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Moving Up: Migration between Levels of the Settlement Hierarchy in Russia in the 2010s

  • POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
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Abstract

Based on Russian data for 2011–2020, the population flow between seven levels of the settlement hierarchy has been estimated for the first time. Levels of the settlement hierarchy are represented by cities with different population sizes and their suburbs, as well as other urban and rural settlements. Indicators of migration increase (decrease) and demographic efficiency indicators in matrix form are calculated for the hierarchy levels. It is shown that the scale of this flow is affected by changes in the system of migration registration in Russia in the 2010s, namely, the auto return of migrants to their place of permanent residence after the end of the registration period at their temporary place of residence. The beneficiaries of “vertical migration” of population are cities with over 250 000 inhabitants; the biggest winners are the urban agglomerations of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Each next settlement hierarchy level gives the population “up” and receives replenishment from the lower “layers.” In contrast to countries where similar studies were conducted (United States, Canada, the Netherlands, etc.), there are no population flows from top to bottom in Russia, and upward flows have a very high efficiency; it is particularly high for Moscow, St. Petersburg, and their suburbs. Despite population movement between neighboring settlement hierarchy levels, its demographic effect is not as great as in jumpwise migrations. The calculations of the study are based on individual depersonalized migrant data, which made it possible to categorize migration flows to individual settlements in Russia. Spatial data referencing was carried out based on Rosstat codes unique for each settlement. This made it possible to analyze migration not between administrative units, but between settlements grouped by population size. It was also possible to identify how the peculiarities of accounting for migration influence population flow between the selected groups of settlements in the 2010s.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank A.E. Raysikh for providing data on population by settlements and their geographical referencing.

Funding

The article was prepared in the framework of a research grant funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant ID: 075-15-2020-928).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vishnevsky Institute of Demography, HSE University, 109028, Moscow, Russia

    N. V. Mkrtchyan

  2. Institute for Social Analysis and Forecasting, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, 119571, Moscow, Russia

    N. V. Mkrtchyan

  3. Department of Population and Health Statistics, Federal State Statistics Service, 107450, Moscow, Russia

    R. I. Gilmanov

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  1. N. V. Mkrtchyan
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Correspondence to N. V. Mkrtchyan.

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Mkrtchyan, N.V., Gilmanov, R.I. Moving Up: Migration between Levels of the Settlement Hierarchy in Russia in the 2010s. Reg. Res. Russ. 13, 305–315 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079970523700727

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079970523700727

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