The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on internal migration in Iran

Madison Leigh Rose, Hakan Demirbuken, Bayram Samet Şahin and Abbas Enayati

Chapter 9 in Handbook of Research on Migration, COVID-19 and Cities, 2025, pp 161-180 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This study explores the experiences of internal migrants in Iran, focusing on migration motivations and the impact of COVID-19. Drawing on results from a quantitative survey and focus group discussions with internal migrants, the research found that migrants travelled an average of 320.6 km and often migrated within their province of origin. While the primary motivation for migration was employment or income generation (80.3%), push factors including limited job opportunities and low wages and pull factors including improved living conditions and access to education were also key influences. Most surveyed households (58.8%) reported that at least one member contracted COVID-19, resulting in disruptions to education and mental health symptoms. Some internal migrants (3.2%) reported losing jobs during the pandemic, prompting households to utilise savings (37.9%) and borrow from friends and family (22.1%). Despite these challenges, nearly all migrant households planned to stay in the location they relocated to.

Keywords: Internal Migration; Iran; COVID-19; Urbanisation; Motivations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035301225
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035301232.00017 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 403 Forbidden

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:21950_9

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().