Title:
New Trends in Labor Migration From Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the 2020s

Authors:
E. A. Visyashcheva, Russia

Abstract:

Labor migration from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the 2020s continues to hold high social and economic significance for both the countries of origin and the receiving labor markets. At the same time, recent trends have emerged that could significantly influence migration processes that have developed over decades. This research paper aims to identify current features of labor migration from these Central Asian countries at the level of attitudes and perceptions regarding possible relocation destinations for employment in the 2020s, and to compare the features of labor migration in the 2020s with migration data from the 2010s. The study revealed the formation of a new generation of people from these countries for whom labor migration ceases to be a mandatory norm of life success and is viewed as one possible scenario, but not the only rational one. Respondents now consider not only Russia but also European and American countries and even choose the option of staying in their own country: 52.2% of respondents, when answering the question "Which countries would you consider going to for work?" selected their own country as a preferred destination. The obtained data indicate significant variability in migration orientations and signs of changing attitudes in the 2020s. Labor migration from these Central Asian countries is undergoing a qualitative transformation: from the dominance of the Russian direction to a multi-country model, and overall — to a revision of the inevitability of migration as the sole strategy for life development.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2026.10911