Internal Migration in Great Britain – A District Level Analysis Using 2001 Census Data

This paper makes use of the Special Migration Statistics (SMS) from the 2001 Census to explore the magnitude, composition and pattern of population migration within Great Britain. Age and sex differentials are examined through the use of migration schedules, whilst spatial patterns of net migration balances and rates are explored using other graphic and cartographic techniques. Much of this analysis is bound within a district classification framework; the use of which, in conjunction with these techniques, has helped reveal new characteristics and patterns. In addition, rates of ‘turnover’ and ‘churn’ have been used to assess population stability for districts and area classification aggregations thereof within Britain – analysis which helped overcome some of the limitations inherent in standard net rate calculations.

Our findings are that at an aggregate level, familiar past trends such as counterurbanisation can still be identified, but by using the Vickers et al. classification, these aggregate migration patterns can been deconstructed, revealing spatially varied trends of both counterurbanisation and urbanisation across Britain. Population stability, defined by turnover and churn analysis, is broadly reduced in urban areas and increased in rural areas, although stability varies greatly across age groups. Following these findings it is useful to conceptualise a two-tier ‘rural’ in Britain; a rural Britain with a relatively stable population, characterised by some in-migration, and a rural Britain with a far less stable population featuring migrants with characteristics similar to those found in London. Finally we find that the effect of age and sex on the propensity to migrate is key, however these attributes interact with the particular socio-demographic, economic and environmental characteristics of places (as characterised by the Vickers et al. classification) to produce specific migration profiles for different areas.