Global Migration Determinants: A Data-Driven Analysis of Economic, Demographic, and Environmental Influences

This research explores the key determinants of migration and their relative influence on movement patterns. By analyzing migration factors such as GDP per capita, life expectancy, urban population ratio, Gender Inequality Index, and tertiary education completion rates, these determinants are able to be evaluated by their impact on the decision to migrate. Establishing this correlation between determinant variables and the immigrant population by country in this paper provides a data-driven analysis and offers a clear understanding of trends in global movement. Rather than prioritize migration patterns at the micro-scale, I focus on migration trends that are globally familiar and therefore emphasize which variables exert the strongest impact across nations. According to my findings, there is evidence that while economic incentives remain a primary driver in migration decisions, demographic and environmental factors are becoming increasingly more important. In particular, the study reveals that after the highest correlation between GDP per capita and migration, there is a larger correlation with inward migration and urbanized countries (where the urban population to total population ratio is higher) than the correlation with cost of living. This insight provides a fresh perspective on addressing migration trends and fosters strategies that consider both social and economic factors in order to support population movement.