Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Migration and urbanisation – Revision Notes

These notes condense the Migration and urbanisation study guide. Read that first if anything here is unfamiliar.

They cover the topic Migration and urbanisation from the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025): the topic list in section 3, the assessment objectives in section 2 and the component details in section 4. The topic list applies to Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project.

Remember: the syllabus states that knowledge of content is not assessed. These notes show how to use the topic to practise the assessed skills. Test yourself with the practice questions, and track progress with the 0457 checklist and the Global Perspectives hub.

The skills, in the syllabus’s own words

Assessment objective	What it asks for	Weighting of the qualification
AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation	Research issues, causes, consequences and courses of action; use evidence; analyse and evaluate evidence, reasoning and sources; develop a line of reasoning	68%
AO2 Reflection	Consider perspectives objectively and with empathy; justify a personal perspective; consider how research and teamwork influenced your learning	15%
AO3 Communication and collaboration	Present arguments, evidence and perspectives clearly; cite and reference; contribute to the Team Project	17%

Component 1 is 100% AO1. AO2 carries no marks in the Written Exam, so save personal reflection for Components 2 and 3.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Issue (syllabus)	An important subject or problem for discussion
Perspective (syllabus)	A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning
Evidence (syllabus)	Information that helps develop understanding or prove something true or false
Argument (syllabus)	Statements containing reasons and evidence which support a claim
Research (syllabus)	The systematic study of a global issue to find evidence and develop understanding
Fact	A statement that can be checked and shown true or false
Opinion	A personal view that cannot be proved
Claim	A statement presented as true that needs support
Generalisation	A statement applied to a whole group from limited cases
Prediction	A statement about what will happen
Value	A belief about what is important or right
Vested interest	A personal gain from a particular outcome
Bias	A one-sided presentation that favours one view
Migration	Moving to live in another place, inside or across borders
Urbanisation	A rising share of a population living in towns and cities
Informal settlement	Housing built without formal permission or title
Remittances	Money migrants send home
Brain drain	Loss of skilled workers through emigration

Real-world reference points at a glance

You do not need these for marks. They are accurate anchors to reason with in coursework, where you must cite your sources.

Who / what	What it says or does	One evaluation point
UN, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision	55% of people lived in urban areas in 2018; projected 68% by 2050	Countries define “urban” differently, so comparisons need care
UN DESA international migrant estimates	About 304 million international migrants in mid-2024	A global total hides huge differences between corridors and countries
Sustainable Development Goal 11	Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable	A goal states an aim; it does not show progress
SDG target 10.7	Orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration	Words such as “orderly” are interpreted differently by different governments
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (2018)	A non-binding international framework on migration	A small number of states voted against or abstained, showing no single global perspective
China’s hukou household registration	Has linked access to some public services to a person’s registered place	Shows how national policy shapes the experience of internal migrants
WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel (2010)	Voluntary principles for recruiting health workers from other countries	Voluntary codes depend on governments and employers choosing to follow them

Must-know distinctions

• Topic vs issue. “Migration and urbanisation” is a topic. “Should a city clear an informal settlement?” is an issue.
• Perspective vs opinion. A perspective rests on evidence and reasoning; an opinion may not.
• Fact vs claim. “3,000 permits were approved” is a checkable fact. “Migrants push up rents” is a claim needing evidence.
• Generalisation vs evidence. “Everyone who moves is better off” generalises; a study of 60 migrants is evidence about those 60.
• Vested interest vs bias. A vested interest is a reason someone might be biased. Bias is shown in the content itself: selective data, loaded words.
• Opinion data vs causal evidence. A survey shows what people believe, not why something happens.
• Cause vs consequence. Drought is a cause of migration; crowded housing is a consequence. Some things are both in a chain.
• Local vs national vs global. A school buddy scheme is local; a work-permit rule is national; an international compact is global.
• Action vs aim. “Reduce overcrowding” is an aim. “Fit water points and drains in the settlement” is an action.

