Intraregional Differentiation of Youth Migration in Stavropol Krai

Abstract

The article is devoted to identifying the territorial characteristics of youth migration in peripheral regions of southern European Russia with a case study of Stavropol krai. The specific features of intraregional differentiation of demographic indicators characterizing the distribution of youth are analyzed. The main trends of youth migration in different territories were identified depending on push and pull factors, and a typology of regional municipalities was carried out according to net migration rate and migration flows’ direction. The object of the study was young people from Stavropol krai aged 15 to 29 years. The empirical basis comprises the official statistics of the current population census, developed by the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat) for the 2017–2019 period. The materials are presented as a series of tables and maps reflecting the specific features of territorial inequality in the course of youth migration at the regional and intraregional levels. There is a steady trend towards a reduction in the number of young people throughout the region. In most of its municipalities, migration decrease is recorded, and only in some, a migration increase. The migration attractiveness of Stavropol is due to the presence of a large number of higher and secondary vocational education institutions, including a federal university. The ethnic factor plays an important role in attracting young migrants to the region, providing a certain inflow in international and interregional exchange. Ethnic groups from the North Caucasian republics and South Caucasian states form compact settlement areas that attract young compatriots. Youth migration processes are largely polarized. Within the Stavropol and Kavminvody urban agglomerations, a zone with a predominant increase in youth in intraregional and international migration and losses in interregional migration is distinguished. The rest of the territory forms a vast periphery with a predominantly youth population decrease. A less dramatic decrease in the young population can be seen in the southern border regions, which is offset by a small interregional inflow.