კონფერენცია

∘ Nana Menabdishvili ∘
THEIMPACT OF EMIGRATION ON DEMOGRAPHIC PROCESSES

Summary

Emigration takes the leading place in the dynamics of external migration In Georgia. This fact has significantly affected the demographic status of the country. In the period between the 2002 and 2014 general censuses, the total population decrease by 15% took place.

The population of country has decreased by almost 22% in 2014 in comparison to 1989. Besides, the Georgian population is characterized by an aging tendency along with decrease. Between the period of census 2002 and 2014, the share of 65 years old and older people in the total population has increased by 1,6%. Emigration is one of the factors contributing to the population aging process. According to the latest census data, the number of immigrants amounted to 88,5 thousand persons, including 45,4% males and 54,6% females.

Despite the positive changes in terms of economic development in recent years in Georgia, the main challenge remains overcoming mass unemployment and poverty; as well as ensuring the effective employment of the employable population. The deficiencies at the labor market still push the part of the employable population to leave the homeland and go abroad to find a job. According to the latest census data, 75,1% of emigrants comprise 20-54 year age interval population, i.e., emigrants are the mostly fertile people. This necessarily will affect not only the demographic process of country, but also the economic situation.

It is important to emphasize the sex ratio of emigrants. Among the emigrants of the age up to 39, number of men exceeds the women, whereas among the emigrants aged 40 and older, there is a completely different picture - the number of women exceeds the number of men. The number of emigrant women aged 50 and older are 2 times more than the number of emigrant men of the relevant age.

According to figures from 2014 census, 11% of households have a family member abroad for the purpose of education. 73,4% of them are the representatives of both sexes of 20-39 year age group. Among the immigrant women who have never been married, the most numerous group make up women under the age of 25 (69,9%). Intensive emigration processes have led Georgia to bring the population to a reduced order of reproduction. Now The UnitedNations has put the country on the list of “Dying Nations”.

Since the independence, there has been a change in number of young people's gender-age distribution in the country. An active emigration with the birth and mortality processes have contributed to this. These changes will certainly affect the demographic processes, namely marriage and birth. The gender-age imbalance is obvious, and the one of the important reasons for this is the fact that among young immigrants the number of men exceeds that of women, which will inevitably lead to the lack of men at the "wedding market". As experts predict, by 2030, the demographic aging in the country will be 2,4 times higher than the critical edge, which will be associated with a decrease in birth rate, an increase in life expectancy, an external migration of employable population, this will certainly create some problems for the socio-economic development of the country.

Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Paata Gugushvili Institute of Economics International Scientific C O N F E R E N C E S "ECONOMY – XXI CENTURY"

E ISSN 2587 - 4691	∘ Nana Menabdishvili ∘ THEIMPACT OF EMIGRATION ON DEMOGRAPHIC PROCESSES Summary Emigration takes the leading place in the dynamics of external migration In Georgia. This fact has significantly affected the demographic status of the country. In the period between the 2002 and 2014 general censuses, the total population decrease by 15% took place. The population of country has decreased by almost 22% in 2014 in comparison to 1989. Besides, the Georgian population is characterized by an aging tendency along with decrease. Between the period of census 2002 and 2014, the share of 65 years old and older people in the total population has increased by 1,6%. Emigration is one of the factors contributing to the population aging process. According to the latest census data, the number of immigrants amounted to 88,5 thousand persons, including 45,4% males and 54,6% females. Despite the positive changes in terms of economic development in recent years in Georgia, the main challenge remains overcoming mass unemployment and poverty; as well as ensuring the effective employment of the employable population. The deficiencies at the labor market still push the part of the employable population to leave the homeland and go abroad to find a job. According to the latest census data, 75,1% of emigrants comprise 20-54 year age interval population, i.e., emigrants are the mostly fertile people. This necessarily will affect not only the demographic process of country, but also the economic situation. It is important to emphasize the sex ratio of emigrants. Among the emigrants of the age up to 39, number of men exceeds the women, whereas among the emigrants aged 40 and older, there is a completely different picture - the number of women exceeds the number of men. The number of emigrant women aged 50 and older are 2 times more than the number of emigrant men of the relevant age. According to figures from 2014 census, 11% of households have a family member abroad for the purpose of education. 73,4% of them are the representatives of both sexes of 20-39 year age group. Among the immigrant women who have never been married, the most numerous group make up women under the age of 25 (69,9%). Intensive emigration processes have led Georgia to bring the population to a reduced order of reproduction. Now The UnitedNations has put the country on the list of “Dying Nations”. Since the independence, there has been a change in number of young people's gender-age distribution in the country. An active emigration with the birth and mortality processes have contributed to this. These changes will certainly affect the demographic processes, namely marriage and birth. The gender-age imbalance is obvious, and the one of the important reasons for this is the fact that among young immigrants the number of men exceeds that of women, which will inevitably lead to the lack of men at the "wedding market". As experts predict, by 2030, the demographic aging in the country will be 2,4 times higher than the critical edge, which will be associated with a decrease in birth rate, an increase in life expectancy, an external migration of employable population, this will certainly create some problems for the socio-economic development of the country.