DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, April 1. Recent findings from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shed light on the return migration patterns of Tajikistan's citizens, Trend reports.
Conducted using IOM's Mobility Tracking Matrix (MTM) system in Tajikistan, the survey focused on returning migrant workers, providing insights into their experiences. Data collection for the survey was conducted in November 2023, with a total of 978 return migrants participating.
Among respondents, 98 percent indicated a return from Russia, while 1 percent returned from Kazakhstan; others came back from the UK, Ireland, South Korea, and Belarus.
Respondents offered the following responses when asked about the duration of their stay in the countries they returned from:
- 41 percent reported staying between seven months and a year,
- 39 percent stated a duration of one to three years,
- 12 percent indicated a stay between four and six months,
- 6 percent reported staying between three and five years,
- 2 percent mentioned a duration of two to three months,
And less than one percent reported staying less than a month.
Meanwhile, approximately half of the respondents (51 percent) expressed that this was the intended duration of their stay.
In terms of employment sectors, the survey found that:
- 47 percent were employed in the private sector,
- 29 percent worked as daily wage workers,
- 8 percent were self-employed,
- 6 percent were employed in the public sector,
- 6 percent were volunteers.
The most popular sector of employment was construction, - 43 percent of respondents. This was followed by community, social, and personal services (18 percent), transportation, storage, and communication (11 percent), manufacturing (7 percent), and wholesale and retail trade (5 percent).
Furthermore, the survey underscored differences in employment sectors based on gender. Women were more likely to work in community, social, and personal services (55 percent), manufacturing (17 percent), and wholesale and retail trade (9 percent). Meanwhile, men were mainly employed in construction (51 percent), transportation/storage and communication (13 percent), and community, social, and personal services (11 percent).