Motives and socio-economic impacts

I n the modern world, the development and implementation of targeted and viable legal regulation mechanisms aimed at regulating and managing migration flows are important and relevant for the effective implementation of the socio-economic policy of each state. To ensure that it is necessary to highlight the objective and subjective motivations of both internal and external migration processes by conducting a comprehensive study and analysis.

Both international and internal migration processes are key drivers of the country’s deep socio-economic problems. In general, internal migration processes aim to find a decent life and work through movement within the borders of one’s own country, which will contribute to raising the population’s standard of living and improving the quality of life. Thus, the continuous monitoring of internal migration trends and overcoming the socio-economic challenges that have emerged as a result of these processes should be the focus of the field policymakers. However, it should be noted that there are few separate references, studies and research on the subject in RA, in contrast to external migration. Hence, we consider the comprehensive survey of the current internal migration processes in Armenia to be vital, meaningful, and topical.

According to the results of the latest “Household’s Integrated Living Conditions Survey” conducted by the RA Statistical Committee, during 2020-2022, the movement of over 67.7 thousand people from migrant members of households in Armenia (only 28.1% of migrants) was internal, within the territory of the republic [1]. On the other hand, according to another report of the Statistical Committee, it is noted that the nature of the movement of 27.9% of the members of households involved in the external and internal migration movements in 2020-2022 was intra-republic between Yerevan and the RA regions as of 2022 [2].

Identifying and highlighting the leading causes of internal migration processes in Armenia is essential, which has made this issue on the agenda within the country for years. The internal migration trends in Armenia, first of all, can be explained by the uneven territorial development in the country, which has a direct negative impact on the socio-economic situation of the state. In this context, it is noteworthy that differences in climatic conditions, socio-economic features, and disproportionate distributions of access to public and private services in the RA administrative-territorial units reveal asymmetries of economic development. As a result, resources and infrastructure are concentrated mainly in Yerevan. Thus, the most serious challenge facing the RA economy is the growing gap in living standards between Yerevan and the regions, the main reason of which is the continuous increase in the economic role and importance of the capital city. Therefore, during the study of intra-republican migration, it is especially necessary to focus on analyzing such indicators according to the RA administrative-territorial units, such as demographic indicators, average monthly nominal salary, economically active population, unemployment, etc.

Thus, according to the data from the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, as of January 1, 2023, the population density of the Republic of Armenia was 100.1 people per square kilometer, while in Yerevan, this index was 4927.8 people, and it was 78.75 people on average in the regions. It turns out, that the capital is the most densely populated area of Armenia. Based on the latest data published by the RA Statistical Committee, as of July 1, 2024, the place of residence of more than 37% of the permanent population of Armenia is Yerevan, and in the same period, this figure was only 9.5% in the most populated region, in Kotayk. For comparison, it is necessary to mention that in Aragatsotn, Tavush, Syunik and Vayots Dzor regions, this indicator does not reach 5%, being 4.4%, 3.84%, 3.83% and 1.6% respectively. It is also noteworthy that during the observed period, 35.5% of the total population is rural, and 65.4% is urban, of which 57.5% are residents of Yerevan. Therefore, a significantly high level of urbanization is also evident in Armenia, which is directly caused by intra-republican population movements. In Armenia, internal migration is particularly manifested from the village to the city. It is particularly notable for its unicentric nature, i.e., it is directed towards the capital, which, being a major point of internal migration, further exacerbates the uneven economic developments between Yerevan and the rest of the regions. However, the tendency for economic growth to concentrate in areas near Yerevan is also noteworthy, highlighting the issue of uneven inter-regional development. Thus, the disparity between the capital and the regions, and among the regions themselves (inter-regions) poses a serious problem, leading to numerous negative consequences and challenges in the economic, social, and environmental spheres, significantly impacting the population’s quality of life.
It is noteworthy that the study of the key indicators of the labor market across the administrative-territorial units of the Republic of Armenia drives internal migration in Armenia. Therefore, to clarify it, let us first refer to the average monthly nominal salary indicator, which is considered if not the main then one of the main stimulating factors that motivates the population movement from one settlement to another within the country. Thus, as shown in the statistical data presented in the table, from 2013 to 2022, the highest average monthly nominal salaries were recorded in Syunik and Yerevan.

