A Directorate of Economics and Statistics survey shows most migration in Nagaland is rural to urban, driven mainly by employment, business and other unspecified reasons.
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KOHIMA — A large share of migration in Nagaland fell under unspecified ‘others’, with employment, business and marriage emerging as the main stated reasons, according to the Survey Report on Employment, Unemployment, Skill and Migration in Nagaland 2025 released by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES).
The report showed that 55% of migration in the state was from rural to urban areas, while 25% moved from rural to rural. Urban-to-urban migration accounted for 17%, and only 3% of migrants moved from urban to rural locations.
In terms of reasons for migration, the largest share was categorised under unspecified “others” at 35%. Employment-related migration accounted for 34%, with 27% moving for public sector jobs and 7% for private sector employment. Business establishment accounted for 13% of migration, while marriage also stood at 13%. Education accounted for 5%, and medical reasons and social friction together accounted for less than 1%.
The survey indicated that most migrant respondents had been residing in their current settlement for more than five years, accounting for 81%. Only 1% had lived in their present location for one year or less. A majority, 62%, said they planned to settle permanently in their current settlement, while 31% reported that they could not say. About 6% expressed a desire to return to their native place, and 1% said they intended to migrate to another location.
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Regarding sources of income, 39% of migrants were engaged in activities classified under unspecified “others”, followed by office-related work at 22% and agriculture and food processing at 17%. The survey also found that 63% of migrants possessed immovable property in their current settlement, while 37% did not.
Income levels in the present settlement showed that the largest group of migrants, 33%, earned between INR 10,000 and INR 20,000 per month. This was followed by those earning between INR 20,000 and INR 30,000 at 20%.
Migrants earning INR 10,000 or less accounted for 15%, while 13% earned between INR 30,000 and INR 40,000. Those earning between INR 40,000 and INR 50,000 accounted for 11%, while 6% earned between INR 50,000 and INR 1 lakh. Only 2% reported monthly earnings above INR 1 lakh.
At their place of origin, however, a significant majority of migrant respondents, 80%, earned INR 10,000 or less per month. Only 1% reported earnings above INR 1 lakh at the origin settlement.
The remaining respondents earned between INR 10,000 and INR 20,000 (9%), INR 20,000 to INR 30,000 (4%), INR 30,000 to INR 40,000 (2%), INR 40,000 to INR 50,000 (3%), and INR 50,000 to INR 1 lakh (1%).
On psychological wellbeing, the survey reported that 36% of migrants described themselves as “happy” in their present settlement, while 35% said they were neither satisfied nor unsatisfied. About 14% reported being “very happy”, while 13% said they were “very unsatisfied” and 2% described themselves as “unsatisfied”.