Internal Migration in Armenia

Abstract

With a population of three million, Armenia is a small landlocked country in Western Asia bordered by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran. Data on internal migration have been collected by means of administrative registers since the Soviet era and through decennial censuses since 2001, with questions focussing on lifetime migration, duration of residence and mover characteristics. Data from the 2011 Census show that Armenians are not very mobile with only about 2% of the population moving between regions every five years. As in most Asian nations, they display early migration profiles, with peaks at age 25 in 2011, up from age 21 in 2001. With about 60% of its population resident in cities, Armenia has progressed through its urban transition and urban-to-urban migration now accounts for half the flows, principally between Yerevan and surrounding regions, whereas return urban-to-rural migration dominated the migration system in the early 1990s. Moderate levels of migration effectiveness coupled with low intensities underpin limited population redistribution. Spatial patterns have frequently been disrupted by geopolitical tensions, ethnic conflict and economic instability, but following a phase of political stabilisation and economic growth movements are now focussed on the nation’s capital, Yerevan and neighbouring regions, triggering policy concerns about regional inequalities and rural depopulation.