Ageing and Migration Dynamics

Ageing and migration dynamics examine how demographic ageing intersects with patterns of human mobility to shape experiences in later life. As populations in both origin and destination countries grow older, researchers investigate how older migrants navigate access to housing, healthcare, welfare and social networks across borders. Key themes include the negotiation of identity and belonging in multicultural settings, the preservation of transnational family ties, and the strategies by which older adults seek stability—whether through ageing in place, circular mobility or return migration. This multidisciplinary field brings together gerontology, migration studies and social policy to address challenges such as pension portability, care provision and linguistic adaptation, while also spotlighting migrants’ agency in reconstructing notions of home. Global perspectives highlight how contexts as varied as high-income welfare states and middle-income regions of the Global South produce divergent trajectories of wellbeing, social embeddedness and care. By tracing the mobility of older individuals alongside shifts in citizenship regimes and labour markets, this body of work informs policies and programmes aimed at fostering inclusion, autonomy and quality of life for ageing migrant populations.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Research from all publishers

Recent studies have emphasised both the material and immaterial dimensions of later-life wellbeing among migrants. Investigations into housing and subjective wellbeing reveal that environmental mastery, continuity of personal space and a sense of home are as critical to life satisfaction as social participation. In-depth interviews with older migrants of various ethnicities demonstrate how housing stability and emotional attachments to place underpin resilience in later life. Research on older Finnish re-migrants shows how integration experiences in the host society and motivations for return intertwine: linguistic competence, social ties and economic security can both facilitate belonging abroad and compel return due to pension eligibility or familial care obligations. This duality underscores the complexity of late-life mobility decisions. A southern perspective on the ageing-migration nexus broadens understanding by focusing on intra-regional mobility in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This work highlights multidirectional care practices, the fluidity of ‘home’ and the impact of restrictive mobility regimes on older adults. Together, these findings illuminate the diverse pathways through which ageing migrants secure care, identity and social support across transnational spaces.

Ageing and Migration Dynamics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in ageing and migration dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Ageing in place: The ability to live in one’s home and community safely, independently and comfortably as one grows older.

Return migration: The process by which migrants move back to their country of origin, either temporarily or permanently, often influenced by retirement or family ties.

Subjective wellbeing: An individual’s self-assessment of life satisfaction and emotional health, reflecting psychological and social aspects of quality of life.

Translocal embedding: The process by which migrants maintain social, cultural and emotional bonds across multiple locations over time.

References

1. The Happy Home: Ageing, Migration, and Housing in Relation to Older Migrants’ Subjective Wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2022).
2. The integration experiences of older Finnish re-migrants: ‘Embraced by the Swedes … but Finland is my home country’. Social Sciences & Humanities Open (2024).
3. Southern reconfigurations of the ageing-migration nexus. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (2022).