Youth Migration in the Kemerovo Region (Kuzbass)

Abstract

Youth migration is growing all over the world, including Russia and its regions. Migration is a natural process that cannot be stopped. However, excessive migration can deteriorate the socio-economic situation of the region that keeps losing its population. The research objective was to analyze the factors and motives behind the outflow of young people from the Kemerovo region, as well as to develop some measures that might help to reduce this process. The study was based on statistics and research data conducted by the Regional Sociological Center since 2015. The last two decades have seen a permanent decline in the local population, both due to natural causes and migration. The latter involves young people who leave their native region to study or work somewhere else in Russia or abroad. Potential migrants are driven by the lack of prospects for personal and professional development, the poor choice of attractive jobs, and their desire to live in larger and more comfortable cities. Young people flee from low salaries, bad ecology, poor conditions for cultural development, and low living standards. Therefore, young people believe that the migration can be stopped by higher salaries, more jobs, high-quality social services, better mortgage opportunities, more attractive conditions for self-development and leisure, a more stable economy, a better environmental situation, etc.