Cause and consequence chains

Write chains, not lists:

• Falling farm incomes -> young adults move to the city -> population grows faster than housing -> informal settlements expand.
• Skilled nurses emigrate -> origin hospitals lose staff -> waiting times rise; meanwhile remittances support families.
• New arrivals fill service jobs -> some businesses expand -> demand for housing near work rises -> rents increase for everyone.

Always ask: who gains, who loses, and at which level?

Using the topic in each component

• Component 1 Written Exam: the sources may be on any topic in the list. Practise on migration sources by naming claims, testing evidence, comparing arguments and assessing actions, using only what the sources say.
• Component 2 Individual Report: pick a global issue in this topic that divides opinion, write a global research question, and research local and/or national and global perspectives before proposing one course of action.
• Component 3 Team Project: start from a local issue, such as how newcomers to your area find services, and plan an action whose success you can measure.

Judging an action: four criteria

Criterion	Question
Effectiveness	Does it tackle the cause, or only a symptom?
Feasibility	Cost, time, and who must agree?
Sustainability	Will it last, financially and environmentally?
Fairness	Who benefits, and does anyone lose out?

Mini essay plan: assessing actions

Typical question style: using the sources, which of two or three proposed actions would be most effective in responding to rapid city growth?

1. Judgement first. Name the action you think is most effective and the main reason.
2. Action 1 for. Link to a specific source detail (for example a figure on unsafe water). Explain how the action tackles the cause.
3. Action 1 against. One limitation, with evidence (cost, land rights, time).
4. Action 2 compared. Its strongest point and its weakest point, with source evidence.
5. Action 3 compared (if given). Briefly, using the same criteria.
6. Weigh them. Which criterion matters most here, and why?
7. Conditional conclusion. “Action 1 is most effective, provided that…” Say what evidence would change your judgement.

Quick self-test

1. How does the syllabus define a perspective?
2. Name the eight terms the syllabus says Component 1 candidates will benefit from understanding.
3. Is “The city will double in size by 2050” a fact, a prediction or a value?
4. A developer funds a survey showing support for clearing a settlement. What term describes the developer’s position?
5. What does a residents’ opinion survey show, and what can it not show?
6. Give one personal, one local and one global level of the issue “people moving from villages to cities”.
7. Which assessment objective carries no marks in Component 1?
8. What must the Individual Report’s issue do, according to the syllabus?
9. What level must the Team Project issue be at?
10. Give one benefit and one drawback of relocating informal-settlement residents.
11. Name the four criteria for judging an action.
12. Why is the 2018 Global Compact useful when discussing global perspectives?

Answers

1. A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning.
2. Bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value and vested interest.
3. A prediction.
4. A vested interest.
5. It shows what respondents believe; it cannot show the cause of a problem.
6. Personal: a family member who moved for work. Local: rents rising in one neighbourhood. Global: the projected rise in the share of people living in cities.
7. AO2 Reflection.
8. Divide opinion (and be global, with local and/or national and global perspectives).
9. Local.
10. Benefit: safer, planned homes. Drawback: the new site may be far from work, so social ties and income are lost.
11. Effectiveness, feasibility, sustainability, fairness.
12. Some states voted against or abstained, so it shows disagreement even at the global level.

Where marks are usually lost

• Adding outside facts about migration in Component 1 instead of using the sources. The Written Exam does not assess prior knowledge of the topic.
• Saying “this source is biased” without quoting loaded language or naming a vested interest.
• Treating opinion data (“72% think…”) as proof of a cause.
• Ignoring sample problems: one district, one shopping centre, one job centre.
• Offering two sides (“for” and “against” migration) when the sources show several groups with distinct reasons.
• Describing consequences without saying who is affected and at which level.
• Assessing an action with no criteria, or not comparing it with alternatives.
• Ending without a judgement, or with a judgement that does not follow from the reasoning.
• In the Individual Report, a title that is a topic (“Urbanisation”) rather than a question.
• In the Team Project, an action that cannot be measured.

More practice

• Global Perspectives revision notes for source-evaluation vocabulary.
• Written Exam guide and Global Perspectives practice.
• Individual Report revision notes and Team Project revision notes.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025), published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment.