeconomic background
Somalia faces significant poverty, with 70% of the population living below the poverty line, 90% in multidimensional poverty, and 55% below the national poverty line in 2024. The majority of the poor are in rural and urban areas [12].
2.8 Previous researches
A few examinations have been led on various parts of the country to urban relocation; these investigations have talked about the multiple determinants/variables of the migration from rural to urban. In the nineteenth century, the first study has made by Rees and Lomax [13] concerning provincial to urban migration. Right now, existing writing on country urban migration is studied, and goals has examined, strategies and discoveries of various significant investigations are made regarding examine the reasons for movement from rural to urban regions.
Ishtiaque and Ullah [14] discussed the process of rural to urban migration with the use of amenity’s theoretical framework. They analyze the migration process into two reasons migration for economic reasons and migration for non-economic reasons. The choice of migrations depends on the individuals need and preferences. According to Salik et al. [15], socio-economic factors affecting village relocation in Sarghoda, Pakistan. They found people face difficulties in well-being, schooling, and transportation due to lack of basic amenities. The study recommends improved services and closer production to communities to counteract the significant shift of people to cities.
Hossain [16] study on migration from rural to urban areas in Bangladesh, involving 2696 respondents from 10 rural towns, found that grown-ups and educated individuals migrate, with about 25% seeking permanent employment. The migration rate is high for both literate and jobless individuals. Kanwal et al. [17] study on rural to urban migration in Lahore district examined reasons and distance between rural and urban areas. Using primary and secondary sources, he used methods like basic inspecting, stratified testing, orderly testing, and Linear and Log-Linear methods. He recommended infrastructure improvements and training for unskilled individuals to improve social life and control migration.
According to Akhtar et al. [18] studied immigration philosophies in Pakistan, focusing on welfare elements of agrarian to industrial relocation. They used a workforce survey from 2010-11 and found that Pakistani people often migrate due to marital reasons. Rana [19] found that low-paying jobs and poor financial opportunities led to most relocations. They suggested that improving living conditions, such as municipal amenities and housing conditions could help reduce relocation. Other studies explore the determinants of relocation for individual and family movements. The article "Rural-Urban Migration in Somalia: The Gender Perspective" highlights the gender disparity in migration, with females often migrating due to marriage and financial scarcity, exacerbated by urban migration challenges. Tahir et al. [20] suggested that urbanization in Somalia can reduce corruption and improve living standards. They suggest that rural communities should be educated on land changes, non-farmers' income, and improve education and well-being.
Scholars explain various reasons for migration, including unsatisfactory education standards in rural Somalia, lack of technological tools, and challenges in integrating with urban students. This leads some people to migrate to urban areas, allowing them to become bold and eligible for big-company jobs, while also enhancing their conservative mindset. Migration to big cities in Somalia is driven by numerous reasons, including opportunities, lifestyle, and better health facilities. Urban areas offer more opportunities and a lavish lifestyle, while rural areas may lack the same level of diversity and cultural exchange. Additionally, illegal activities, such as rasms, pose threats to the female population. Health facilities in urban areas are better than rural areas, with well-equipped hospitals and well-trained doctors. However, rural doctors are often cheaper, making it difficult for them to afford them. Organizations are more willing to recruit people from rural areas due to their dedication and commitment to their responsibilities.
This migration has also driven by sustainability, as rural areas often maintain similar living standards compared to urban areas. As a result, many people from rural areas seek jobs or university admissions to improve their living standards, contributing to the increasing rate of migration in the workplace. Urban areas offer a comfortable lifestyle and more opportunities, while rural areas have loose rules and regulations. Women in rural areas often face high unrest scores due to restrictions on their freedom, job opportunities, and feminism. This lack of support for women has led to increased migration to urban areas in Somalia. Rural areas still face issues in managing their internal and external environment, with e-commerce giants providing better access to goods.
2.9 Problems of urbanization
The problems due to urbanization are massive, and there are many reasons behind them. The circumstances of migration in urban areas are also huge, which has faced by not only people coming in urban areas but also by government and local authorities.
