How Emigration Contributes to Less Urbanized Immigrant Populations

The regional distribution of immigrant populations in Western countries has changed over the last decades. Such changes are usually explained by changes in immigrants’ initial settlements and/or their subsequent internal migration patterns. This Research Note draws attention to a third factor: emigration. When immigrants in urban areas are more prone to emigrate than their rural peers, this contributes to a less urbanized immigrant population. Using Norwegian data, this study follows the immigrant cohort who arrived between 2000 and 2013, grouped by their immigration category, during their first 10 years after arrival in Norway. The results show how emigration from the most urban areas has contributed to a less urbanized (remaining) immigrant cohort. For some immigrant groups, this de-urbanizing emigration has outweighed the urbanizing effects of internal migration.