Armenia: Migrants Find Greener Pastures in Russia

One million Armenians have emigrated from their homeland in the past 20 years -- a figure that is roughly one-third of the country's current population, a senior Armenian migration official says.

Citing a 2009 United Nations report on migration, the head of the State Migration Agency, Irina Davtian, said that Russia is the most popular destination point for Armenian migrants, the Kavkazsky Uzel news service reported on October 29.

"Here, Armenia veers away from the general trend as UN studies show that most international migrants, as a rule, tend to emigrate from developing countries to developed ones," Davtian was quoted as saying.

Better job opportunities abroad motivate the outflow, she said.