A diaspora (from Greek διασπορά, "scattering, dispersion") is a scattered population with a common origin in a different geographic area. Diaspora can also refer to the movement of the population from its original homeland.
Recently, there has been distinguished different kinds of diaspora, based on its causes such as imperialism, trade or labor migrations, or by the kind of social coherence within the diaspora community and its ties to the ancestral lands. Some diaspora communities maintain strong political ties with their homeland. Other qualities that may be typical of many diasporas are thoughts of return, relationships with other communities in the diaspora, and lack of full integration into the host country.