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RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION PROCESS IN INDONESIA

By: Dwi Retno Mulyaningrum

( Alumni of IHS Erasmus University Rotterdam and Government Officer in Indonesia )

Rural-urban migration is an example of internal migration within a country. Indonesia, one of 

developing countries in Southeast Asia, also faced this phenomenon. One perspective as

foundation of it is an equality income between countryside and city. It occurred because of 

government policy that mainly focused on urban development rather than rural area, especially in

agricultural sector. It was more than 40% of people working in this sector (Central Statistics of 

Indonesia, 2009). This condition made “push” factor of migration in rural area increased, such as:

low and unstable income from agriculture activities, poor living condition, bad accessibility, etc. In

the other hand “pull” factor from the city is also take big role. Those are economical city attraction

(employment); better quality of public facility, education and healthcare; higher incomes and also

greater chances and opportunity. So, these were descriptions above emphasized push-pull theory in

migration (Cohen, 1987; also Zolberg, Suhrke, and Aguao, 1989 in Chastles and Miller, 2009)

Reksodiprodjo and Karseno (1994) stated that at least 7 motivations as reason people to migrate in

urban area: 1) continuing study, 2) affected by information that easy to find jobs and chances in the

city, 3) higher wages, 4) security, 5) unfastened individual freedom, 6) many entertainment, and 7)

loose culture and religious rules in the city. Time goes by, urban area in Indonesia more densely and

faced with so many urban problems such as: slum, poverty, unemployment, pollution, traffic

congestions, food crisis, violence etc. These were triggering other urban social problems.

The other hand, rural areas was uneasy to find young, capable and well educated generation to take

role in the future of agricultural activities. Even though there is wide availability of uncultivated

land, the potential and maximal agriculture productivity is maybe unreachable. Gugler (1997)

argued that:

“..r ural urban migration is a rational response to the economic realities ruralities faces, that 

there are advantages to be gained from the move.”  

Government as public services producer should change its mainstream. Those actions at least

should be can reducing extreme inequalities between rural and urban area and improving better

living condition in countryside, especially infrastructure, education, and accessibility.

Some of the urban migrants can exist and reach their dream. They have a god job, comfort living

condition, wealthy, and god integrated in social communities. Unlucky immigrants faced so many

social frictions. They are not yet prepare with city challenges that must be creative, skilled, well

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educated and adaptable people. Some of them only depend on basic education and agricultural

skill. Finally, they must be dealt with informal activities in informal settlement with low income

condition. Some of them try to apply their skill on urban agriculture. My individual observation was

showing that these activities can help migrant and city household to fulfill at least their family needs

of food and other basic needs.

It was over urbanization in some big cities in Indonesia, such as Jakarta and Surabaya. Upgrading

programs in slum area as meeting points of migrants did not work effectively. New comer was

coming again after the other one can exit arduously. Every city government tries to make some

policy and actions to cutting down urbanization rate. Urban unemployment is notoriously

problematic. Actually, Indonesian government has other type of rural urban migration to encounter

urbanization that it was well known as transmigrasi. It was a program  to move people from

relatively dense populated area to scarce population area. It was started from Netherlands

colonialism era in 1905 to relocate inhabitants of Java Island to other island in Indonesia. Until now,

this program still continued, not only done by cities in cities in Java Island but others cities from

other islands that have dense population. Though it is not giving higher impact to decline rural-

urban migration impacts, this program gives another benefit to reach equal population in scarce

area especially in countryside.

Transmigrasi program give some other social negative effects besides the positive effects, especially

when the migrant cannot integrate with the origin people of the destination area. Some successful

migrants were more prosperous than the origins and had wider of land. The origin people

unpredictable pushed in to fringe area. These conditions sometimes generated frictions between

two groups, even it can be “local war” among them. It means, in every integration on migration

activities can lead social transform in community, positively and negatively.

References:

Central Statistics of Indonesia, (2009), Statistik Indonesia 2008, at http://www.bps.go.id/ 

Chastles, S. and M.J. Miller, (2009), The Age of Migration, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, Chapter

2: Theories of Migration, pp. 20-21.

Gugler, J. (1997), “Overurbanization Reconsidered”, in: Cities in the Developing World. Issues,

Theory, and Policy (editrd by Josef Gulger), pp. 144-123.

Reksodiprodjo and Karseno (1994), Ekonomi Perkotaan (Urban Economics), Yogyakarta: BPFE.