FGS - CJMR Journal - March 2021 - Volume 06 - No 01 (97 - 110)

The Pattern of Temporary International Migration in Sri Lanka

Lakshman Dissanayake1* and Irangi Samarakoon2
1
Emeritus Professor of Demography, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo
2
Lecturer, Department of Demography, Faculty of Arts,
University of Colombo
*Corresponding author: Lakshman Dissanayake, Email: l.dissanayake@demo.cmb.ac.lk

Abstract
This study differs from earlier studies by using terminology which defines
temporary international migration as those who were abroad more than six
months at the time of the investigation for purpose other than permanent
residence. This includes not only the labour migrants but also other categories
such as those who have gone for educational purposes. One of the most
noticeable features is the dominance of estate sector women compared to other
sectors because a higher percentage of estate women has gone abroad
temporarily compared to women in urban and rural sectors. The study also
suggests that one of the push factors for temporary international migration
seeking employment as the differences in poverty levels in urban, rural and
estate sectors. Furthermore, it was found that more younger women in the
estate sector who are in the labour force ages move abroad for employment. It
was revealed from the analysis that the districts which show a higher level of
migration for employment, also exhibit a higher level of migration for
education compared to less mobility districts. This means that there is a clear
distinction between migrant districts and non-migrant districts irrespective of
reasons for migration. Districts in the North-east Sri Lanka seem to be less
mobile both locally and internationally. This can be due to the disruption that
occurred in those districts as a result of 30-year long civil war which was
concluded in 2009. However, one can predict that they also will follow a
general pattern of international migration. It was observed that the majority
moved to Middle East Countries for employment and a significant number
were travelling to OECD countries for higher education.
Keywords: International Migration, Estate Sector, Employment, Higher
Education, Women

ISSN: 2362-0633
© Copyright: Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo
98 FGS – CJMR Colombo Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research

Introduction
Migration is considered as one of the major components of population change
at the country level when international migratory movements are being
studied. International migration can either be permanent or temporary
depending on the reasons for such migrations. In the case of permanent
migration, countries lose people with emigration and regain with immigration.
The positive or negative sign of net migration decides whether a country is
losing from or adding to the existing population at a given time point or period.
However, it is quite important to understand, in the contemporary world, that
it is not only permanent migration taking place but also temporary migration
is visible at relatively high magnitude. Most of the time, when international
migration is examined, undue attention has been given to permanent migration
but by pooling temporary migration into it. This may be mainly because of the
definition of a migrant as International Organization of Migration (IOM)
“defines a migrant as any person who is moving or has moved across
an international border or within a State away from his/her habitual
place of residence, regardless of (1) the person’s legal status; (2)
whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary; (3) what the
causes for the movement are; or (4) what the length of the stay is1”.

In this definition, length of stay is a matter of concern because the impact of

permanent migration and temporary migration on the country of origin and
destination differs considerably. Therefore, the present study is focused upon
the temporary migration for those who have gone abroad for a duration of
more than 6 months other than for a permanent residence. They can be
regarded as temporary migrants because they do not have any intention to
reside at the destination country permanently and thus they will return to their
country of origin once they have completed their tasks. This means that these
temporary migrants move to a destination country for a specific purpose such
as obtaining education or engaging in employment activity for a certain
duration of time. However, such temporary migration has been always linked
to labour migration2.

1
https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/migration/index.html
2
http://www.oecd.org/migration/international-migration-outlook-france-september-
2019.htm
The Pattern of Temporary International Migration in Sri Lanka 99

