HOW HAS COVID-19 AFFECTED MIGRATION OF LITHUANIAN POPULATION?

Abstract

The paper aims to examine the role of COVID-19 pandemic on the population migration in Lithuania. A situation analysis using the newest available migration data was deployed. It is found that the COVID-19 was generally associated with decreased emigration and increased immigration with the main changes occurring on the emigration side. In addition, women were less prone to migration in time of uncertainty while migrants were more willing to try out new destinations. The COVID-19 had a strong emigration-decreasing effect for women across all age groups with a heterogeneous result for men. It has also negatively affected the flow of remittances. Destination-wise, the UK continued to lose its dominance while Ukraine emerged as a new main destination. On the immigration side, the COVID-19 had a similar impact across the largest age cohorts between sexes, slowing down immigration growth from the main sending countries. Accessible and good-quality healthcare services, a need for a sense of security as well as the new working practices motivated many emigrants to return. However, the process of heading back home had begun before the pandemic. The novelty of the situation limits the scope of literature on the topic. This study addresses the existing research gap on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on migration using the case of Lithuania.