Migration under economic transition and changing climate in Mongolia

Abstract Migration has become an adaptation strategy in response to economic transition and changing climate in the arid Mongolia. This paper reviews migration in Mongolia in the past few decades, particularly from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s using the data during 2001–2014 of the Mongolia National Labor Survey. Urbanization accounted for over 80% of all migration, mostly into the capital city Ulaanbaatar (UB), where nearly 70% of recent population growth was from migration. The results indicated that married and more educated people were more likely to migrate to urban areas and less likely to migrate to rural areas. Higher wage was a major driver for people to move to cities from the pastoral livelihoods. Migratory rates to both urban and rural areas increased during 2011–2014 following a severe disaster, the 2009–2010 dzud. People from the eastern region were more likely to move back to the rural area than those living in the western region as the east had a more favorable climate for pastoralism. The results confirm the importance of climate and weather changes in migration along with several socio-economic indicators.