Migration decisions are very much related to gender and age of people.
Furthermore, migration experiences of girls and women in certain age groups
show that they are more or less likely to experience sexual and gender-based
violence, or labour exploitation and human trafficking (Birchall, 2016).
Gender aspect of migration can help to provide guidance to prepare strategies
for managing migration. This aspect has not been looked at separately in most
of the migration studies conducted in Sri Lanka or elsewhere and hence, this
study examines the sex differentials of temporary international migration in
Sri Lanka by examining various socio-economic characteristics of the
migrants.
Data
Data for this study is mainly obtained from the Population and Housing
Census of Sri Lanka conducted in 2012. Population Census of 2012 was
conducted on 20th March 2012 by adopting the de jure method using the usual
residence concept3. ‘Population gone abroad temporarily’ is a new question
included in the census of 2012 for the first time in Sri Lanka. In this case,
temporary migrants are the household members who have gone abroad for a
duration of more than 6 months other than for a permanent residence. The total
number of census block identified for the census was 65,012.
Results and Discussion
Analysis of census data revealed that population size in urban, rural and estate
sector does not have any relationship with a number of migrants generated by
these sectors. The ratio of temporary migrants in each sector to the total
number of population in the respective sector shows that urban sector has 3.7
percent migrants whereas rural and estate sector have 2.6 and 2.7 percent,
respectively although the proportion of the population in each sector is 18.2,
77.4 and 4.4 percent separately for urban, rural and estate sector, respectively.
One of the most noticeable features is the dominance of the estate sector
women compared to other sectors. It is found that 3.8 percent of estate women
have gone abroad temporarily compared to about 2 percent women in the
other two sectors. Among men, the estate sector showed the lowest percentage
and urban sector recorded the highest percentage (5.2%) of migrant men.

3
http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/Pages/Activities/Reports/CPH_2012_
5Per_Rpt.pdf
100 FGS – CJMR Colombo Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research

In this case, it would be very much interesting to examine the reasons for such
international moves by men and women in these sectors, separately. It was
found that employment was the main reason for moving abroad by all the
sector and the highest percentage in the estate sector followed by the rural
sector for both sexes as shown in Table1. However, a higher percentage of
women from the estate sector has sought employment abroad compared to
their male counterparts. The urban sector shows the lowest international
migration with 80.4 percent of men and 64.3 percent of women moving to
overseas for employment
Table 1: Percentage distribution of reasons for temporary international
migration by sex and sector, Sri Lanka

Reasons Sector

Urban Rural Estate

Male
Employment 80.4 90.8 97.7
Education 13.9 5.6 1.1
Other 5.6 3.6 1.2
Total 100 100 100
Female
Employment 64.3 89.2 99.3
Education 16.2 4.1 0.3
Other 19.5 6.7 0.4
Total 100 100 100

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

When chi-square test is performed to find whether there is a clear association

between reasons for employment and sectors by controlling for sex, it is found
that there is a significant association between the two variables as all the chi-
square value is highly significant (Table 2). This suggests that the place of
residence is influential in making the decision to migrate abroad temporarily,
mainly for employment.
The Pattern of Temporary International Migration in Sri Lanka 101

Table 2: Chi-Square Test: Reasons for going abroad for employment and
sector
Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymptotic Significance
(2-sided)
a
Pearson Chi-Square 24495.067 4 .000
Likelihood Ratio 23450.905 4 .000
Linear-by-Linear 18056.876 1 .000
Association
N of Valid Cases 573204

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

One of the push factors for temporary international migration seeking
employment can be the differences in poverty levels in these sectors.
According to the Poverty Head Count Index calculated from the Household
Income and Expenditure Survey of 2012, shows that estate sector records 10.9
percent while urban and rural sectors reveal 2.1 and 7.6 percent for those two
sectors, respectively. This is further visible from Table 3 when income levels
of these three sectors are compared. It is quite discernible that the estate sector
income is considerably lower than the urban and rural sectors.