For example, the research article of Webster [21] wrote, when people come in urban areas, the biggest issue faced by them is wrote that accommodation finding accommodation especially during the first few days. Supporting the statement [22] is a big problem faced by people of these areas, mainly due to the high cost of accommodation. Hence, one of the issues faced due to urbanization is developing the right places for these people living in hostels or hotels, which they cannot afford. Although accommodation for them is not a big problem, due to lack of awareness and little knowledge of people living in different areas of these urban areas, people of rural areas find it difficult. Hence, rural-urban migration causes problems of accommodation, which has needed to meet by the government of that area. Furthermore, an increase in the rural-urban migration Somalia faces issues of clean water, education, quality of construction projects and house, transportation, health, and management of land.
One big problem of urbanization is the shortage of job opportunities for individuals. Somalia is an under developing country and the job opportunities are minimal. Increase in the migration from the rural to urban regions also increases the problem of employment. Moreover, growing city populations are exhausting the state's capacity to offer fundamental types of assistance, for example, lodging, power, clean water and human services, even as numerous Somalis are moving to urban areas for the express motivation behind getting these administrations.
2.10 Research framework
The aim of this section is to review definitions from previous research and highlight tools in this research area. Therefore, this article begins with an examination of innovative ideas and contributions. The general principle of previous research is that there is a relationship between independent and dependent factors; social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration in Somalia (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Research framework of social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration in Somalia
Source: Designed by The Researchers Using research model.
This study used a fully quantitative method to collect relevant data. This method is used to answer research questions and provide a detailed description of the phenomenon under study [23], where questionnaires and semi-structured interviews are developed. Semi-structured interviews have chosen to capture the candidates' opinions, philosophies, perceptions and ideas in concrete terms and to give them the opportunity to talk about what was important to them to reduce researcher bias [23]. Participatory approaches are intended to provide an opportunity to have a more comprehensive understanding of educational issues [24]. The researchers hope that this collaborative approach will allow them to summarize the complexity of each phenomenon [25]. Different research approaches have adopted to meet the interests and needs of different research participants. Sandelowski [25], who highlights that “integrated approaches are more promising than single response approaches”, recognizes this phenomenon.
The population of this study consists of workers who migrated from rural to urban areas of Somalia for various reasons. As participants in this study, the researchers selected workers who traveled from rural areas to cities in the Shabele region of central and lower Somalia for various purposes. About a hundred workers travel from rural to urban Somalia from Middle and Lower Shabelle provinces for various reasons. Have retained as samples in this study.
The research design uses a simple random sampling method. This is because the researcher is comfortable with collecting data in this way. In the sampling method, the researcher creates a sampling frame and uses a simple random sampling technique. When selecting participants. In this way, all members of the population sample have an equal chance to register. All studies used extensive quantitative methods and the only data collection instrument was a questionnaire. This method proved useful for collecting information about the research topic. Therefore, the objective of the study has achieved through the effective use of this tool.
The research tool used in this study is a 30-question questionnaire, which contains nine questions about personal data. Form 10 or 21 questions are closed-end questions used to achieve the same survey objective. In questions 22 to 30, the researcher combined the open-ended questions to uncover details that are more important. The self-administered questionnaire was pilot tested before being used in this study. After preparing and testing the questionnaire, the researcher conducted a survey on the target sample with the help of some friends. This is because there are hundreds of participants and it is not possible to contact everyone individually. Data have analyzed quantitatively.
4.1 Demographic analysis of the Somalis
Gender, marital status, age, qualification, job experience and city are the demographic profile of the participants. This part of the data collection deals with the collection of personal data on questionnaire respondents. The following Table 2 demographical information summarizes the specifics of the participants' attributes and their percentages.
