"Though I love my village and I wish to spend all my life there, the lack of drinking water forced me to leave my property, house and land in the village heading to the city," said Marwan Ali Muhsen.

Muhsen added small children and women used to search for water from place to place and used to go for long distance to bring 40 liters of water, maintaining everything in city is available and handy; however, he is not happy with the owner of his rented house.

Khalid Al-Omari agrees with Mushen as to the reason that made him leave his remote village and came to live in the city. "Lack of clean drinking water and dryness of streams from which locals used to get water, together with the absences of basic services pushed me to seek migration to the city."

What Muhsen, Al-Omari and several others have done is counted by social experts and economists to be domestic migration. They view it to be a serious problem as migration causes more demand on services in the hosting areas.   

According to the recent census conducted in 2004, Yemen's population reached about 20 million souls and the total population growth is 3.5 percent. 75 percent of population lived in the countryside and 25 percent lived in cities.

However, there has been a huge urban growth over the last 17 years, prompted by the Second Gulf War when millions of Yemenis were forced out Gulf countries after Yemen backed Saddam Hussain. Most returnees sought residence in big cities like Sana'a, Taiz and Aden. 

Now, the estimated number of Yemen's inhabitant is 23 million and total urban growth is 7 percent; however, it is higher than this percentage in the biggest cities like Sana'a and Aden. In Sana'a, the urban growth is 9 percent and inhabitants of Sana'a represent 28 percent of the total urban inhabitants.

2007 State of the World Population report issued by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) demanded world nations to prepare for the inflated urban growth.

As to Yemen's current situation, it is estimated that in 2007, over one in four (28%) of Yemen's 22.3 million inhabitants live in cities, with an urban growth rate of about 5 percent.

According to the UNPFA Yemen, this is comparable to the average proportion of the population living in urban areas for all the Least Developing Countries, also 28% and with a rate of urban growth of 4.0 %. However, for the Arab States as a whole, 56% of the total population lives in urban areas.

Marking this year's report, UNPFA representative in Yemen Mr. Hans Obdeijn asked Yemeni government to work in preparation for the inordinate urban growth stemming mainly from the domesticmigration, noting this growth has serious implications.

Reasons for domestic migration

Professor Ali Shater Muthna assures the Yemeni rural areas are pushing and big cities are pulling, hinting the imbalanced development plans which concentrate services, investment and development projects in cities are important reason for the domestic migration. Thus, youths are forced to head to cities, especially the big one, in search for jobs.

In this regard, Ahmed Al-Jalal – private sector employee – believes that big cities grant better employment chances. Life is easy and interesting in the city, while it is not so in the countryside.

Like Al-Jalal, thousands of youth and fresh graduates, even those belonging to small cities, move to big cities to search for better life chances and jobs. Big cities offer chances and employment which are not available in the small ones.  

Muthna asserts as well that political factors may have a role to play as big cities in the least and under-developed countries are named as the capitals and government institutions, embassies, organizations are located there. Thus, better jobs, services and facilities are available there.

He adds Second Gulf War and the inflated rate of population growth are important factors in the increased urban growth, wherein there will be more demand over less and limited services and resources.

Effects of domestic migration

Putting aside the social issues, domestic migration causes more demand on health, education and other services like water, sanitation, electricity, etc; while state is incapable of providing them. Further, there is increased demand over houses and thus increase in renting prices.

Domestic migration also results in random and unplanned houses and increases the rates of unemployment in the hosting cities and some unemployed youth head to crime.

Most importantly, the domestic migration causes the deterioration of the agricultural sector which provides jobs for 52 percent of work force in Yemen, according to Muthna.

The way out

Professor Muthna stresses the importance that official authorities should reconsider the development and investment plans, maintaining these plans should be distributed equally to all governorates and districts in a way that help people get money and remain in their areas.

He further assures that state should give more attention to the agricultural sector as this will help minimize the rates of domestic migration and provides job opportunities for thousands.