Table 3: Median monthly gross salary by sector, 2019

Monthly earners Daily earners (wage/salary)
(wage/salary) Rs.
Rs.
urban rural estate urban rural estate
Median 36,000 34,000 18,500 25,000 22,500 16,650
Income

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

The Age pattern of temporary international migration in each sector is
depicted in Figure 1. It reveals that the age pattern is similar in all the sectors
with domination in the labour force ages. However, the level is higher in the
estate sector with the smaller spread of the age curve compared to the other
two sectors. It is also observed that mean age of the women in the estate sector
(32.75 years) is about two years younger to women in the urban (34.38) and
rural (34.58) sectors of those who have gone abroad for employment.
102 FGS – CJMR Colombo Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research

Figure 1: Age pattern of temporary international migration

by sector
6.0%
5.0%
4.0%
3.0%
2.0%
1.0%
0.0%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Urban Rural Estate

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

Figure 2 shows that Colombo and Gampaha districts dominate the temporary
international migration while Kandy from the central hills and Kurunegala and
Puttalam districts from the North-central province also demonstrate a
significant proportion of migrants. One of the most noticeable features is
except Jaffna, Batticaloa and Ampara, all other districts in the Northern and
Eastern provinces exhibit a very marginal proportion of migrants.

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

The Pattern of Temporary International Migration in Sri Lanka 103

Although Colombo district showed the highest percentage of migrants, a

significant proportion of them has migrated for education and other reasons.
However, Kurunegala and Puttalam districts show that temporary
international migration was mainly due to seeking employment abroad and
other factors have very less significance. Colombo, Gampaha and Kandy
districts are more urban in character whereas Kurunegala and Puttalam are
more rural. When the employment status of the labour force in these districts
are considered, 48.5 and 46.2 percent of employed persons are self-employed
in Kurunegala and Puttalam districts, respectively. This means a majority of
the workers are either own account workers or contributing family workers.
In Colombo, Gampaha and Kandy districts, these percentages are 32.1, 33.6
and 38.1, respectively. This suggests that volatility in income generation
activities of the informal sector engagements in the northwestern province has
operated as one of the push factors of temporary international labour
migration.

Table 4: Percentage distribution of reasons for migration by districts with

high proportion of migrants
District

Reasons Colombo Gampaha Kandy Kurunegala Puttalam

Employment 71.3% 82.0% 87.5% 93.2% 91.7%
Education 17.5% 9.9% 6.8% 4.1% 3.3%
Other 11.2% 8.1% 5.7% 2.7% 5.0%
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

Another important feature observed in the analysis of temporary migration by

the district is the high level of mobility in the district will have a greater impact
on people to migrate overseas for various other reasons. In other words, there
is a close association between the reasons for migration among themselves and
district of residence as depicted in Figure 4 as well as the Chi-square test
performed in this analysis (Table 5). It is quite clear from Figure 4 that the
districts which show a higher level of migration for employment, also exhibit
a higher level of migration for education compared to less mobility districts.
104 FGS – CJMR Colombo Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research

Figure 4: Temproarily emigrating for employment and

education by districts, Sri Lanka
40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Kalutara

Matale

Hambantota

Ampara
Trincomalee

Badulla
Colombo
Gampaha

Kandy

Mannar
Vavuniya

Anuradhapura

Moneragala
Matara

Mullaitivue
Nuwara Eliya
Galle

Killiniochchi
Batticaloa
Jaffna

Kurunegala
Puttalam

Polonnaruwa

Ratnapura
Kegalle
Migrated overseas for Employment Migrated overseas for Education

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

When Chi-Square test is performed in order to find out whether there is any
association between reasons for international migration and district of
residence, test results in Table 5 show that there a significant association
between those two variables. This suggests that those who tend to migrate for
various reasons come from the same districts.

