This research intends to shed light on the household migration decision‐making process of Ethiopian irregular migrants heading to the Republic of South Africa. Data were drawn from a cross‐sectional household survey (n = 659) and in‐depth interviews (n = 24) conducted in 2022. Descriptive statistics, binary logistic regressions and thematic analysis were employed to analyse the data. Our findings reveal that being a young male, having a large household size, the presence of family members and smugglers positively influence households' decisions for irregular migration. Possession of farmland, being employed and married have a negative influence on household decisions for migration. The study findings further show that prior information about the migration destination is important in the household's migration decision‐making process. We suggest that government actions and policy interventions should be based on such empirical evidence to promote safe and regular migrations while addressing potential migrants' aspirations and needs in their pursuit of a better life.

中文翻译：

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家庭移民决定：了解埃塞俄比亚人从肯巴塔-坦巴罗地区到南非共和国的非正常移民


本研究旨在揭示前往南非共和国的埃塞俄比亚非正规移民的家庭移民决策过程。数据来自2022年进行的横断面家庭调查（n = 659）和深度访谈（n = 24）。采用描述性统计、二元逻辑回归和主题分析来分析数据。我们的研究结果表明，作为一名年轻男性，家庭规模较大，家庭成员和走私者的存在会对家庭非正常移徙的决定产生积极影响。拥有耕地、就业和结婚对家庭移民决策有负面影响。研究结果进一步表明，关于迁移目的地的先验信息对于家庭的迁移决策过程非常重要。我们建议，政府行动和政策干预应以此类经验证据为基础，以促进安全和正常的移民，同时满足潜在移民追求美好生活的愿望和需求。