Migration is the principal demographic process shaping patterns of human settlement, and it serves an essential role in human development. While progress has been made in measuring international migration, internal migration statistics are as yet poorly developed in many countries. This article draws on a repository of data established under the IMAGE (Internal Migration Around the GlobE) project to address this deficit by constructing the first comprehensive league table of internal migration intensities for countries around the world. We review previous work, outline the major impediments to making reliable comparisons, and set out a methodology that combines a novel estimation procedure with a flexible spatial aggregation facility. We present the results in the form of league tables of aggregate crude migration intensities that capture all changes of address over one‐year or five‐year intervals for 96 countries, representing four‐fifths of the global population. Explanation for the observed differences has been sought, inter alia, in historical, structural, cultural, and economic forces. We examine the links between development and migration intensity through simple correlations using a range of demographic, economic, and social variables. Results reveal clear associations between internal migration intensities and selected indicators of national development.

We know that internal migration shapes human settlement patterns, but few attempts have been made to measure systematically the extent of population redistribution or make comparisons between countries. Robust comparisons are hampered by limited data access, different spacetime frameworks, and inadequate summary statistics. We use new analysis software (IMAGE Studio) to assess the effects of differences in the number and configuration of geographic zones and implement new measures to make comparisons across a large sample of countries, representing 80% of global population. We construct a new Index of Net Migration Impact to measure system-wide population redistribution and examine the relative contributions of migration intensity and effectiveness to crossnational variations. We compare spatial patterns using the slope of a regression between migration and population density across zones in each country to indicate the direction and pace of population concentration. We report correlations between measures of population redistribution and national development and propose a general theoretical model suggesting how internal migration redistributes population across settlement systems during the development process.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Figure 1. Migration intensity, migration effectiveness and the aggregate net migration rate, as a function of the number of spatial units, selected countries that measure migration over a 5-year interval. 8 of 22 P. Rees et al.

Compared with other demographic processes, little attention has been given to the way levels and patterns of internal migration vary around the world. This can be traced in part to the absence of any central repository of internal migration data, but it also reflects widespread variation in the ways migration is measured. If robust, reliable comparisons between countries are to be made, a clear understanding of the available data is an essential pre‐requisite. This paper reports results from the Internal Migration Around the GlobE project, which established an inventory of internal migration data collections for the 193 UN member States, identifying, inter alia, the types of data collected, the intervals over which it is measured and the spatial frameworks employed. Results reveal substantial diversity in data collection practice. We assess the strengths, limitations, and utility of the six principle ways migration is measured and examine their capacity to address key questions and issues in the field. We also identify avenues for harmonisation and conclude with recommendations which aim to facilitate cross‐national comparisons. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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