Table 5: Chi-Square Test for reasons for migration abroad and the
district of residence
Chi-Square Tests
Asymptotic
Significance
Value df (2-sided)
a
Pearson Chi-Square 39184.625 48 .000
Likelihood Ratio 37307.780 48 .000

Linear-by-Linear 15150.495 1 .000

Association

N of Valid Cases 573206

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

The Pattern of Temporary International Migration in Sri Lanka 105

It is quite interesting to note that districts of origin for employment and

education are almost similar for internal and international migrants. Similarity
exists in both magnitudes of mobility and the pattern of migration as depicted
in Figure 5. This can be due to the highly urbanized nature of Colombo and
Gampaha districts which opens up the opportunity for international migration.
Additionally, migration industry developed in the country for last few decades
is in full operation in these two districts and hence those who intend to migrate
overseas for employment or education, have the change of getting information
as well as the necessary assistance more than in any other districts. As
mentioned earlier, the nature of informal employment opportunities available
in Kurunegala and Puttalam has forced people to be more mobile internally as
well as internationally.

Figure 5: Migrating for employment and education by internal

migrants and international migrants

40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Mannar
Kalutara
Kandy

Galle

Vavuniya

Killiniochchi

Kurunegala

Ratnapura
Badulla
Moneragala
Matara

Puttalam
Colombo

Matale
Nuwara Eliya

Jaffna
Gampaha

Batticaloa
Ampara
Trincomalee

Kegalle
Hambantota

Anuradhapura
Polonnaruwa
Mullaitivue

Migrated overseas for Employment Migrated overseas for Education

Internally migrated for employment Internally migrated for education

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

Analysis done so far at district level reveals that district in North-east Sri
Lanka seems to be less mobile both locally and internationally. This can be
due to the disruption that occurred in those districts as a result of 30-year long
civil war which was concluded in 2009. The war displaced a significant
number of people in these districts and a resettlement process began after
2009. The resettlement process itself has delayed their move overseas or any
other district within the country because they needed to move first to the places
where they were residing before or during the war. Once they are fully
106 FGS – CJMR Colombo Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research

resettled, one can predict that they also will follow a general pattern of
international migration. It is also important to note that majority of irregular
migrants originated from these districts mainly because of economic reasons
as well as protection issues (Hugo and Dissanayake, 2017).

Figure 6: Percentage distribution of migrants resettled after

displacement and temporary international migration by
districts, Sri Lanka
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Mannar
Matale
Nuwara Eliya

Batticaloa

Trincomalee
Ampara

Kurunegala
Puttalam

Polonnaruwa
Kandy

Matara

Vavuniya

Kegalle
Gampaha
Kalutara

Hambantota
Jaffna
Galle

Anuradhapura

Badulla
Moneragala
Ratnapura
Colombo

Mullaitivue
Killiniochchi

Resettled after displacement Temporary International Migration

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

When country of destination related to the reason for going overseas is
examined, it is found that majority moved to Middle East Countries and if it
is education, migrants were travelling to OECD countries (Table 6).
Table 6: Country of destination by reason for migration abroad, Sri
Lanka

country
South East Middle
Asia Asia East OECD Other Total
REASON Employment 1.8% 6.1% 76.0% 13.7% 2.4% 100.0%
Education 6.8% 9.2% 19.6% 59.3% 5.1% 100.0%
Other 5.9% 5.5% 42.8% 42.0% 3.9% 100.0%
Total 2.4% 6.3% 70.0% 18.6% 2.7% 100.0%

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

The Pattern of Temporary International Migration in Sri Lanka 107

When this phenomenon is further investigated to find whether the relationship

between reasons for emigrating overseas and country of destination is
statistically significant, it was found that there is a strong association between
the two variables as shown in Table 7 with Chi-square test of significance.
Table 7: Chi-square test: Reasons for emigrating to overseas and country
of destination

Chi-Square Tests
Asymptotic Significance
Value df (2-sided)
a
Pearson Chi-Square 81665.404 8 .000

Likelihood Ratio 70945.795 8 .000

Linear-by-Linear 10855.676 1 .000

Association
N of Valid Cases 573205

Source: Authors’ calculation from the Census of Population 2012

It is also important to find whether these temporary migrants have preferred
certain countries of destinations. Further analysis in this line showed that the
majority have moved to the Middle East but there was significant mobility
towards the Maldives in the Asian region and South Korea in the East Asian
region for employment purposes. There are about 15000 to 20000 Sri Lankans
are employed in the Maldives4. There are about 22,000 migrant workers in
South Korea engaged in low-skilled jobs5. This is mainly because of
employment opportunities available in the Maldives and annual job quota
provided by the South Korean government for Sri Lankans. For education, it
was mainly Australia and New Zealand were two major countries of
destination.

