Editing Demographics of Armenia (section)

=== Migration during post-Soviet period ===
It is estimated that 740,000-1,300,000 people left Armenia between 1988 and 2005.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |url=https://publications.iom.int/books/migration-perspectives-eastern-europe-and-central-asia-2006 |title=Migration Perspectives in Eastern Europe and Central Asia - 2006 |language=en}}</ref>

Economically recessed situation in Armenia during the 1990s enhanced the emigration of 125,000 refugees and displaced persons. Human and natural disasters also caused approximately 192,000 individuals to become internally displaced persons in Armenia. Among the disasters, the major impact was the [[1988 Armenian earthquake|1988 Spitak earthquake]].<ref name=":7" />

After the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapse of the Soviet Union]], borders that were once formal, now assumed real significance. Nonetheless, increased political, inter-ethnic, and social tensions prompted more and more people to migrate between Armenia and its neighbouring countries. As a result, approximately 100,000 persons or 3 percent of the country's population emigrated during the beginning of 1990s.<ref name=":7" />

Refugees and forcibly displaced persons started arriving to Armenia in spring 1988 and continued coming until late 1991. During this time, Armenia gave shelter to approximately 419,000 refugees and displaced persons, 360,000 of whom migrated from Azerbaijan. The rest immigrated from other regions of the former Soviet Union.<ref name=":7" />

{{Pie chart|value1=86|value2=7|value3=3|value4=4|color1=blue|color2=red|color3=yellow|color4=white|label1=Refugees from Azerbaijan|label2=Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh|label3=Persons Forcibly displaced|label4=Refugees from Shahumyan (bordering Nagorno-Karabakh)|caption=419.000 people migrated to Armenia during the post-Soviet period}}

Migration flows during the post-soviet period can be divided into 3 stages:

* The first stage, prior to 1995, was characterized by mass emigration due to economic reasons, a drop in living standards, and a rapid deterioration in the delivery and quality of public utilities. It is estimated that over 800,000 people emigrated from Armenia during this period and that only 400,000 of them have returned since then.
* During the second stage, from 1995 to 2001, emigration decreased, with most of those leaving to be labour migrants in search of better economic and social opportunities. 180,000 people (6 per cent of the population) emigrated from Armenia during these six years These emigrants tended to resettle abroad permanently and were later joined by relatives through family reunification.
* The third stage, from 2002 to the present, is marked by a constant yearly increase in the number of persons travelling to and from Armenia. This stage was also characterized by a shift to a positive migration balance.<ref name=":7" />

According to government records, over 55 per cent of all emigrants are unmarried and 60 per cent are males between the ages of 20 and 44 (very few are children and even fewer are elderly people). Most have an educational level far higher than the national average and have no intention of returning to Armenia. Although no hard data exists, emigrant families appear to be even less likely to return.<ref name=":7" />

The emigration of the major part of the Armenian population has brought about important changes. For example, a decrease in the number of people of reproductive age in Armenia has led to a progressive drop in marriages and birth rates. There has also been a considerable change in the ethnic composition of the population in Armenia due to a higher rate of emigration among ethnic minorities.<ref name=":7" />