Inventaire d'enquêtes Demostaf

In this paper, we attempt to describe and analyze Voltaic migratory currents using data from the National migration survey carried out in 1974-75. Our objective is primarily to present a case study of Upper Volta and to draw from this case study a few elements for a migration theory. To do so, we try to integrate the statistical measurement of migration within an historical and structural perspective. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the historical context of Voltaic migration from its colonial origins to the present: we mention taxes, military recruitment, forced labour and the monetarisation of the Voltaic economy. In the second part, we describe Voltaic migration currents and some of their characteristics for the period 1969-1973 and then suggest some hypotheses which could account for these migration currents.