Bashkiria Leads in Workforce Drain Due to Labor Migration

Bashkiria has become one of the leading regions in terms of residents working outside their federal subject. According to Rosstat, in 2024, 159,700 residents of the republic aged 15 and older worked in other regions of Russia.

This is 6.2% of the total number of Russians who work outside their place of residence. Thus, approximately every 16th worker in another region is from Bashkiria. By this indicator, the republic ranks third in the country, behind only Moscow Oblast (802,300 people) and Leningrad Oblast (205,500 people).

Compared to 2012, the number of Bashkiria residents who left to earn money in other regions increased by 17.3%. Across Russia as a whole, the trend is similar — growth was almost 20%.

As explained by deputy of the State Assembly of Bashkortostan (Kurultai) and Doctor of Economic Sciences Rustem Akhunov, the high proportion of people working outside the republic is not a new phenomenon for the region:

«A comparison with 2012 data showed that high numbers of people working outside Bashkortostan are a historical feature of the region»s economy. (…). At the same time, the increase in the number of people working outside their region is characteristic of the country as a whole and is associated with increased labor mobility among Russians,« he noted.

According to him, one of the key reasons for Bashkiria«s leadership is the large share of rural population. Currently, about 37% of residents in the republic are rural, which accounts for 4.1% of the country»s entire rural population, while the region«s overall population share is 2.8%. In terms of absolute rural population, Bashkiria ranks fourth in Russia.

«For a long time, agriculture played a key role in the region»s economy. But in recent decades, this sector has gradually been losing its weight,« the deputy explained.

According to his calculations, from 2004 to 2022, the share of agriculture in Bashkiria«s gross value added structure decreased from 11.1% to 7.1%. This directly affected the labor market.

«Changes in the economic structure, as well as automation in agriculture aimed at increasing productivity, have led to the release of some workers. It is they who largely became the source of growth in the number of residents working outside the region,» added Rustem Akhunov.

At the same time, the republic still faces personnel cuts — who will be affected and why is explained in our another article.