Migration and household dynamics in the rural Umkanyakude district of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa

Caterina Hill, Africa Center for Health and Population Studies
Mitzy Gafos, Africa Center for Health and Population Studies
Tinofa Mutevedzi, Africa Centre

The high levels of mobility in rural South Africa are already documented, however Africa Centre Demographic Surveillance Area (ACDIS) reveals striking aspects of this migration that can be missed through other surveillance systems. The migration is analysed in the context of household structures (resident and non-resident members). a) 32% of household members in June 30th 2002 are non-resident b) 56% of in-migrations are existing members and 73% of out-migrants maintain their memberships after outmigrating; c) Female mobility is higher than male mobility; d) a higher proportion of males are non-resident than females; e) a high proportion of the migration occurs between households within the demographic surveillance area (DSA), and this local migration is more common for females than for male; d) there is slight net out-migration from bounded structures in the DSA, although for all other age groups there is net in-migration.