44.7 per cent Muslim families have at least one member abroad

Among non-migrant families, Hindu households form the majority (63%).Around 42.38% of non-migrant families are in the BPL category
44.7 per cent Muslim families have at least one member abroad
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: More people from Muslim households in Kerala opt to migrate abroad. Among migrant families – those having at least one member abroad – Muslims comprise the majority (44.7%) followed by Hindus (38.2%) and Christians (17%), says a new research on Kerala’s migration and standard of living.

Among non-migrant families, Hindu households form the majority (63%) followed by Christian (21.2%) and Muslim (15.6%) households. Among Muslim households themselves, around 43% have at least one member in a foreign country.

The study also showed that a substantial portion of Kerala households without migrants fall below the poverty line (BPL). Around 42.38% of non-migrant families are in the BPL category, much higher than the state average of 38%. The research, based on the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) 2018 migration study, was carried out by three researchers from the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai - Afsal Kalangadan, Muhammad Thalil, and Reshmi Ramachandran Sukumari. Published in September, it revolves around “the pivotal role played by international remittances in fostering upward income mobility among migrant households, leading to tangible transformations in their living standards”.

It shows marked disparities among households with and without migrants across different dimensions like poverty indicators, housing quality, asset ownership and consumer durables. Almost 95% of the households, irrespective of their migration status, possessed valid ration cards.

Going by the findings, migrant households not only surpass non-migrant ones in land ownership but also allocate more resources to house construction, positioning a higher proportion of them above the poverty line.

When it comes to the standard of living, 42.1% of migrant families have significantly ‘high’ living standards, while 35.7% fall under the category of ‘middle’ living standards. Among non-migrant families, it is 28.9% and 31.9% respectively. The low-category of living standards is significantly high among non-migrants (39.2%), compared to migrant families (22.2%).

The study revealed that 16.3% migrant families reside in houses categorised as ‘luxurious’, while 38.7% live in ‘very good’ houses. In non- migrant households, it is 10.4% and 27.8%, respectively.

A higher proportion of non-migrants live in houses classified as ‘poor’ (17.8%) and 5.2% of families live in low-cost traditional houses constructed with mud, bamboo or corrugated sheets.

However, in migrant families, only 8.2 per cent live in houses classified as ‘poor’ and 0.7 per cent live in low-cost traditional houses. As much as 4% of migrant families and 5% of non-migrant families live in rented houses.

A substantial proportion (14.7%) of non-migrant families constructed houses that cost less than Rs 1 lakh and 30.3% spent between Rs 1-Rs 5 lakh on house construction. However, migrant families allocated a larger house construction budget exceeding Rs 5 lakh. When it comes to possessing land, 74.2% of migrants and 69.7% of non-migrants own properties.

In the case of owning televisions, the difference between the two groups is 2.1%. About 59.3% of migrant families use LPG, compared to 54.9% among non-migrant families.

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