Measuring and interpreting emigration intentions of Hungarians

Abstract

International migration and problems associated with it attracted increasing attention among geographers. Hungary has been affected by various forms of international migration since the systemic changes of 1990. This paper focuses on the emigration intentions of Hungarians, with special emphasis on regional differences, and age and gender dimensions. For the sake of analysis a questionnaire survey was carried out which resulted a database containing the answers of nearly 10 thousand respondents nationwide. During the survey we measured socio-economic status, age, gender, migrations intentions and previous migration records. Subjective quality of life factors, like happiness and satisfaction which may influence the migration intentions were also recorded. Based on the survey the main push factors of potential migration were defined. Our results confirm a more globalised pattern of migration intentions where women are at least as much involved in the process of preparation as men, and regions with good economic performance are equally affected as regions with economic hardship.

Keywords

• international migration
• labour mobility
• Emigration Intention Index
• post-socialism
• Hungary