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country. By several estimates, roughly 900,000 people have also left the country due to the war in Ukraine and mobilisation of reserves. Nearly all of these persons may remain on the books in Russia. This practice is partly the reason the national population figure has gone through several adjustments since the 202o census. The impacts from the 2020 census were still seen, for example, in the 2022 population figure, which showed the population increasing.
In addition to permanent population, a large number of migrant workers live in Russia In January-September 2023, roughly 3.6mn people entered Russia for work, suggesting that last year the flow of migrant workers to Russia was back to pre-pandemic levels. About 45% of the arrivals come from Uzbekistan, about 28% from Tajikistan and 14% from Kyrgyzstan. These figures only record border-crossings, and many seasonal migrant workers cross into and out of Russia several times a year. At the moment, clear data on the numbers of migrant workers are simply unavailable.
In order to offset its population decline, Russia needs to increase the annual numbers of immigrants and migrant workers. However, some observers note that the potential pool of new migrants has been reduced by fears of additional mobilisation rounds in Russia and improving economic conditions in the countries that have traditionally provided migrant labour to Russia. Under Rosstat’s “middle” demographic scenario, net migration to Russia would hardly change from its current level over the next two decades.
Unemployment hits record lows
17 RUSSIA Country Report April 2024 www.intellinews.com