An Analysis of the Drivers and Consequences of Migration in Afghanistan (2003–2024)

Abstract

This study investigates the underlying drivers and consequences of migration in Afghanistan during the period from 2003 to 2024 (1382–1403 in the Solar Hijri calendar). Migration, defined as the movement from one's place of origin (the source country) to another country (the destination country), has a long-standing history and has consistently been accompanied by political-security, economic, cultural, and social challenges.

Using a descriptive-analytical method and relying on secondary data collected through library research, this study seeks to answer the central question: what have been the most significant factors and consequences of migration in Afghanistan during the specified period? Drawing on Everett S. Lee’s push-pull theory, the findings identify war and insecurity, poverty and unemployment, the absence of legal protection, and low levels of social welfare as the primary structural drivers of migration in these years.

The results indicate that migration in Afghanistan has led to a range of political-security, economic, cultural, and social consequences. To manage migration more effectively, the study proposes three key recommendations: economically, to create employment opportunities and improve social welfare; politically and legally, to develop a responsive and modern political-legal framework; and socially and culturally, to recognize and accommodate cultural pluralism.