Papers of the East-West Population Institute No. 75 Regional patterns of intercensal and lifetime migration in Sri Lanka Dayalal Abeysekera East-West Center Honolulu, Hawaii PAPERS OF THE EAST-WEST POPULATION INSTITUTE, published about eight times a year, facilitate early dissemination of research findings and state-of-the-art es• says on the demography of Asia, the Pacific, and the United Slates. Annual sub• scription rate, $12. NOTE TO CONTRIBUTORS: The Population Institute considers unsolicited as well as commissioned manuscripts for the Paper Scries. Appropriate topics are popu• lation estimation and analysis, causes and consequences of demographic behavior, urbanization and population distribution, and population policies and programs. All manuscripts are reviewed. 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Adamson East-West Population Institute Publications Officer Sandra t. Ward East-West Center Editor Robert L. Hearn 1777 East-West Road Production Specialist Lois M. Bender Honolulu, Hawaii 96848 Cartographer Clyde Kanehiro Regional patterns of intercensal and lifetime migration in Sri Lanka Dayalal Abeysekera Number 75 • September 1981 PAPERS OF THE EAST-WEST POPULATION INSTITUTE DAYALAL ABEYSEKERA is a Lecturer in the Demographic Training and Research Unit of the University of Colombo. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Abeysekera, Dayalal Senerat, 1948- Regional patterns of intercensal and lifetime migra• tion in Sri Lanka. (Papers of the East-West Population Institute ; no. 75) Bibliography: p. I. Migration, Internal-Sri Lanka. 1. Title. II. Se• ries. HB2096.8.A3A23 304.8'2,095493 81-12540 AACR2 CONTENTS Preface v Abstract 1 Migrant population of Sri Lanka, 1946-71 6 Trends in rates of natural increase and net migration 15 Age and sex ratios of migrants / 7 Lifetime migration, 1946 and 1953 19 Lifetime migration, 1971 22 Concluding remarks 41 Appendix 1 Population schedule: Census of Sri Lanka, 1971 Appendix 2 Tree diagram indicating the method of selecting different types of lifetime migrants from 1971 census data 44 References 45 iv TABLES. MAPS, AND FIGURES Tables 1 Percentage distribution of Sri Lanka-bom migrant population: Sri Lanka, 1946-63 6 2 Net interregional migration estimates obtained by three methods: Sri Lanka, 1946-53 8 3 Estimates of net interregional migration obtained by two methods: Sri Lanka, 1953-63 9 4 Direction and intensity of interdistrict migration: Sri Lanka, 1953-63 12 5 Intercensal rates of natural increase and net migration per thousand: Sri Lanka, 1946-71 16 6 Sex ratios of lifetime migrants, nonmigrants, and Sri Lanka-born population: Sri Lanka, 1946-63 17 7 Percentage distribution and sex ratios of lifetime migrants by five-year age groups: Sri Lanka, 1963 18 8 Percentage distribution of rural/urban destinations of urban-born lifetime migrants by district: Sri Lanka, 1946 20 9 Percentage distribution of rural/urban destinations of urban-born lifetime migrants by district: Sri Lanka, 1953 21 10 Number and percentage of migrant categories estimated from 10 percent sample census tape: Sri Lanka, 1971 24 11 Direction and intensity of interregional lifetime migration in Sri Lanka: 1971 25 12 Direction and intensity of lifetime migration: Sri Lanka, 1971 28 13 Percentage distribution of lifetime migrant streams to selected destinations by district of origin: Sri Lanka, 1971 30 14 Sex ratios and percentage distributions of selected lifetime migrant streams and nonmigrants by age and sex: Sri Lanka, 1971 34 15 "Standardized" age-sex-specific selectivity of lifetime migrants by selected destinations: Sri Lanka, 1971 37 Maps 1 New district boundaries: Sri Lanka, 1953—63 3 2 Regional groupings by district: Sri Lanka, 1971 4 3 Retentive attractiveness by region: Sri Lanka, 1971 5 Figures 1 Age-specific sex ratios of lifetime migrants by selected destinations: Sri Lanka, 1971 36 2 "Standardized" age-specific selectivity pattern of male lifetime migrants by selected destinations: Sri Lanka, 1971 38 3 "Standardized" age-specific selectivity pattern of female lifetime migrants by selected destinations: Sri Lanka, 1971 39 V PREFACE I am most grateful to Professors Sidney Goldstein and Alden Speare, Jr., for having made many valuable comments on an earlier draft of this paper. I also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Ford Foundation in the form of a Traineeship in Demography, which enabled me to work toward completion of my doctoral degree in sociology at Brown Uni• versity. This paper is dedicated to Ajith and Dilini, my brother and sister, who shouldered a disproportionate share of.the household chores while I was away, reading for the degree: ABSTRACT This paper draws on published census data to.examine regional patterns of intercensal migration in Sri Lanka between 1946 and 1971 and on a 10 percent national sample from the 1971 census to examine patterns of lifetime migration. Two dominant migration streams are observed, one to Colombo District containing the capital city, and the other to rural areas of several districts in the dry zone. The latter is a result of the government's investment in peasant agri• culture, and the close relationship between the availability of new land and increased migration is demonstrated. Although Colombo is the most attractive destination for in-migrants, the rural dry zone as a unit retains the largest proportion of the gross migrant turnover. The other regions, consisting of the maritime districts, the kandyan (hill- country) districts, and Jaffna, have all lost parts of their populations to the two dominant destinations, with maritime district migrants go• ing mainly to Colombo, and kandyan district and Jaffna migrants go• ing mainly to the rural dry zone. Slightly over one half of lifetime migrants have moved into rural lo• cations outside the dry zone. Urban Colombo, the rural dry zone, and other urban areas of the country jointly account for the remaining mi• grants in equitable proportions. Over two thirds of the gross turnover of lifetime migrants reside in rural Sri Lanka. This paper assesses the regional pattern of lifetime migration in Sri Lanka during the last three intercensal periods, from 1946 to 1971, by documenting the volume and direction of interdistrict migration in Sri Lanka; contrasting two dominant streams of migration, one to urban Colombo and the other to the rural dry zone; and identifying basic age-sex characteristics of four streams of lifetime migrants from the 1971 census data whose destinations were urban Colombo, the rural dry zone, "other urban" areas, and "other rural" areas. The purpose is to demonstrate that there was a very significant migration stream to the rural dry zone. Given the centrality of public policy considerations (Abeysekera, 1979), it is important to study the determinants and consequences of this migration in greater detail, using a survey ap• proach. Information on place of birth was collected in all censuses of Sri Lanka, but it was cross-classified by place of residence and published 2 Intercensal and Lifetime Migration in Sri Lanka for the first time only in 1946. Since then there have been three inter• censal periods providing data on internal migration. Before turning to a detailed discussion of migration, one should note changes that have occurred in the number of districts of Sri Lanka (see Map 1). At the turn of the century, Sri Lanka's nine prov• inces had 20 districts. At the time of the 1971 census there were 22 districts. Comparability over time can easily be established. The changes took place between 1953 and 1963, when the districts of Puttalam and Chilaw were consolidated and another three districts (Batticaloa, Anuradhapura, and Badulla) were