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Tamil Nadu (TNBSE)Class 8 Social Studies★ 5-7 marks in the TN Class 8 annual exam through book-back MCQs, fill-ups and short answers

Migration and Urbanisation

Samacheer Kalvi (TN State Board) Class 8 Social Science — Geography Chapter 4, Migration and Urbanisation. What migration and urbanisation mean, the types of migration (internal and international, emigration and immigration), the push and pull factors and causes of migration, and the problems urbanisation brings (slums, overcrowding, sanitation, traffic and pollution). Notes with the actual book-back questions, common mistakes and quick revision.

⏱ 16 min readEasy difficulty✓ Free · NCERT-aligned

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By the end of this chapter you'll be able to…

1Define migration and urbanisation
2Differentiate internal and international migration
3Distinguish emigrant and immigrant
4Explain push and pull factors
5List the problems of urbanisation

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Why this chapter matters

Migration and Urbanisation explains why people move and how cities grow and strain. The internal/international and emigrant/immigrant terms, push and pull factors and the problems of urbanisation are directly tested book-back content in the TN Class 8 exam.

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A 5-minute refresher here will save you 30 minutes of confusion below.

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History Ch 7 — Urban Changes

Growth of cities.

Migration and Urbanisation — Class 8 Social Science (Samacheer Kalvi)

TN State Board (Samacheer Kalvi) Class 8 Social Science, Geography — Chapter 4. Why people move and how cities grow.

1. About this lesson

This lesson explains migration and urbanisation, the types of migration, the push and pull factors, and the problems of urbanisation.

2. Migration and its types

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another to live.
Internal migration is movement within a country; international migration is movement across national boundaries.
A person who leaves his country is an emigrant (emigration); a person who enters another country is an immigrant (immigration).

3. Push and pull factors

Push factors drive people away from a place — poverty, unemployment, drought, overpopulation, wars.
Pull factors attract people to a place — better jobs, higher wages, education, safety, better facilities.

4. Causes of migration and urbanisation

Causes of migration: economic (jobs), demographic (over/underpopulation), social, and political (wars, government policies, colonisation).
Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. It grows as industries and services pull rural people into cities.
Problems of urbanisation: slums and housing shortage, overcrowding, poor water supply and sanitation, traffic congestion, and pollution.

5. Worked examples

Example 1. What is internal migration? The movement of people within a country.

Example 2. Give one pull factor of migration. Better job opportunities (also education, safety).

Example 3. What is urbanisation? The increase in the share of people living in towns and cities.

6. Book-back questions (Samacheer Kalvi)

I. Choose the correct answer

The movement of people within a country is — (a) internal migration / (b) international migration. Ans: (a) internal migration.
A person who leaves his own country is an — (a) immigrant / (b) emigrant. Ans: (b) emigrant.
Better job opportunity is a ____ factor — (a) push / (b) pull. Ans: (b) pull.
Overpopulation acts as a ____ factor — (a) push / (b) pull. Ans: (a) push.
The increase in the proportion of people living in cities is — (a) urbanisation / (b) migration. Ans: (a) urbanisation.

II. Fill in the blanks 6. Movement across national boundaries is international migration. 7. A person entering another country is an immigrant. 8. Slums are a major problem of urbanisation.

III. Answer briefly 9. Differentiate push and pull factors with an example each. 10. State any two problems of urbanisation.

7. Common mistakes

Mistake: Confusing emigrant and immigrant. Fix: Emigrant leaves a country; immigrant enters a country.
Mistake: Calling overpopulation a pull factor. Fix: Overpopulation is a push factor; underpopulation acts as a pull factor.
Mistake: Treating migration and urbanisation as the same. Fix: Migration is people moving; urbanisation is the resulting growth of cities.

8. Quick revision

Geography Ch 4 · migration and urbanisation.
Migration = movement to live; internal (within country) vs international (across borders).
Emigrant leaves; immigrant enters.
Push factors (poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, war) vs pull factors (jobs, education, safety).
Urbanisation = rising city population → slums, overcrowding, sanitation, traffic, pollution.

Key formulas & results

Everything you need to memorise, in one card. Screenshot this for revision.

Migration types

internal (within country) vs international (across borders)

By distance.

