Socio-Economic Status of the Tigrean Ethnic Immigrants. The Case of Northern Ethiopia

Mushir ALI 1
1 Mekelle University, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Mekelle, ETHIOPIA
E-mail: mushirjbd@gmail.com
Pages: 239-247

Abstract. Cross-border migration has been a basic issue in Ethiopian urban masses particularly in the Tigray region where the socio-economic sustainability of immigrants is considered pathetic. This paper is an attempt to identify demographical features, to analyze socio-economic conditions, and problems faced by immigrants. By using purposive sampling, 240 households of Tigray immigrants were sampled from four sub-cities. Analysis of the work reflects that the Tigrean ethnicity was a common feature of immigrants regarding language, culture and history. The majority of immigrants arrived in the study area by travelling more than 200 km. Orthodox Christianity and Islam were the sampled population’s religious faiths. Juvenile and senile dependents scored the share of 44.5%. With widespread illiteracy and poor educational level, the working population was mainly engaged in hotel, restaurant, pity trade and as labourers. Their monthly earning of less than 1,000 birr was a common phenomenon for 80% of the households. Half of the immigrant population was residing in rented houses, followed by slum dwellers and homeless people, whereas 37% spent nights on the iron beds, on the ground using skin/hide as well as grass as mattress. Drinking water was fetched from the springs and was available in 20% of the households. Beside these, 66.3% of the dwellings had no toilet facility where as 75% of the immigrants suffered from one or more diseases.

K e y w o r d s:  migrants, society, distance, occupation, income, education, dwellings