The events in the South Caucasus countries are reported in all the world's media. They even say that the Third World War will begin in these areas - the South Caucasus conflicts are so closely intertwined with the best interests of world powers.
Importance in this respect is the number of people in each of the three countries. This figure is also at the center of political speculation. So: how many people live in the south of the Caucasus?
AZERBAIJAN
The largest country in the South Caucasus - Azerbaijan, whose population reached 9 million 356 thousand people, as reported the State Committee on Statistics of the Republic of Azerbaijan in January 2013. And according to October 1, 2013, Azerbaijan's population reached 9,442,500 people, rising by 86,000 people, or 0.9%.
53.1 % of the population lives in urban areas, and 46.9% - in villages, the Committee said.
According to various sources, Russia is home to 2 million Azerbaijanis, many of whom have Russian citizenship. In other countries, people from AR are much fewer.
Arsen Melik-Shakhnazarov is, of course, interested in reducing the Azerbaijani official data indefinitely. But since this is impossible, after a long conversions and links to newspaper speeches of politicians in Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as statistics of the Azerbaijan SSR (! ?) he "relented" to 4.5 million people, mostly living in the capital. "The province gradually empties," - the Armenian author sums up his thoughts of the Azerbaijani population.
It is interesting to note that all the Armenian researchers "find errors" in calculating by the Azerbaijani statisticians, and these errors are always upward, not otherwise.
However, if we agree that the population of Azerbaijan is rapidly decreasing, then it is necessary to answer the question: why in any official, political or economic statement (study) prepared in Azerbaijan there is no expression of anxiety about the citizens migrating from the country?
For many years the State Military Mobilization Service has had no shortage of recruits. In contrast, it is a usual case, when coming to recruiting stations, young guys are asked to walk in the civilian world for another six months, as the draft plan has been fulfilled.
GEORGIA
Georgia, as of January 1, 2013 , is home to 483,800 people 4 . According to Georgian Statistics Committee, 53.2 % of the population ( 2,387,000) live in urban areas , and 46.8% - 2,096,800 people live in villages. Exact details will be announced this year, when Georgia will take a census.
It was hard to find data on the departure of Georgians, but the source is not completely reliable. The President of the Union of Russian Compatriots in Georgia claimed in 2012 that 200-300 Russian-speaking families leave Georgia annually.
Interestingly, the Armenian researchers do not spend time to calculate the Georgians, although the history of Georgia, as well as the history of Azerbaijan, is a topical subject for discussion by the Armenian politicians.
In the Azerbaijani media there are no discussions over the population of Georgia, or they are very rare.
ARMENIA
According to the "Counter of the Armenian population » (countrymeters.info) on 17.02.04, registered in the country were 3 million 105 thousand 388 people. Of them women are over 53 per cent. Armenia is the only country of the former USSR with almost mono-ethnic population (97.9 % of them are Armenians ), according to the Armenian site.
In 2013 the head of the Armenian Diaspora in Russia Ara Abramyan informed President Putin that Russia has a population of 2.5 million Armenians. In the same conversation with a laugh Putin questioned Abramyan's words that Armenia has 3.5 million population.
Azerbaijani politicians, including President Ilham Aliyev, spoke of no more than 1.5 million people in Armenia.
The analyst Naira Hayrumian writes about Armenian demography:
"Emigration truly becomes a matter of national security for Armenia. It's not just demographics, not the full decline of domestic production and reducing small and medium businesses. Everything is much deeper and goes back to the very roots of our defense. Commanders of military units say that when they talk to recruits, it appears that the vast majority of young guys hardly ever see their fathers, who work in Russia. These guys are not raised by their fathers, they do not hear the words of men, and often just wait for getting a military ID card to go to work - away from their country.
How many men to be called in case of mobilization have remained in Armenia? Serzh Sargsyan at the Congress of the Yerkrapah militia said Azerbaijan burns bridges of peace. And although he says that nothing will happen, Azerbaijan's behavior reduces the chances for peace. And this further exacerbates the problem of emigration (Lragir.am).
It is hard to find any Armenian medium, which would not express anxiety about the population leaving the country. The same notes with panic are said by almost every Armenian politician, including Sargsyan. Armenians by the level of emigration beat all records.
Why are Armenians fleeing the country? There are many reasons, among them - Karabakh. About it Hayrumian mentioned (in her text it is in bold). Another reason is historical. It happened, and there's nothing wrong with it, that Russia needed to bring this ethnicity to the Caucasian territory. Better than others about this, referring to Peter I, Russian President Putin said in Yerevan.
The Armenian ethnic group, whose roots come from the European Thrace, historically have little ties with the Caucasus, and so they are looking for a better life in other lands.
Kamal Ali
ANN.Az
