THREE notable trends since 2016 – following family (45.3%), career (23.6%) and environment (22.3%) – have remained key reasons for the Malaysian population to migrate in 2020, according to the Migration Survey report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Findings from the survey which was conducted from January to December 2020 further show that Kuala Lumpur continues to record the highest outflow of internal migrants at 22,200 persons in 2020 from 2018 (25,000 persons).
The contributing factors of out-migrants from Kuala Lumpur to nearby states are in search for more comfortable housing and lower cost of living.
Interestingly, the migration trend not only involves urban to urban areas but also from urban to rural areas.
Although most states showed a higher movement from urban to urban areas, two states showed a different situation with higher migration from urban to rural areas, namely Sabah (49.3%) and Kelantan (34.6%).
“The current economic situation, job opportunities and health issues following the outbreak of COVID-19 as well as the closure of business operations and tourism activities also influenced the population to migrate to rural areas,” observed the Migration Survey 2020.
“The Government’s initiative in establishing the New Economic Development Corridor, namely the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) and Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), has been a factor in attracting people to migrate into areas that receive government investment and development plans.”
Elsewhere, Putrajaya continues to record the highest inter-state migration during the January-December 2020 period at 100% followed by Kuala Lumpur (78.4%) and Terengganu (48.4%).
“Putrajaya which recorded a 100% urbanisation level continues to be relevant as the administrative centre of the Federal Government by offering job opportunities and owning properties as well as various public facilities that are comprehensive in the metropolitan area which has become an attraction for population to migrate to Putrajaya.”
On the bigger picture, results of the Migration Survey 2020 show that there were 1.5% of the population aged one year and over who had migrated in 2020, a 0.1 percentage point decrease from 1.6% in 2018 (the number of migrants decreased by 40,000 persons to 484,100 from 524,100 persons in 2018).
Meanwhile, intra-state migration in 2020 recorded a decrease of 2.4 percentage points from 60.8% in 2018 while inter-state migration added 2.7 percentage points to 31.2% in 2020 from 28.5% in 2018.
Composition of international migration from abroad to Malaysia recorded 10.4%, a decline of 0.3 percentage points from 10.7% in 2018. – Aug 19, 2021
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