Emigrant vs immigrant

emigrant leaves; immigrant enters

Direction of move.

Push vs pull

push (poverty, war, overpopulation) vs pull (jobs, safety)

Repel vs attract.

Urbanisation

rising share of people in towns and cities

Brings slums, traffic.

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Common mistakes & fixes

These are the exact errors that cost students marks in board exams. Read them once, save yourself the trouble.

WATCH OUT

✗ Confusing emigrant and immigrant

✓ Emigrant leaves a country; immigrant enters a country.

WATCH OUT

✗ Calling overpopulation a pull factor

✓ Overpopulation is a push factor; underpopulation acts as a pull factor.

WATCH OUT

✗ Treating migration and urbanisation as the same

✓ Migration is people moving; urbanisation is the resulting growth of cities.

NCERT exercises (with solutions)

Every NCERT exercise from this chapter — what it covers and how many questions to expect.

Choose the correct answer

Book-back MCQs on migration types, emigrant, push/pull and urbanisation.

Questions

Fill in the blanks

International migration, immigrant and slums.

Questions

Answer briefly

Push vs pull factors, problems of urbanisation.

Questions

Practice problems

Try each one yourself before tapping "Show solution". Active recall > rereading.

Q1EASY· MCQ

The movement of people within a country is ____.

▶ Show solution

internal migration.

Q2EASY· MCQ

A person who leaves his own country is an ____.

▶ Show solution

emigrant.

Q3EASY· MCQ

Overpopulation acts as a ____ factor.

▶ Show solution

push.

Q4EASY· Fill in the blanks

A person entering another country is an ____.

▶ Show solution

immigrant.

Q5MEDIUM· Answer briefly

Differentiate push and pull factors with an example each.

▶ Show solution

Push factors drive people away from a place (e.g. unemployment or drought); pull factors attract people to a place (e.g. better job opportunities or education).

Q6EASY· Answer briefly

State any two problems of urbanisation.

▶ Show solution

Growth of slums and a housing shortage, and overcrowding with poor water supply and sanitation (also traffic congestion and pollution).

5-minute revision

The whole chapter, distilled. Read this the night before the exam.

•Geography Chapter 4 of Samacheer Kalvi Class 8 Social Science.
•Migration = movement to live; internal (within country) vs international (across borders).
•Emigrant leaves a country; immigrant enters a country.
•Push factors: poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, war; pull factors: jobs, education, safety.
•Urbanisation = rising proportion of people in towns and cities.
•Problems: slums, overcrowding, sanitation, traffic, pollution.

Tamil Nadu (TNBSE) marks blueprint

Where the marks come from in this chapter — so you can plan your prep.

Typical chapter weightage: 5-7 marks across book-back MCQ, fill-ups and short answers

Question type	Marks each	Typical count	What it tests
MCQ / Fill	1	3-5	Types, terms, factors
Short Answer	2-3	1-2	Push vs pull, urban problems
Application	2	1	Causes of migration

Prep strategy

Separate internal/international and emigrant/immigrant
Make a push vs pull table
List the urban problems
Note overpopulation is a push factor

Where this shows up in the real world

This chapter isn't just an exam topic — it lives in the world around you.

Planning

Cities use migration data to plan housing and transport.

Economy

Migrant workers support farms, factories and services.

Policy

Governments design schemes to manage urban growth.

Exam strategy

Battle-tested tips from teachers and toppers for this chapter.

Define migration and urbanisation separately
Contrast emigrant and immigrant
Give one example each of push and pull factors
List two problems of urbanisation

Going beyond the textbook

For olympiad aspirants and curious learners — topics that build on this chapter.

Explain how war can cause large-scale international migration.
Suggest two ways a city can reduce slum growth.

Where else this chapter is tested

CBSE board isn't the only one — other exams test this chapter too.

TN Class 8 Annual ExamHigh

Foundation / NMMS GeographyMedium

School unit testsHigh

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Questions students ask

The real ones — pulled from the Q&A community and tutor sessions.

Villages often lack jobs and facilities (push factors), while cities offer better employment, education, healthcare and wages (pull factors), so people move in search of a better life.

When people pour into cities faster than housing and services can be built, many cannot afford proper homes and end up living in crowded, poorly served settlements called slums.

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Social Studies flashcards

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