| Author(s) | Ibrahim A. Al-Humaidi |
| Affiliation | Agri. Ext. & Econ. Dept., College of Agri. & Vet. Med King Saud University, Qassim Branch, Saudi Arabia |
| Title | An Exploratory Study of Rural-urban Migration in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Agricultural Sciences. Volume 16, No 1. (2004/1424) |
| Abstract | This exploratory study aims to figure out whether rural people in Saudi Arabia intend to migrate from rural areas or not and to which places. Also, it seeks to uncover the motives behind this migration and causes for refusal. Another aim is to discover the trend of migration toward rural areas and its causes. A questionnaire was designed for this purpose and distributed into five administrative regions (Eastern, Makkah, Qassim, Riyadh, and Baha areas) containing (51%) of the 10364 villages of Saudi Arabia. A random sample of 83 villages was chosen and 789 completed questionnaire forms were used in the analysis. In analyzing the data some statistical tools were used such as: percentages, means and Chi-square test. Findings of the study show that (40.1%) of the respondents desire leaving the villages for lack of social and economic services in the villages, which increased their dissatisfaction about living conditions. The majority of these groups indicate their willingness to migrate to the three superior areas Makkah, Eastern Region and Riyadh. On the other hand, the people of Al-Qassim and Al-Baha in this study showed higher tendency to this migration compared to those who live in the other three areas. Those who refused the idea of leaving the villages attributed this to the close contact with their villages and their people, in addition to the good services their villages afford. The study showed the existence of urban-rural migrations due to social causes. The argument was concluded by requesting for balanced development among the country’s areas to reduce this migration. |