The Average Monthly Nominal Salary by Regions of Armenia and Yerevan, AMD, 2013-2022

The record of the highest average monthly nominal wages in Syunik is mainly due to the relatively high salaries paid in the mining industry and open-pit mining sector. Industry dominates the total volume of the regional economy. Thus, the region’s industrial sector accounted for 18.8% of the total volume of the industrial output in Armenia’s economy. The primary industry sector is mining, which, according to 2022 data, accounted for 85.4% of all industrial products produced in the region. When examining the average monthly nominal salary levels in Armenia by type of economic activity, we observe that the highest salaries are predominantly found in the information and communication, financial and insurance activity, the mining industry, and open-pit exploitation fields. Thus, according to the latest statistical data of September 2024, the average monthly nominal salary for the given types of economic activity was 835.840 AMD, 809.417 AMD and 478.763 AMD, respectively. It is worth noting that Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), Armenia’s leading mining company and largest taxpayer, operates in the Syunik region, which in the first 9 months of 2024 topped Armenia’s list of 1000 major taxpayers, contributing 83.7 billion AMD to the state budget. Kotayk and Armavir regions stand out with relatively high levels of average monthly nominal wages, following Syunik and Yerevan (although since 2019, these regions have lost their place to the Ararat region), where the salary levels are almost identical with a slight difference. During the last 10 years, the lowest level of the average monthly nominal salary until 2018 was registered in the Aragatsotn region, where the index was more than 33.7% lower than the national average for the mentioned years. During 2019-2022, the average monthly nominal salary was the lowest in the Shirak region, while the Aragatsotn region ranked 2nd (2019-2020) and 3rd (2021-2022) with the lowest salary level during the mentioned period. The low average monthly nominal salary in the Aragatsotn region is primarily due to agriculture being a cornerstone of the region’s economy, and most of the population is engaged in this sector, which remains one of the lowest paid in Armenia.

Internal and international migration processes generally target the economically active population (labor force) because labor migration is the key. From this viewpoint, the study of the labor force and its observation in the context of internal migration by regions and the city of Yerevan is significant. In 2013-2022, the study of the distribution of the labor force by administrative-territorial units makes it evident that the latter is rather highly concentrated in Yerevan, where, according to our calculations, an average of around 32% of the total labor force was recorded during the period under review.

Labor Force Based on the RA Regions and Yerevan, thus. people, 2013-2022

Over the past 10 years, the largest share of the labor force in Yerevan was recorded in 2022, reaching 36%. Following the capital, the largest share of the labor force is in the regions adjacent to Yerevan. Between 2013-2022, the Armavir region accounted for the largest share of the labor force among the regions, except in 2014, when the Lori region led with a labor force index of 137.8 thousand people. Ararat, Kotayk, Lori and Shirak regions are also in the leading positions in terms of workforce, and Vayots Dzor is the region with the lowest labor force share in RA in the last 10 years.
As a result of all this, the problem of the relatively high proportion of the economically active population in the total population of Yerevan, leading to a higher level of unemployment, also becomes obvious. To prove what has been said about the level of unemployment in Armenia according to the territorial distribution, the chart below illustrates significant variations in unemployment rates across administrative-territorial units from 2013 to 2022. The highest unemployment level during the given period was mostly recorded in the capital, except for 2018-2019 and 2022, when the highest was in the Tavush region. It is noteworthy, that between 2013-2022, the unemployment level registered in the capital always exceeded the national average, and a similar picture was also observed in the Kotayk region. Shirak, Lori, Tavush, Vayots Dzor and Syunik regions have relatively high unemployment rates, while Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir and Gegharkunik regions exhibit relatively low unemployment levels.

The low unemployment level in Armavir and Ararat is mainly because the regions mentioned are in fairly good condition in terms of agricultural management. They are located close to the capital, so they have more accessible conditions for selling rural products. In other words, the labor force attraction environment in the mentioned regions is relatively attractive. However, the same cannot be said about Gegharkunik, as its low unemployment rate is better explained by the large number of residents who leave to work abroad, a practice traditionally characteristic of the region’s population [3].

The Unemployment Level (%) Based on the RA Regions and Yerevan in 2013-2022

As such, Armenia does not regulate or manage internal migration flows separately. Existing policies are aimed at controlling foreign migrations. This is due to the country’s small area and the fact that the administrative-territorial units are completely included in the unified model of national governance. In addition, the RA population has the right to move and live freely in the country’s territory based on individual or family needs.

Thus, it can be concluded that internal migration has a direct impact both on individual administrative-territorial units of Armenia and on the development trends of the general economy. However, at the same time, it is necessary to record that it is pretty difficult to access the correlations and interactions between the internal migration processes and socio-economic indicators in the administrative-territorial units of the Republic of Armenia. Thus, based on our observations, it is not possible to definitely determine whether unfavorable socio-economic conditions in the regions drive significant internal migration flows or if internal migration itself impacts economic activity possibilities and development prospects in the regions.

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[1] The RA Statistical Committee, “Migration Profile of the Republic of Armenia in 2022”, page 4,  (accessed 25.11.2024).
[2] Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia “Publications”, “Demographic Collection of Armenia, 2023”, “Migration”, page 129, (accessed 25.11.2024).
[3] Z. Tadevosyan, K. Hakobyan, D. Galoyan, N. Kesoyan, Zh. Sargsyan, L. Aghajanyan, T. Ohanyan, “Socio-Economic Issues of Balanced Territorial Development of the Republic of Armenia”, Yerevan, “Tntesaget” publishing house, 2015, 140 pages, p. 20.