Intraregional differentiation of youth migration in the Stavropol Territory

Abstract

The article is devoted to identifying the territorial features of youth migration in the peripheral regions of the South of European Russia on the example of the Stavropol Territory. The features of intra-regional differentiation of demographic indicators characterizing the distribution of young people are analyzed. The main tendencies of youth migration in different territories are revealed, depending on the action of push and pull factors, the typology of municipalities of the region according to migration growth and the direction of migration flows is carried out. The object of the study was the youth of the Stavropol Territory aged 15 to 29 years. The official statistics of the current accounting of the population, developed by Rosstat for the period 2012–2919, was used as an empirical basis. The materials are presented in the form of a series of tables and maps reflecting the peculiarities of territorial inequality in the course of youth migration at the regional and intra-regional levels. There is a steady downward trend in the number of young people in all territories of the region, in which migration plays a significant role. In most of its municipalities, there is a migration loss, and only in a few - a migration gain. The migration attractiveness of the Stavropol region is due to the presence of a large number of institutions of higher and secondary vocational education, including the federal university. An important role in attracting young migrants to the region is played by the ethnic factor, which provides a certain influx in international and interregional exchange. Ethnic groups from the North Caucasian republics and the states of the South Caucasus form compact areas of settlement that attract young compatriots. Youth migration processes are largely polarized. Within the Stavropol and Kavminvodsk urban agglomerations, there is a zone with a predominant increase in youth in intraregional and international migration and losses in interregional migration. The rest of the territory forms a vast periphery with a predominance of youth loss. A less dramatic decline in youth is noted in the southern border areas, which is offset by a small interregional influx.