565,000 More Migrants Entered Russia than Left in 2024, Reducing Overall Population Decline to Only 31,000, ‘To Be Precise’ Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 28 – Rosstat has not yet published any data on immigrants to Russia in 2024, but the To Be Precise portal has been able to determine that there were 565,000 more migrants entering the country than leaving during that year, reducing the decline in Russia’s population to 31,000, far below the falloff of 296,600 of 2023.

            While the Kremlin is certainly pleased about the latter trend, it has not advertised the growth in the number of migrants given evidence that large numbers of Russians and even some Russian leaders would like to see more restrictions placed on immigration (tochno.st/materials/stolko-sostavil-migracionnyi-prirost-za-2024-god).

            But the extent to which net migration has compensated for the excess of deaths over births among Russians may be overstated, experts say. Rosstat and other Russian agencies have changed the way they monitor immigration and there is likely to be an unknown amount of double counting (tochno.st/materials/v-2024-godu-v-rossiiu-vieexalo-rekordnoe-cislo-migrantov-kak-minimum-za-poslednie-26-let-veroiatno-eto-sviazano-s-izmeneniiami-uceta).