Migration intent Research brief
Who shapes the decision to migrate
Family, peers, agents or feeds — the influence map behind migration aspirations.
Asked “Who or what has influenced your migration aspirations the most?”, 45.9% of the 399 respondents in the Kerala Gen Z Survey 2026 (124 people) selected entirely my own independent choice. The next-largest answer, parental and family expectations, accounts for 26.3% (71), a gap of 19.6 percentage points.
Key figures
- 45.9% (124 of 399) answered entirely my own independent choice on “Who or what has influenced your migration aspirations the most?”.
- The top two answers are separated by 19.6 percentage points, and the smallest category still covers 28 respondents.
- Findings describe this community-recruited cohort of 399 respondents, not Kerala's youth population.
Figures & data tables#
Figures are drawn directly from the primary response counts; each carries its full data table and an embed snippet.
Who or what has influenced your migration aspirations the most?
കുടിയേറാനുള്ള നിങ്ങളുടെ ആഗ്രഹത്തെ ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ സ്വാധീനിച്ചത് ആരാണ്/എന്താണ്?
പൂർണ്ണമായും എന്റെ സ്വന്തം തീരുമാനം
മാതാപിതാക്കളുടെയും കുടുംബത്തിന്റെയും പ്രതീക്ഷകൾ
സുഹൃത്തുക്കളും മറ്റുള്ളവരും വിദേശത്ത് പോകുന്നത് കാണുന്നത് വഴി
സോഷ്യൽ മീഡിയയും കുടിയേറ്റ ഏജൻസികളും
Data table
| Response | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Entirely my own independent choice | 124 | 45.9% |
| Parental and family expectations | 71 | 26.3% |
| Peer groups and seeing friends move abroad | 47 | 17.4% |
| Social media content and migration agencies | 28 | 10.4% |
| Total answered | 270 | 100% |
Embed this figure on your site (free, CC BY 4.0)
Copy the snippet below. Keep the source link — attribution is the licence condition.
<iframe src="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/embed/migration-influence" width="100%" height="420" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px" title="Who or what has influenced your migration aspirations the most? — Moyan Journal"></iframe>
<p>Source: <a href="https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/kerala-gen-z-survey-2026">The Kerala Gen Z Report 2026</a>, Moyan AI.</p>Where the answers cluster#
The full distribution for “Who or what has influenced your migration aspirations the most?” (n = 270) is: Entirely my own independent choice — 45.9% (124); Parental and family expectations — 26.3% (71); Peer groups and seeing friends move abroad — 17.4% (47); Social media content and migration agencies — 10.4% (28).
The cohort is moderately concentrated on this question. One option leads without dominating, so the second and third answers carry real policy weight. The smallest recorded answer, social media content and migration agencies, still represents 28 people — a group large enough to matter in programme design even at 10.4%.
What this brief does not establish#
The sample is a community-recruited cohort of 399 respondents surveyed between 21 May and 28 June 2026. Figures describe this cohort; they are not state-level prevalence estimates and should not be reported as such.
The composition of the sample also shapes the totals: 74.4% of respondents fall in the older student and early-career band, and 72.7% identify as male. Any reading by gender, district or occupation needs disaggregated fieldwork this instrument was not designed to deliver.
The instrument records one moment in time, so nothing here identifies a cause or a trend. Statements about mechanism in this brief are interpretive and flagged as such.
Questions readers ask#
- Who or what has influenced your migration aspirations the most?? (Kerala Gen Z Survey 2026)
- 45.9% of 399 respondents answered entirely my own independent choice, followed by parental and family expectations at 26.3%. Full distribution: Entirely my own independent choice — 45.9% (124); Parental and family expectations — 26.3% (71); Peer groups and seeing friends move abroad — 17.4% (47); Social media content and migration agencies — 10.4% (28).
- How many people answered this question?
- All 270 respondents in the Kerala Gen Z Survey 2026 answered this item.
- Can these figures be generalised to all Kerala youth?
- No. The survey is a community-recruited cohort of 399 respondents surveyed between 21 May and 28 June 2026, so the figures describe this cohort rather than the state's youth population.
Source and reuse
Every figure in this brief comes from the The Kerala Gen Z Report 2026 response sheet. The full aggregate dataset, codebook and methodology are open: open data · methodology.
Cite this page
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Attribution with a link back is the only condition.
Community Leadership and Social Change Program Research Scholars & Valakkulam, Y. (2026). Who shapes the decision to migrate. Moyan Journal of Community & Society, Volume 1, Issue 1. Department of Graduate Institute, DHI University (DHIU), India; published by Moyan AI. https://journal.moyanai.app/journal/research/who-influences-kerala-migration-decisionsReference manager
Open access. This work is published under CC BY 4.0. You may copy, redistribute, adapt and reuse the text, figures and data for any purpose, including commercially, with attribution and a link back.