GCSE · Geography · AQA · Spec 8035

National and international migration in UK cities

Who moved into Liverpool, who moved out — and how can you still hear, see and taste the difference today?

Sort it yourself

Two labels for every flow

Migration is people moving from place to place: an inflow brings people to a place, an outflow takes them away. Pick one of Liverpool's flows, then pick the box you think it belongs in — commit first, and the reason appears once you've placed it.

When did it happen? Historical flows are the long-established ones of the 1800s and the years after 1945; recent flows are the ones shaping the city today.

Still to sort

Historical (0)

Long-established flows: the 1800s and the years after 1945.

Recent (0)

The flows shaping the city today.

8 of 8 still to sort.

Sort all eight by time, then switch to 'By space' and sort the same eight again.

Exam line: Describe a flow with both labels — for example, 'a historical, national inflow' — never just one.

History · Cause & effect

How flows built a city — and shrank it

Tap each date. What caused it sits on one side; what happened next sits on the other.

Causes ←

What led here

An inflow of Muslim people to the city

Event

UK's oldest recorded mosque

1889

Founded in a Liverpool terraced house.

→ Consequences

What followed

A wider variety of religious buildings

Part of what makes Liverpool a welcoming, ethnically diverse city

Exam line: When you link migration to population change, use 'partly' — inflows and outflows were never the whole story.

Check your thinking

What does migration actually change?

You've just followed Liverpool's population up, down and up again, with migration flows at every turning point.

Which of these is closest to what you think right now?

Migration explains it all — the population only changed because people moved in and out.Migration only changes how many people live in a city.Only arrivals matter — people leaving doesn't really change a city.Migration is one cause of population change, alongside births and deaths — and it changes who lives in a city, not just how many.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

Migration explains it all — the population only changed because people moved in and out.

This is a common misconception

Migration is a big part of the story, but not all of it. A population also changes when people are born and when people die. That's why every link on the timeline said 'partly'. For the complete picture you need birth and death rates alongside migration.

Migration only changes how many people live in a city.

This is a common misconception

The headcount is only one of three things migration changes. It also changes the population structure — the mix of ages — and the ethnic composition — the mix of backgrounds. Here's the proof for structure: Liverpool's population is broadly similar to the UK's, but much wider in the 20 to 30 age bracket. That bulge comes from recent national and international inflows of working-age people looking for jobs, education and lifestyle opportunities. Ethnic composition is next.

Only arrivals matter — people leaving doesn't really change a city.

This is a common misconception

Outflows matter too. Remember the fall after 1931: it was partly due to people moving away. What shapes a city's population is the balance of inflows and outflows, not the arrivals on their own.

Migration is one cause of population change, alongside births and deaths — and it changes who lives in a city, not just how many.

This matches the evidence

Spot on. Migration changes three things: the total population; the population structure — Liverpool is much wider than the UK in the 20 to 30 age bracket, thanks to recent inflows of working-age people looking for jobs, education and lifestyle opportunities; and the ethnic composition. And because births and deaths change a population too, migration is never the whole story on its own.

Population change comes from migration AND births and deaths. Migration changes the total population, the population structure (Liverpool is much wider than the UK at ages 20 to 30, because of recent working-age inflows) and the ethnic composition.

Exam line: Name all three demographic impacts: total population, population structure and ethnic composition.

Ethnic composition

One city, very different neighbourhoods

In the 2021 census, what share of people were born outside the UK? Make your best guess for each place, then check.

Broad — Broad GreenCity — Liverpool as a wholeTox Pk — Toxteth Park

Exam line: Quote the city figure AND the range: 14.9% overall, from 5.8% in Broad Green to 41.2% in Toxteth Park.

The city's character

The traces the flows left behind

Which kind of inflow shaped each of these features of Liverpool? Tick one circle — or both, if you think both kinds of flow played a part.

