Armenia

“Migration in Armenia: A Country Profile 2008” is part of a series of migration profiles produced by IOM Budapest within the “Black Sea Consultative Process on Migration Management” project, funded from IOM’s 1035 Facility. Armenia is an origin country for emigrants with over 800,000 citizens or more than one quarter of the total population abroad, mainly in the Russian Federation and to a lesser extent to other European countries and to the US. Armenian migrants look for seasonal work in Russia, permanent residence in the US, and seek refuge in Europe. This high level of emigration has led to a brain drain and contributed to the country’s demographic decline. However, migrants’ remittances constitute the largest source of foreign exchange.