Table 2. Demographical information
|
Demographic Questions |
Frequency |
Percentage (%) |
|
|
Gender |
Male |
16 |
16.0 |
|
Female |
84 |
84.0 |
|
|
Total |
|
100 |
100 |
|
Marital status |
Divorced |
1 |
1.0 |
|
Married |
71 |
71.0 |
|
|
Single |
28 |
28.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
100 |
100 |
|
Ages |
22-30 |
30 |
30.0 |
|
30-40 |
35 |
35.0 |
|
|
40-50 |
25 |
25.0 |
|
|
51-60 |
9 |
9.0 |
|
|
above 60 |
1 |
1.0 |
|
|
Total |
|
100 |
100 |
|
Level of qualification |
College/University |
5 |
5.0 |
|
Higher Secondary |
2 |
2.0 |
|
|
Never attended |
29 |
29.0 |
|
|
Primary School |
36 |
36.0 |
|
|
Total |
|
100 |
100 |
|
City |
Marko |
18 |
18.0 |
|
Barawe |
33 |
33.0 |
|
|
Balcad |
32 |
32.0 |
|
|
Johar |
17 |
17.0 |
|
|
Total |
|
100 |
100 |
The demographic analysis of the participant showed that the majority of the participants were male, as indicated by 84% percent of the sample (n = 84). In comparison, the percent of female’s part of the sample was 16% (n = 16). The number of male participants might be because of the prevalence of the social norms where men are the main earner of the family. This prevalence of cultural and social status has been corroborated by the previous [2].
The age analysis of the participants supplied that majority of the participants were aged 30-40 years (i.e., 35 percent (n = 35)) while following it were the participants with age 22-30 years (i.e., 30 percent (n = 30)) (as indicated in Table 2). People participating from other age group include 40-50 years (25 percent (n = 25)), 51-60 years (9 percent (n = 9)) and above 60 (1 percent (n = 1)). The age group has been determined as the working-age by several other studies as identified in the literature [25].
The table above indicates that most of the families migrating to urban areas belong to married families (71%), followed by never married (28%), and divorced (1%). Due to this reason, it can be summarised that most of the participants would be willing to migrate to improve their living conditions and family status.
The city of the participants, as indicated by the responses, are shown in Table 3. The responses showed that majority of the participants were residing in Marko (i.e., 33%, n = 33), some were living in Barawe (i.e., 32%, n = 32), while only a few were found in Balcad (i.e., 18) and Johar (17%, n = 17) as depicted in Table 3.
Tables below display the results of short-run estimates, revealing a negative association between inflation and economic growth. This suggests that changes in inflation are linked to a decrease in the GDP growth rate in the short run. In contrast, the variable for exports exhibits a positive and statistically significant relationship with GDP growth in the first lag. The parameter estimate indicates that a 1% change in exports corresponds to a 0.115% increase in GDP growth in the first lag. This results suggest with similar researchers [26-28]. According to the economic theories supports those exports increases the GDP growth. In Somalia one of the main economic dependences was exports such livestock, agriculture, fishery and natural resources so, that must improve these sectors Somalia becomes one of the developing countries. On the other hand, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) demonstrates a positive impact on economic growth, yet the effect is not statistically significant. The estimate suggests a 0.04% decline in GDP growth associated with FDI, though this result lacks statistical significance.
Table 3. Number of people in the family
|
Characteristics |
Frequency |
Percentage |
|
|
4 |
4.0 |
|
10 |
3 |
3.0 |
|
2 |
2 |
2.0 |
|
3 |
3 |
3.0 |
|
4 |
8 |
8.0 |
|
5 |
20 |
20.0 |
|
6 |
20 |
20.0 |
|
7 |
17 |
17.0 |
|
8 |
6 |
6.0 |
|
Above 8 |
17 |
17.0 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
The number of family members can be observed in the most significant numbers with 5 and 6 family members (20% each), followed by 7 (17%), more than 8 (17%), and a small percentage of 10 (n = 3), 2 (2%), 3 (n = 3), 4 (n = 8), and 8 (n = 6).
When the respondents has inquired related to their family members, they presented different answers. Most of the families had 1, 2, 3 children (n = 17, 18, 18 respectively). Followed by these numbers, other families had four children (8%), five children (6%), 6 (2%), 7 (2%) and no children (17%). This shows that even though they did not have enough finances, families carried children, not knowing about their future (Table 4).
