Romir/M-Holding research: emigration Sentiments in Russia and the world

20 February 2023
An international study conducted by Romir/М-Holding in cooperation with the Gallup International Association of Independent Research Companies showed that every third inhabitant of the planet (36%) ready to migrate.

The study was conducted in 57 countries around the world. Respondents were supposed to answer the question whether they would like to move to another country if they had all the necessary documents. One in three respondents over the globe answered positively. 59% of earthlings would not like to move.

Most of the potential emigrants are residents of countries with unfavorable economic conditions. The greatest intention to migrate abroad is in sub–Saharan Africa (56%) and Latin America (54%). The lowest willingness to migrate was noted in South Asia. The high migration potential is observed in the EU countries but this is largely due to the absence of customs restrictions and this migration occurs mainly within the EU.

The leaders in willingness to emigrate were residents of Sierra Leone (84%), Ghana (81%) and Nigeria (71%). The lowest readiness was noted among residents of India (4%), Vietnam (8%), Japan (14%).

In Russia, only 15% of the city dwellers said they would like to migrate to another country. This indicator is the lowest in the world and is decreasing every year. In December 2021, 20% of Russians wanted to emigrate abroad.

Most of those who would like to move to another country are young people. Almost every second (44%) of the young people surveyed (under the age of 34) are ready to emigrate if possible. This figure is almost 8 points higher than the global average and 21 points higher than answers of older respondents (over 55 years old), only 23% noted that they would like to live elsewhere. In this case, emigration moods are more associated with the growth of mobility and ambition of young people than with the economic factor.

Respondents from low-income countries are significantly more likely to express motivation to emigrate. 62% of respondents surveyed in low-income countries expressed a desire to live in another country. This incentive decreases as the welfare of the country of residence increases. Among high-income countries, the motivation for migration is almost twice lower than in the poorest countries. For example, this figure is 30% – in France, in the USA and Germany – 33%, in the UK – 36%, in Italy – 37%.

The analysis shows that the respondents' own income, education or profession profile practically do not affect their willingness or motivation to migrate. The overall standard of living in the country is significant.

Doctor of Sociological Sciences, founder of M-Holding, President of Romir Andrey Milekhin noted:

“First of all, the research shows migration sentiments but not the actual willingness of people to emigrate. The economic factor in these sentiments is the most obvious but it is important to say that the cultural identity and development of the country, on the contrary, can become a powerful persuasive to remain in their homeland. We can see a significantly lower level of emigration sentiment in countries with a developed sense of community, such as India, Vietnam, Japan, including Russia.”

According to Alexander Grebenyuk, Doctor of Economics, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Higher School of Modern Social Sciences of Lomonosov Moscow State University, indicators of attitudes to migration do not have a negative meaning, they are somewhat difficult to interpret and, as a rule, have different meanings in different countries..

"In certain countries, it shows the people’s social attitudes to change their residence and there is no direct relation to emigration in some states. For example, in Russia, it is essentially a reflection of a person's attitude to social processes in their environment, e.g., to the economic situation. In addition, young people and the population of employable age (40-50 years) may have a different nature of emigration attitudes. While the migration attitudes of younger generations may be influenced by the attracting factors abroad, the desire to gain cross-cultural experience in other countries, for older generations domestic push factors can be largely decisive," Alexander Grebenyuk notes.

Research information:

The study was conducted in cooperation with research companies that are members of the International Association of Independent Research Companies Gallup International. More than 54.3 thousand people in 57 countries over the globe, including Russia, took part in the survey. Data collection: in person, by phone or via the Internet, August-October 2022.

Gallup International Association (GIA) is a leading global independent association in the field of marketing research and surveys. For more than 75 years, Gallup International members have been conducting multi-country surveys on a comparable basis.

Gallup International Association or its members are not affiliated with Gallup Inc. (headquartered in Washington, DC), which is no longer a member of Gallup International. Gallup International Association is not responsible for other’s public surveys.