Who are 191,000 migrants in Armenia?

In its report issued this week the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) indicated that 191,000 migrants live in Armenia, that contitute 6.5 percent of the country’s total population. The matter is quite triggering to surprise the Armenians themselves.

This has a logical explanation – the report apparently does not take into account the nationality of migrants. For example, a Russian citizen of Armenian origin residing in Armenia is considered a migrant.

Notably, even the Armenian media do not provide any reliable data on migration to Armenia. But, there is sufficient data about migration from Armenia.

The economic crisis of the 1990s made substantial number of Armenians to emigrate. As many as 750,000 Armenians had left the country by the mid-1990s. The statistics show that over the past 20 years, 1,200,000 people left the country – this accounts for more than a third of Armenia’s population.

Today, the situation in Armenia is not much different from what there was in 1990s. It is a poor country with a high unemployment rate, where agriculture, construction and many other essential spheres of economy are in decline.

In a situation where many Armenians often cannot find a job to feed their families, it is hard to believe that there are many migrants who come from their countries to live and work in Armenia – the country which itself has huge employment problems.

The statistics saying that about 98 percent of people in Armenia are of Armenian nationality is another proof that almost all coming migrants are Armenians who have lived outside the country. Notably, data by Armenian Ministry of Diaspora says that up to 100,000 ethnic Armenians live in Syria. However, since the start of the war in Syria, many of them came to Armenia.

As for non-Armenians who migrated to this Transcaucasian country, they probably already regretted coming there. While neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia strengthen their economy every year, Armenia cannot succeed in doing so. The country attracts multi-million loans annually, thus having the state debt that exceeds $6.4 billion, whilst the situation in Armenia’s economy is not improving. Therefore, Armenia has nothing to offer to migrants.