Table 4. Number of children
|
Characteristics |
Frequency |
Percentage |
|
1 |
12 |
12.0 |
|
2 |
17 |
17.0 |
|
3 |
18 |
18.0 |
|
4 |
18 |
18.0 |
|
5 |
8 |
8.0 |
|
6 |
6 |
6.0 |
|
More than 7 |
2 |
2.0 |
|
No children |
2 |
2.0 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
Table 5. Status of current resident in the city
|
Characteristics |
Frequency |
Percentage |
|
Dormitory |
6 |
6.0 |
|
Own a house |
17 |
17.0 |
|
Rental Property |
59 |
59.0 |
|
Sharing with someone |
18 |
18.0 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
The status of current resident in the city shows that most of the migrated people live in a rental property (59%), followed by sharing with someone (18%), owning a house (17%) and living in a dormitory (6%). This shows that property availability in cities is scarce, and people are mostly living in rented houses (Table 5).
Table 6. Current work experience
|
Characteristics |
Frequency |
Percentage |
|
Employed |
79 |
79.0 |
|
Household worker |
10 |
10.0 |
|
Part time worker/Student |
8 |
8.0 |
|
Unemployed |
3 |
3.0 |
|
Total |
100 |
100 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
The current work status of the investigated respondents show that 79% has employed, and doing their jobs, 10% are working as a household worker, 8% word as a part-time worker and student, followed by unemployed. However, previous statistics showed that their salaries are pretty low, as compared to living expenses needed to be bear by them after paying rent expenses (Table 6).
The responses above indicate that most of the respondents migrated with their family (59%), while 41% migrated alone. Hence, there might be many reasons behind this. It is tough for families, especially women, to stay alone in rural areas. Hence, they migrate (Table 7).
Table 7. Migrated with family or alone (Did you migrate with family or alone?)
|
Characteristics |
Frequency |
Percentage |
|
Alone |
41 |
41.0 |
|
Family |
59 |
59.0 |
|
Total |
100 |
100 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
Table 8. Main reason for migration from rural areas (What is the main reason for you to leave the rural area?)
|
Characteristic |
Frequency |
Percentage |
|
Lack of quality education |
1 |
1.0 |
|
health facilities, lack of quality education |
1 |
1.0 |
|
Poverty |
12 |
12.0 |
|
Poverty, Lack of quality education |
6 |
6.0 |
|
Poverty, Poor health facilities |
4 |
4.0 |
|
Unemployment |
9 |
9.0 |
|
Unemployment, Lack of quality education |
3 |
3.0 |
|
Unemployment, Poor health facilities |
3 |
3.0 |
|
Poverty, Lack of quality education |
6 |
6.0 |
|
Poverty, Poor health facilities |
4 |
4.0 |
|
Unemployment |
9 |
9.0 |
|
Unemployment, Lack of quality education |
3 |
3.0 |
|
Unemployment, Poor health facilities |
3 |
3.0 |
|
Unemployment, poor health facilities, lack of quality education |
6 |
6.0 |
|
Unemployment, Poverty |
30 |
30.0 |
|
Unemployment, Poverty, Lack of quality education |
6 |
6.0 |
|
Unemployment, Poverty, Poor health facilities |
12 |
12.0 |
|
Unemployment, Poverty, Poor health facilities, Lack of quality education |
7 |
7.0 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
There are many reasons reported for migration by the respondents; however, some of the most commonly observed in rural-urban migration include unemployment, poverty (30%), inadequate health facilities (12%), poverty (12%), poor education (9%), and other parameters related to social settings in a society are the main reasons behind this migration (Table 8).
When the respondents have inquired whether moving out with the family was a hard decision or not, 56% said that it was hard, 14% strongly agreed, 9% remain neutral, and 4% disagreed. Due to this reason, it can be summarised that moving out with the family is a tough decision, and people have forced to do this. This question has related to asking whether working in the village was reasonably profitable, in response to which 35% disagreed, and 29% strongly disagreed. Only 9% and 19% strongly agreed and agreed with the statement. Hence, living in rural areas has considered one of the biggest challenges with low finances and hard times. The reasons behind migration are many, and one of them is living standard. 56% of the respondents agreed, 35% strongly agreed, 3% disagree, and 3% remained neutral on the statement that migration is done to improve living standard. Hence, it can be summarised that living standard can be enhanced by working on the migration.
