There are currently about six million migrants in Russia, down from the annual average of 9-11 million, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs told Sputnik on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2020) There are currently about six million migrants in Russia, down from the annual average of 9-11 million, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"There are between 9 and 11 million foreign citizens in the Russian Federation annually. This year, their number has gradually declined and is now approximately 6 million (6.3 million)," the ministry said.
The ministry added that about 1 million of migrants had a temporary or permanent residence permit.
Such a significant drop may be explained by the fact that a number of migrants � mainly labor workers in large Russian cities � returned to their homelands after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The outflow of migrants has been having a serious impact on the construction sector, the housing and utilities services, as well as consumer services, which usually employ the most newcomers.
