Interregional Migration in the Russian Far East and its Impact on Demographic Security

In this paper, we address the issues of demographic development of the regions of the Russian Far East and the impact of interregional migration on the size and demographic structure of the population. The study is based on official data published by Rosstat. At the level of the Far Eastern Federal District as a whole, the demographic dynamics are characterized by negative trends that have developed against the background of depopulation, as well as migration outflow to other regions of the country and abroad. However, at the level of individual subjects, the situation is differentiated. According to the results of 2023, the population of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug increased due to natural and migration growth; in Kamchatka Krai, population growth was ensured by the excess of natural increase over migration outflow. At the same time, in other subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District, the population decreased both under the influence of natural decline and migration outflow. Migration outflow to other regions of the country is becoming one of the significant barriers to the demographic development of the Russian Far East: it is in interregional exchange that the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District lose qualified specialists and talented youth. Therefore, maintaining current directions of interregional migration in the Far East can lead to a distortion of the demographic structure of the population, faster aging of the population, as well as a decrease in the demographic potential, which poses threats to demographic security. We conclude that measures of demographic and migration policy in relation to Far Eastern subjects should be targeted and aimed, first, at ensuring a higher quality and standard of living for the local population.