When respondents have inquired whether the city has a comfortable life or not, 57% of the respondents agreed, 21% strongly agreed, 7% disagree, and 15% remained neutral. Due to this city can be called as a comfortable location for people coming for a short period. The results obtained above show that most of the people come to the city for better education for their children. 41% of the respondents agreed, 19% strongly agreed, 1% disagree, and 17% remained neutral. Hence, the city is good for education, as believed by people coming from rural areas.
Table 9. To examine push and pull factors of rural-urban migration in Somalia
|
Statement |
Agree |
Disagree |
Neutral |
Strongly Disagree |
Strongly Agree |
|
Moving with my family from rural areas to urban was a hard decision |
56 |
4 |
9 |
17 |
14 |
|
Working in the village was a reasonably profitable |
19 |
35 |
8 |
9 |
29 |
|
City life offers me a comfortable experience as compared to rural life |
57 |
7 |
15 |
21.0
|
0 |
|
Living standard One of the reasons for migration is to improve my living standard |
56 |
3 |
6 |
35 |
0 |
|
Migration reasons To give my children a better education is one of the reasons for migration from a rural area |
22 |
41 |
1 |
17 |
19 |
|
Good salaries In cities, workers usually get good wages compared to rural areas |
69 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
26 |
|
Village income I am earning more than that of my village income |
63 |
1 |
35 |
1 |
0 |
|
Condition of the house Houses of workers are in bad condition in rural areas |
40 |
19 |
21 |
0 |
20 |
|
House rent and other bills often exceed my income in rural areas |
49 |
22 |
19 |
|
10 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
When the respondents have inquired of the salaries, they depicted important results. 69% of the respondents agreed, 26% strongly agreed, 2% disagree, and 3% remained neutral. Due to this reason, it can be summarised that city has better facilities for people in rural areas, in terms of income. The respondents revealed various answers when they have inquired about the income of their family members. The results obtained show that 63% of the respondents agreed, 35% strongly agreed, 1% strongly disagree, and 1% remained neutral on the above statement. This shows that earning of migrating people is more in urban areas.
The respondents of the above question show that most of the people living in rural areas had houses in adverse conditions. 40% of the respondents agreed, 20% strongly agreed, 19% disagree, and 21% remained neutral on the above question. Hence, this might also be the reason behind their increased interest in migration. The house rents needed to be paid in rural areas are quite high and required to be paid. The respondents argued that house rents in rural areas are also quite high. 49% of the respondents agreed, 10% strongly agreed, 22% disagree, and 19% remained neutral on the above question (Table 9).
The respondents were inquired whether they are satisfied with life after migration. The responses received show that 77% are satisfied, 17% remained neutral, 5% are not, and 1% don’t care. Hence, migration brought satisfaction among people, especially when they got a better job (Table 10).
Table 10. Satisfaction: Socio-economic perspectives of rural-urban migration
|
Characteristics |
Don't Care |
Neutral |
No |
Yes |
|
I am satisfied with life after migration |
1 |
17 |
5 |
77 |
|
living alone in a new city is quite hard to manage |
0 |
25 |
49 |
26 |
|
Part-time job: Do you have any other part-time job besides current prime job |
0 |
0 |
80 |
20 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
When the respondents has inquired, whether living alone in a big city is comfortable or not, 49% marked no, 26% said yes, while 25% remained neutral. Hence, most of the people went in favour of migrating to other cities.
When the respondents were inquired, whether they had any part-time jobs, besides the current job, they presented various answers. 80% remained in support of the statement that they did not have any part-time job, while 20% had it.
When the respondents were inquired, whether they would be moving to rural areas back, 33% said they were not sure, 26% said likely to happen, 22% said highly unlikely, 14% marked unlikely while 5% marked highly likely. Hence, mixed responses have been received from the above statements (Table 11).