A Shaped by national inflows
B Shaped by international inflows

The Scouse accent
Place names such as Belfast Road
The Liverpool Irish Famine Trail
The annual Liverpool Irish festival
Chinatown
One of Europe's oldest Black communities
The Liverpool European Festival

Exam line: Link each feature of the city's character to the kind of flow behind it.

Your turn

Put it all together

Explain how national and international migration have affected the growth and the character of Liverpool. [6 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

Growth: in the 19th century inflows were greater than outflows, so the population grew — from about 90,000 in 1801 to around 850,000 by 1931. (1 mark)
Decline and recovery: the fall from 1931 to 2001 was partly due to outflows, and the small rise from 2001 to 2021 was partly because inflows were greater than outflows. (1 mark)
Economy: inflows increased the labour supply, so buildings and infrastructure could be built quickly (for example, Welsh workers in the building trade). (1 mark)
Character from a named national inflow, e.g. Welsh and Irish migrants influenced the Scouse accent and place names such as Belfast Road. (1 mark)
Character from a named international inflow, e.g. one of Europe's oldest Chinatowns or Black communities, or the UK's oldest recorded mosque (1889). (1 mark)
A challenge: the famine-era Irish inflow initially caused conflict with local communities and the city authorities, who resented supporting the refugees. (1 mark)

Model answer

Migration helped Liverpool grow fast in the 19th century, when inflows were greater than outflows: the population rose from about 90,000 in 1801 to around 850,000 by 1931. National inflows from Wales supplied workers for the building trade, so the city's buildings and infrastructure went up quickly. Later, the fall between 1931 and 2001 was partly due to outflows, while the small rise from 2001 to 2021 was partly because inflows were again greater than outflows. Migration also shaped the city's character. National inflows from Wales and Ireland influenced the Scouse accent and place names such as Belfast Road, and international inflows gave Liverpool one of Europe's oldest Chinatowns and the UK's oldest recorded mosque. It wasn't all smooth: the famine-era Irish inflow first caused conflict with local people and the city authorities, who resented supporting so many refugees.

The strongest answers link a named flow to a specific impact and back it up — a figure for growth, a named place or community for character.

Exam line: Name the flow, say whether it was national or international, and link it to a specific impact — backed by a figure or a named place.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Who moved in, who moved out — and the marks they left on the city's size, people and character.

What you need to know

Migration is the movement of people from place to place. An inflow is people moving to a place; an outflow is people moving away from it.
Every flow can be sorted two ways: by time (historical or recent) and by space (national = within one country; international = between different countries).
Liverpool's biggest historical inflows came from Ireland and Wales — and both were national moves at the time.
Migration changes a city's total population, its population structure and its ethnic composition — but birth and death rates change population too.
Inflows helped Liverpool's economy grow (more workers, faster building, new ideas) and shaped its character (accent, place names, communities, festivals).

The big picture

Migration is the movement of people from place to place: an inflow brings people to a place and an outflow takes them away. Liverpool's migrations can be sorted two separate ways — by time (historical or recent) and by space (national, within one country, or international, between countries). The balance of inflows and outflows helped the city grow through the 19th century and shrink after 1931, alongside changes in birth and death rates. Migration also reshaped the city's population structure, its ethnic composition and its character.

Key points

1Every flow wears two labels: WHEN (historical or recent) and WHERE FROM (national or international).

2Irish arrivals in the 1800s count as national migration, because Ireland was then part of the UK.

3Liverpool grew from about 90,000 people in 1801 to around 850,000 in 1931 — partly due to inflows — then fell until 2001, partly due to outflows.

4Recent flows: national from Hull and Birmingham (and out to London); international from Yemen, Somalia and Eastern Europe, such as Poland.

5In 2021, 14.9% of Liverpool's population was born outside the UK — from 5.8% in Broad Green to 41.2% in Toxteth Park.

6Liverpool's population is much wider than the UK's in the 20 to 30 age bracket: recent working-age inflows.

