Chuuk State Census Report - pacificweb.org

CHAPTER 6MIGRATIONIntroductionIn previous chapters, we discussed a number of demographic topics including population structure, fertility, andmortality. From these discussions, it is very clear that migration plays an important role in the population dynamics ofChuuk. Migration is one of the main determinants of population size and growth (the others are fertility and mortality).The measurement of migration, however, is more complex. Unlike fertility and mortality (which predictably happenonce in each person's lifetime) people may not ever migrate and those that do may do so more than once and fordifferent reasons. Some people migrate for employment, others for education, visiting, and so forth.Migration involves movement from one place to another. In the case of Chuuk, three main types of migration arepresent: 1) migration between Chuuk and other FSM States (referred to here as interstate); 2) migration between theLagoon and Outer Islands (referred to here as internal); and 3) migration between Chuuk and outside of Chuuk,including other non-FSM states (referred to here as international migration). There is also migration between theregions and municipalities but because of the small numbers concerned, it is not desirable to make detailed analysis ofthem. A person who migrates is referred to as an immigrant or in-migrant with respect to the area of destination, andan emigrant or out-migrant with respect to the place of origin (in each case the former term is used for internationalmigration and the latter for internal and interstate migration). Censuses are not the most reliable sources for measuringinternational migration. Data from other sources will be used in this report to provide at least some insight intoemigration from Chuuk. On the other hand, the census is a reliable source for measuring internal and inter-statemigration.Migration has emerged as an extremely important factor shaping the demography of the Pacific (Connell, 1990). Thisis true for Chuuk although the levels and patterns of migration differ in many respects from other parts of the Pacific.Because the Census asks different questions about migration, it actually defines migration in different ways fordifferent purposes. This is an important point for census data users to understand because it means that differentmigration figures presented in the different tables may not be strictly comparable with each other. For example, eventhough data on birthplace and residence 5 years ago provide a basis for measuring migration, the measures obtained aredefined differently, serve different purposes, and are not comparable. For the same reason, unlike with fertility ormortality, it is not easy to make comparisons of levels of internal migration between different countries.Data DescriptionBirthplaceThe 2000 Census asked for details of everyone's place of birth and recorded island/village, municipality, and FSMstates if a person was born in the FSM. When a person's birthplace was outside FSM, the name of the foreign countrywas recorded.Citizenship and Legal ResidenceDetails of citizenship were obtained for all persons in the FSM. The question requested the municipality and state oflegal residence (place where a person is a registered voter) for FSM citizens. For non-FSM citizens, the country ofcitizenship was recorded.Continuous ResidenceContinuous residence was obtained from questionnaire items P11a and P11b, asked of all persons residing in the FSM.The question requested respondents to provide the month and year they started living continuously at the present placeof residence. If respondents had not been living continuously in the present residence since birth, they were requestedto provide the name of the municipality, FSM State, or foreign country in which they previously resided.Residence in 1995All individuals who responded that they lived in a different municipality or overseas on April 1, 1995 (five years priorto the census) were requested to give the name of the municipality and FSM state, or foreign country of residence.Chuuk Branch Statistics Office, Division of Statistics, FSM Department of Economic Affairs 49