Migration to Juba: a case study

Abstract

This study represents the first stage in an examination of migration to Juba, the capital of the Southern Region of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan. Both the Region and the subject are largely unresearched and thus the work is mainly original, yet descriptive and analytical rather than hypothesis testing. Similarly the first and final sections provide necessary background material on the Sudan, the Region and the subject of migration, thereby placing the study in a relevant context. Since 1972, when a seventeen year civil war was terminated and Juba became capital of the Southern Region, the population of the town has grown enormously, and largely as a result of in-migration. The work on this movement is broadly divided into three sections. The first of these looks at the migratory movement as a whole and examines its directions, mechanisms and temporal aspects. The movement is largely rural to urban in direction, and there is some evidence of a stepped nature and of hierarchical organisation by distance rather than town size. The bulk of in-migration has occurred since 1972, and particularly in 1978 and 1979.The second section considers the socio-economic characteristics of the migrants and highlights the male bias, and the dominance of the 15-29 year cohort in the age structure. Economic reasons have been important in the decision making process, as have those of education and family connections. International migration is the subject of the third section, in which the relevant migratory aspects of the civil disturbances in Sudan and Uganda are examined. It is concluded that in-migration has been of great importance in the growth of the population of Juba and that there appear to be no reasons why it will not continue for the foreseeable future. This will raise very serious economic and infrastructural problems because the creation of employment opportunities is not keeping pace with demand nor are the existing services sufficient to cope with further increases in the population of the town.