4
https://mfa.gov.lk/sri-lankan-workers-in-maldives-could-benefit-from-the-countrys-border-
reopening-maldivian-high-commissioner-informs-prime-minister-rajapaksa/
5
https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/daily-mirror-sri-lanka/20191218/281986084450953
108 FGS – CJMR Colombo Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research

Conclusion
The present study defined temporary international migration as those who
were abroad more than six months at the time of the investigation for a purpose
other than permanent residence, which is quite different from earlier studies
done on international migration. Therefore, the study included not only the
labour migrants but also other types of migrants, namely those who have gone
for educational purposes. One of the most visible characteristics is the
dominance of estate sector women contrasted to other sectors because a
greater percentage of estate women has gone abroad temporarily compared to
women in urban and rural sectors. It was found that employment was the main
reason for moving abroad by all the sectors and the highest percentage in the
estate sector followed by the rural sector for both sexes. Statistical analysis
performed in this study further proved that the place of residence is influential
in deciding to migrate abroad temporarily, especially for employment purpose.
The study also suggests that one of the push factors for temporary international
migration seeking employment as the differences in poverty levels in urban,
rural and estate sectors. Furthermore, it was found that more younger women
in the estate sector who are in the labour force ages move abroad for
employment. Colombo and Gampaha districts dominate the temporary
international migration while Kandy from the central hills and Kurunegala and
Puttalam districts from the north-central province also demonstrate a
significant proportion of migrants. Colombo, Gampaha and Kandy districts
are more urban in character whereas Kurunegala and Puttalam are more rural.
The study suggests that volatility in income generation activities of the
informal sector engagements in the northwestern province has operated as one
of the push factors of temporary international labour migration. It was revealed
from the analysis that the districts which show a higher level of migration for
employment, also exhibit a higher level of migration for education compared
to less mobility districts. This means that there is a clear distinction between
migrant districts and non-migrant districts irrespective of reasons for
migration. It was found that the districts of origin for employment and
education are almost similar for internal and international migrants. This can
be due to highly urbanized nature as well as the nature of informal employment
opportunities available which forced people to be more mobile internally as
well as internationally. Districts in North-east Sri Lanka seem to be less
mobile both locally and internationally. This can be due to the disruption that
occurred in those districts as a result of 30-year long civil war which was
The Pattern of Temporary International Migration in Sri Lanka 109

concluded in 2009. However, one can predict that they also will follow a
general pattern of international migration. It was observed that the majority
moved to Middle East Countries for employment and a significant number
were travelling to OECD countries for higher education. Other than the Middle
East, two other preferable destinations for employment were Maldives and
South Korea while Australia and New Zealand were the most desirable
destination for higher education.

References
Birchall, J. (2016) Gender, Age and Migration, Institute of Development Studies, UK
Department of International Development.

Hugo, G.J.; Dissanayake, L. (2017) The process of Sri Lankan migration to Australia
focusing on irregular migrants seeking asylum, (ed. McAuliffe, M & Koser, K ) A
long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers and decision
making, ANU Press, Canberra.

http://www.oecd.org/migration/international-migration-outlook-france-september-
2019.htm

http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/Pages/Activities/Reports/CPH_2
012_5Per_Rpt.pdf

https://mfa.gov.lk/sri-lankan-workers-in-maldives-could-benefit-from-the-countrys-
border-reopening-maldivian-high-commissioner-informs-prime-minister-rajapaksa/

https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/daily-mirror-sri-
lanka/20191218/281986084450953

https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/migration/index.html
110 FGS – CJMR Colombo Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research