About 5.6 crore Indians currently do not live in the State of their Birth
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 12, 2019
As per the recently released Census 2011
data on migration, close to 45 crore people currently do not live in their
place of birth. About 5.6 crore people currently do not live in their state of
birth.
In our story on migration in India for educational reasons, we looked at the statistics related to migrants in India who movedseeking better education opportunities. In this story, we take a look at thenumbers relating to those who were born outside their current place ofresidence, (with focus on inter-state migration) and attempt to identify some factorsthat drive this movement.
12.6% of the total migrants in India born outside their
current State of residence
According to the 2011 Census data on migration in the country, it is observed that, in India, out of the total population of more than 120 crores, close to 45 crore people were found to be born outside the place of enumeration or in other words, 45 crore people did not belong to their current place of residence by birth.
Out of the 45 crore people who were born outside their current state ofresidence, it is observed that 59.1% (26.4 crores) of them had moved within thedistrict after birth and about 27.1% (12.1 crores) moved within the state butto a different district other than the district of birth. Further, 12.6% (5.6crores) of them were born in other states than their current place ofresidence. The remaining about 53.63 lakh people, who constitute 1.2% of thetotal migrants by place of birth, are those living in India but born outsidethe country.
Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of out-migrants
followed by Bihar
Out-migrants are those who moved from one place to another within a country. For the purpose of this story, we define out-migrants as those who were born in one state but moved to a different state after birth.
In terms of the above definition, the largest number of out-migrants, asper the 2011 census were from Uttar Pradesh. Out of the 5.6 crore people whocurrently live in a different state than their state of birth, nearly 1.3 crorewere born in Uttar Pradesh. Following UP is Bihar where 79.5 lakh out-migrantswere born. The two states together comprise almost 38% of the total number ofpeople who currently live in a different state than their state of birth. Thisnumber from UP & Bihar corroborates the popular belief that a large numberof people from these two states migrate to other states in search of work &livelihood. Further, close to 80% of the migrants from these states currentlylive in urban areas, and most probably in large metros.
Out of the 5.6 crore out-migrants, North Indian states  of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab,Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, account for 36.4%. Theout-migration from North Eastern states is very low. The migrants fromNagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradeshtogether constitute only 0.7% of the All-India figure, largely because of thevery low population in these states. Assam alone accounts for 1.2% of the totalnational figure. The Eastern states of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhandaccount for 24.4% of this figure while the Southern states of Kerala,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana) account for only15.3%. On the other hand, Western states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat accountfor 15.3% somewhat similar to the South. The Central part of India comprisingof Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh account for 6.8% out-migrants.
The number of interstate migrants has reduced
to 12.6% from 13.8%
The census data of the last three decadesreveals that the percentage of interstate migration by birth increased from3.28% in 1991 to 13.8% in 2001 and then reduced to12.6% in 2011. In each of these census years of 1991, 2001 and 2011, a totalof  2.72 crores,  4.23 crores and 5.63 crores were inter-statemigrants by birth respectively.
About 55% of the inter-state migrants by birth are female
It is also interesting to note that among inter-state migrants by birth, 71.5% currently live in urban areas while the remaining 28.5% in rural areas, as per the 2011 census. Over the last three decades, one can also notice that in 1991, the scenario was entirely different. As per the 1991 census, 62.6% of the inter-state migrants lived in rural areas. This declined to 33.1% in 2001 and further down to 28.5% in the recently released census migration table of 2011. Settling in rural areas is more  preferred by those moving within the state.
The proportion of male and female migrants bybirth has been more or less consistent throughout these years. The total numberof females has always been higher than their male counterparts. The percentageof females was 55.5% in 1991, 53.5% in 2001 and 55.8% in 2011.
Data suggests that more
migration takes place in the working age
Based on the age group of the population,the following chart shows the distribution of the inter-state migrants inIndia.
Those in the age group of 35-59 yearsconstitute 37.3% of the total interstate migrants. This can be attributed tothe large age group range 25 years. Those in the age bracket of 25 to 34 years comprise 23.5%. Together,those in 25-59 age group constitute 61% of the inter-state migrants indicatingthat more migration takes place during the working age.
Socio- economic inequalities in various parts coupled with livelihood opportunities are the prime drivers of migration are across the country. While some parts of the country are plagued by under-development and poverty, economic growth and urbanisation are concentrated in & around a few cities offering greater opportunities of livelihood. These urban centers attract a large number of people from rest of the country.
Featured Image: Out-migrants in India