ABSTRACT
The Maradi region is increasingly becoming a unified economic organism because of the heightened movement between city and countryside. This chapter presents the results of the survey-interviews conducted with seasonal migrants in the city of Maradi. It then examines the identity of the migrants and their different social characteristics. The chapter investigates the nature of contacts and visits between migrants and the rural villages, and the process of becoming linked into the urban economy and social infrastructure. It reviews the questions about the continuity of the Maradi migrants' social worlds, as expressed through their stated level of satisfaction with the city and their future outlook as urban residents. Demographically, Maradi migrants mirror Nigerien society at large. Like the general population, the migrants tend to be married or had been married prior to migration. A sizable number of Maradi migrants reported that they met their spouses in Maradi.