Table 11. Moving to the village: Socio-economic perspectives of rural-urban migration
|
Characteristics |
Highly Likely |
Highly Unlikely |
Likely |
Not Sure |
Unlikely |
|
How likely is it that I will move in the next 12 months to my village? |
5 |
22 |
26 |
33 |
14 |
Source: Prepared by the author (2024)
4.2 Discussions
Results of SPSS, have analysed that rural population due to migration to urban areas are facing difficulties and these difficulties are disturbing their pattern of life, their family as the records of several research studies. In addition, data has notified that people almost to the 90% are suffering from the poor conditions in rural areas due to insufficiency of lower-income and unemployment [29]. It is the reason that people in rural areas are suffering from poverty and lower living standard and so many other social problems. The study of Arshad et al. [30] had defined that people in developing countries are living with a good standard of living but as defined in the literature review that Somalia in under developing country and therefore job opportunities are very limited in Somalia.
Lack of job opportunities problem has increased in Somalia also due to the increase of rural population in urban areas of Somalia because people who come from rural regions shifts their whole family to urban places [31]. Their families are thus getting an education in urban areas, and then they easily find job opportunities here. It has created a big problem for individuals who are already living in a city or urban areas in Somalia. Such people are finding it challenging to gain job opportunities.
4.2.1 Push and pull factors of rural-urban migration
The major reasons of migration, which have discussed in this research, were poverty/income, unemployment, and education and health facilities. From respondents’ answers, the researcher got the fact that these were major reasons that revealed both push and pull factors. The push and pull factors are arbitrary related to personal migration decision. The outcome of this research shows that the very theory is at its base, which gives this work a scientific touch.
Law of migrations is rooted in this model, which has based on population data. According to lee positive and negative factors caused migration. His assumptions were limited when related to the flow of information. His research shows that most urgent reasons were economic in nature though he did not formally mention any name for it.
4.2.2 The choices of work and change in lifestyle
Ecosystem service framework focuses on those factors, which are concerned with the basic human needs. People usually moved towards those areas where they get better facilities, and this has confirmed through the responses of questionnaire. People are more because they want a modern life style. Migration add socio economic factors, which are powerful in nature.
4.2.3 Outcome of migration for migrants
The survey was successful in different cities of middle and lower regions in Somalia. People does not have proper facilities available in rural areas and less number of employment opportunities. Therefore, the outcome of the present result is that people usually migrate because of economic reasons. Therefore, we may say that financial issues forced people to leave their villages and moved towards cities.
It concludes that not only people of urban areas are facing the worst situation of urbanisation, but also people of rural areas of Somalia face problems when they migrate to urban areas. In which the main problem is accommodation. People who come to urban areas face the biggest issue that is of luxury and high cost of housing. It has also analyzed from the above discussion that people are also facing an issue of poverty, education, and quality of health facilities in rural areas. Due to the high rate of rural-urban migration, people are facing many economic and social problems in rural and urban areas as well.
Several measures are vital to take by the government of Somalia and by the different governmental institutions of Somalia. It includes improving health and other social and economic related problems in rural areas, coordinating and shaping with the public institutions to do strategic planning for the cost recovery. The government of Somalia also needs to establish such systems by which they could engage themselves in a meaningful citizen’s engagement to achieve the economic stability of Somalia. As it has defined that rural-urban migration has also increased population in the cities of Somalia that is increasing pollution rate so therefore in different cities of Somalia mainly in Lower and Middle Shabele regions; there is need to modernise and release new development and economic schemes to facilitate those people who migrate from rural to urban areas. The Somali government, development agencies, NGOs and politicians are paying close attention to the development needs of their people, especially in terms of resource development, rural infrastructure such as water and electricity. Somali governments and institutions can invest in the construction and maintenance of rural roads, bridges and public facilities to improve transport connectivity and access to basic services in Lower and Middle Shabele regions. Establishing comprehensive Lower and Middle Shabele regional development strategies to improve rural infrastructure, create jobs and improve access to education and health care can contribute to global development. Improving efficiency in government processes and decision-making. Provide clear information about policies, programs and services and make them easily accessible to government agencies.
