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Analyzing In-Migrants and Out-Migrants in Urban China

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Abstract

Massive urbanization is producing large-scale urban migration in China. Based on the database of the Population Information System of the Health and Family Planning Commission, the spatial characteristics and demographic structural characteristics of migrants have been analyzed at the inter-provincial, intra- provincial and city scales, using Wuhan, China as a case study. A panoramic image of the overall migration in this area has been produced, illustrating that in-migration continues to have a “squeezing” effect on low-skilled jobs with low barriers to entry. There are clear differences between in-migrants and out-migrants; the great majority of in-migrants are fertile women and floating children, and out-migrants have left their children. Moreover, basic public services are insufficient for in-migrants. This paper concludes by presenting a selection of policies to help manage migrants.

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Notes

  1. The Hukou system is used to record household registration and is required by law. It was first established in 1951 for urban areas only and then extended to include rural areas in 1955. Under this system, Chinese residents are divided into two groups – rural and urban – based on where they live. Those wanting to change their hukou permanently or formally must obtain approval from local authorities. Reformation of the hukou system has been controversial in China. On December 4, 2014, the Legal Affairs Office of the State Council released a draft residence permit regulation proposing the cessation of the hukou system in small cities and towns, gradual easing of the system in medium-sized cities, and retention of the system in large metropolitan cities. However, it will still be quite some time before rural citizens or migrant workers enjoy the same benefits as urban citizens.

  2. Data are from the “2015 Report on China’s Migration Population Development.”

  3. Su is the abbreviation of Suzhou City, Zhe is the abbreviation of Zhejiang City and Min is the abbreviation of Fujian City.

  4. Internal migrants below the age of 16 constitute a very small group, and education level is thus analyzed by considering all migrants without eliminating migrants under the age of 16.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41201152, 41329001, 41430637), National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11CRK001), and National Science Foundation of USA (Grant No. 1416509).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, 430073, China

    Huali Xiang & Tingpimei Zhang

  2. Center for Environment and Migration Studies, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, 430073, China

    Huali Xiang, Jun Yang & Tingpimei Zhang

  3. Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44240, USA

    Xinyue Ye

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  1. Huali Xiang
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  2. Jun Yang
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Correspondence to Xinyue Ye.

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Xiang, H., Yang, J., Zhang, T. et al. Analyzing In-Migrants and Out-Migrants in Urban China. Appl. Spatial Analysis 11, 81–102 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-016-9207-1

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