International Institute for Population Sciences
Deemed to be University (An Autonomous Organization of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India)

Background Migration has emerged to be a universal phenomenon in recent years. Millions of people all over the world move out of their normal place of residence to seek their fortune elsewhere (Joseph, 1988). Internal migration is a global phenomenon that occurs in line with economic progress. Rural developing nations have experienced a continuous cycle of migration induced by low agricultural output, underemployment, low income, and poverty. Objective This study attempts to understand the process of female migration in inter-state and intra-state and to further study the selective reasons for female migration concerning education, work, and business within India. Data Source and Methodology This study used Census data in 2011. The reasons for migration are based on the place of the last residence as Table D3 of D series data is available since the year 1981. The trend of female migration has been studied using three reasons for migration; work, business, and education. For the statistical analysis, univariate and bivariate analysis was conducted. Result In terms of the absolute figure for women migration, there were 47% (276 million) intra-state migrants as compared to 6% (30 million) interstate migrants. Additionally, 10 states (UP Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamilnadu, MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Karnataka) were home to more than 60 percent of interstate in-migration. Furthermore, of the total intrastate migration more than 3/4th (25 percent) has been contributed by UP and Maharashtra. In both stream Intra-State and Inter-State women’s migration rural to urban (39%) migration is more than urban to rural (35%) for work, business, and education. Conclusion In India, the overall percentage of women’s migrations is less in the context of work, business, and education.