A pinpoint area required urgent and more interventional development in the study area. Where they measured the effects of migration in many parts of the study, it also expects that the result obtained from this study make it easier for the government, policymakers NGOs and so forth to start some appropriate interventional development project to increase the contributions of migrants of rural-urban in the area.
According to the statistical test, which identified the aim of these city and development projects, as it required attention in many parts of the study area. Secondly, governments at State, Federal levels must make sure that there is a need to put some social infrastructures in the rural areas to enhance the life quality of their population. Therefore, there is a need to establish some skills acquisition institutes in many parts of the study area. These institutes used to promote self-sustaining skills among youth and provide them with jobs. In the end, joint efforts have used to enhance the agricultural capacities since agriculture has considered as a significant source of living. If agriculture capacities have strengthened in rural populations, it will move to raise agriculture produce and ultimately minimizes the dependency of rural lives on remittance for their survival.
5.1 Recommendations
It has also noted here that these recommendations have not considered exhaustive but observed earlier. More ones that are suitable can be included based on their concerned unique nature of the area. Hence, these recommendations have executed diligently. It will go long in increasing the contributions done by migrants of rural-urban towards the socioeconomic development in their area. The study suggests that Somalia government, NGOs, and policymakers should prioritize population development by establishing infrastructure like water supply and electricity. The Somalia government should enhance stability, education, and employment opportunities to reduce forced migration, fostering resilience and promoting a strong economy, safe culture, natural beauty, and fair society, while collaborating with governmental and non-governmental partners. Technology can bridge the gap between rural and urban areas, and collaboration between governments, private companies, and local communities can fund sustainable solutions. Transparency, investment in public servant training, and citizen engagement are also crucial for overall development.
The first approach of such policy towards the risks of strengthening social exclusion of inner peripheries must aim at maintaining the stabilization of their local populations and mobilization of human resources. Which includes dragging their people with the human capital at a high level from outside of inner peripheries; it has also acknowledged that for example, temporary or seasonal inhabitants (generally second homeowners). Shows their essential sources which are available for the establishment of the inner peripheries; even thought people of these areas are not living in their locality permanently, they have other personal interest in this development and try to improve the quality of their living.
The second part is the individual who is the internal part- when rural areas have considered as a social solidarity’s haven and according to the recent research conducted states that. When there is maximum cohesion within the neighbourhood and community at the countryside as compared to the cities, the undergoing procedure (for example, disappearing of facilities and services the community) created the threat of inner disintegration within the rural agreement.
5.2 Contributions of study
The main contribution of this study in terms of theoretical, empirical and practical are illustrated below.
5.3 Theoretical contribution
Through this study, framework for social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration: a case study middle and lower regions in Somalia. In addition, this research work extended the literature of social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration the other theoretical implication of this study was to modify and evaluate the scales used for the measurement of social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration to include elements that have more related to today’s modern and digital world.
5.4 Empirical contribution
This overall study, from constriction of data collection instrument to data collection and then analysis of data highlighted that extracting quality results was a function of statistical and mathematical tests and procedures. This also established the importance of data screening, statistical assumptions and data analysis techniques. This showed that without perusing these statistical steps for analysis of the data, it would be impossible to attain reliable and quality results.
5.5 Practical contribution
In practical terms, this study has provided some solid base for policy makers working on Social and Economics Perspective of Rural-Urban Migration: A Case Study Middle and Lower Regions in Somalia. This study also proved that Rural-Urban Migration can guide policy and should be part of the process.
5.6 Suggestions for future study
This study investigated social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration: a case study middle and lower regions in Somalia. Hence, the future studies may extend the scope of the study to broader level and take the perspective of social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration of the other stakeholders of middle and lower regions in Somalia.
This study was limited to one middle and lower regions in Somalia only, future studies should expand investigate the social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration imparted at the national level.
5.7 Limitations of the study
This study was investigating the imparted social and economics perspective of rural-urban migration: a case study middle and lower regions in Somalia.
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