rural to urban migration

Meaning

1. 1noununcountable

   The movement of people from the countryside to towns and cities, usually to find work or better services.

   Grammar: Uncountable; used with 'the' or no article, as in 'Rural to urban migration has increased.'

   Patterns

   • rural to urban migration from a place
   • rural to urban migration to a place
   • a wave of rural to urban migration

   Rural to urban migration has transformed the country's economy over the past fifty years.

   The government is trying to slow rural to urban migration by improving rural schools.

   Rural to urban migration often leads to overcrowded housing in cities.

Common combinations

a wave of rural to urban migration

A wave of rural to urban migration began in the 1990s.

rural to urban migration increases

Rural to urban migration increases when farm incomes fall.

the rate of rural to urban migration

The rate of rural to urban migration has slowed recently.

Synonyms and how they differ

urbanization

Urbanization is the broader process of a population becoming more city-based, not just the movement itself.

internal migration

Internal migration is any movement within a country, including city-to-city moves; rural to urban migration is a specific type.

Opposites

Word family

migrate verb

To move from one place to another to live or work.

migrant noun

A person who moves from one place to another.

Commonly confused: rural to urban migration or emigration?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “rural to urban migration”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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