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Illegal Migrants to Greece and their Choice of Destination
Author(s) -
Lianos Theodore P.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international migration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.681
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1468-2435
pISSN - 0020-7985
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2435.00147
Subject(s) - residence , per capita , population , demographic economics , unemployment , marital status , geography , immigration , emigration , gross domestic product , economic growth , sociology , demography , economics , archaeology
Data on illegal migration to Greece have recently become available from the Greek Employment Observatory. This article presents some descriptive characteristics of the migrants, including country of origin, marital status, education, age, profession and place of residence. It also provides an analysis of migrants' choice of location within Greece. The majority of illegal migrants are manual or unskilled workers seeking employment mainly in the agricultural sector or in urban areas. There is substantial differentiation between males and females in terms of age, education, marital status and profession. In a limited sense, the data provide support for the idea of “feminization” of migration flows. Large flows of migrants are directed to the urban centres but migration as a proportion of county populations is not higher for the big urban centres (Athens and Thessaloniki) than for others. Migrants' choice of place of residence are not affected by the rate of unemployment. Males are attracted to areas with significant agricultural production and females to urban centres. Females are willing to travel longer distances in order to find employment, but for males distance is an insignificant factor. Per capita gross domestic product is an important factor only when migration flows are measured as a proportion of the population. Although the analysis does not justify strong policy statements, it indirectly provides some basis for arguing that allowing or tolerating illegal migration is not the best policy from the point of view of national interest.