7Not every impact was positive: famine refugees from Ireland initially caused conflict with local communities and the city authorities.

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Worked example

Problem

Liverpool had about 90,000 people in 1801, around 850,000 at its peak in 1931, and 486,000 at the most recent census. Use these figures to describe how the population changed, and suggest how migration contributed.

⚠ Watch out

Thinking 'migration' just means people arriving from abroad recently. Liverpool's biggest historical inflows were national, and people leaving (outflows) change a city too.

🧠

Memory hook

Think of every migrant flow as a luggage tag with two boxes: a DATE STAMP (historical or recent) and a FROM ADDRESS (inside the country = national, another country = international). For the Irish in the 1800s, the from-address was still inside the UK.

✓

Check yourself

Pick one of Liverpool's recent flows. Give it both labels — time and space — and then say which of the three demographic impacts a flow like that could change.

Flashcards

(15)

What is the difference between an inflow and an outflow?

An inflow is the migration of people TO a place. An outflow is the migration of people AWAY from a place. Both are migration.

National vs international migration — what's the difference?

National migration is movement within one country; international migration is movement between different countries. Every flow also gets a time label: historical or recent.

Why are 19th-century inflows from Ireland counted as national migration?

Because Ireland was then part of the UK, so moving from Ireland to Liverpool was a move within one country.

What caused such large Irish inflows to Liverpool in the 1840s?

Poverty and famine. The Great Famine (1845–1849) resulted in a million people dying of starvation and disease.

How big was the Irish inflow in early 1847, and did everyone stay?

120,000 Irish migrants landed between January and March 1847 alone. Many used Liverpool as a transit city for the USA, Australia and Canada — but by 1851, 20% of Liverpool's population was Irish.

Why did people move to Liverpool from Wales?

Mainly for jobs, especially in the building trade, because Liverpool was developing rapidly. By 1850 over 10% of the population was Welsh.

Name two historical international inflows to Liverpool.

Sailors from China and the continent of Africa, who settled in the 19th century and used their links to set up trade routes; and Commonwealth immigrants from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent after 1945, recruited to rebuild Britain after the Second World War.

Describe recent national migration to and from Liverpool.

Smaller in scale than historically, and mostly within the North West. Notable inflows from Hull and Birmingham and outflows to London, mainly for employment, education and lifestyle.

Where have Liverpool's recent international inflows come from, and why?

The greatest numbers from Yemen and Somalia (conflict, lack of food and water security, poverty, lack of jobs), plus significant numbers from Eastern Europe, such as Poland, since EU expansion in the early 2000s.

What part did migration play in Liverpool's rise, fall and recent rise in population?

Growth to the 1931 peak was partly due to inflows; the decline from 1931 to 2001 was partly due to outflows; the small increase from 2001 to 2021 was partly driven by inflows being greater than outflows.

Is migration the whole story of population change?

No. Changes to birth and death rates must be considered alongside migration for a complete picture.

Name the three demographic impacts of migration.

Changes to the total population, the population structure and the ethnic composition.

How did historical inflows help Liverpool's economy grow?

They increased the labour supply, so buildings and other infrastructure could be built quickly, and they brought knowledge, expertise and ideas from other countries, driving innovation.

Give three examples of migration shaping Liverpool's character.

Any three: the Scouse accent (Welsh, Irish and Scandinavian influences); place names such as Belfast Road; one of Europe's oldest Chinatowns and Black communities; the UK's oldest recorded mosque (1889); the Irish Famine Trail and Irish festival; the European Festival.

What challenge did the famine-era Irish inflow bring?

It initially caused conflict with local communities and the city authorities, who resented the need to support the large numbers of famine refugees.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Two labels for every flow

How flows built a city — and shrank it

What does migration actually change?

One city, very different neighbourhoods

The traces the flows left behind

Put it all together

More AQA GCSE Geography topics