REGIONAL ECONOMY

. In the era of globalization, international migration has become massive. International labor and education markets allow people to study and work in a country of their choice. The right to move freely between countries is an essential human rights element. However, if migration processes are illegal, it can turn into a severe problem. Evaluating the political, cultural, and socio-economic consequences of international migration processes, promoting legal migration, developing a migration policy tailored to the country's interests, and creating the legal basis for its implementation are significant priorities of the state policy in any country. The paper identifies the main challenges of international migration in Georgia and discusses the legislation regulating migration processes. The dynamics of international migration, its positive and negative aspects, and the socio-economic problems of emigration and immigration are analyzed based on statistical-quantitative research methods. Opinions are expressed to perfect migration policy and overcome its challenges.

policy, and develop recommendations to overcome existing problems and perfect the migration policy.It is significant to reveal the causes of the emigration of citizens from Georgia, to identify their problems, on the one hand, to assess threats related to illegal migration processes, and on the other hand, to rate the development of their professional skills and new opportunities.
Methodology.The theoretical and methodological basis of the research was the analysis of statistical data, studies of foreign and Georgian scientists, as well as reports and publications prepared by international organizations, government documents, legislative acts related to migration, its causes and consequences.
Literature review.International migration is one of the characteristics of the global world.According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there were approximately 272 million international migrants worldwide in 2020, representing only 3.5% of the world's population.By 2022, the number of migrants reached 281 million and made up 3.6% of the world's population [2].
Shares of international migrants in 2020 were highest in Oceania, North America and Europe, where international migrants represented 22 percent, 16 percent and 12 percent of the total population.In comparison, the share of international migrants is relatively small in Asia and Africa (1.8% and 1.9%, respectively) and Latin America and the Caribbean (2.3%) [3].
A large part of international migrants are labor migrants who, through remittances, ensure the growth of the economic well-being of their families and the population of the country in general [4].
It is noteworthy that during the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, compared to the previous year (2019 -719 billion USD), the remittance amount decreased by 2.4% instead of the planned 20% and amounted to 702 billion USD.In 2020, India, China, Mexico, the Philippines and Egypt were (in descending order) the top five remittance recipient countries.India and China were well above the rest, with total inward remittances exceeding $83 billion and $59 billion, respectively.Highincome countries are almost always the main source of remittances.For decades, the United States has consistently  The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic receded in 2022.That allowed the travel restrictions to be lifted and return operations to resume.
2022 saw a significant rise in asylum applications, with approximately 966,000 applications, representing an increase of about 50% compared to 2021 and the highest number since 2016.Additionally, irregular border crossings increased by 64% to approximately 330,000 incidents compared to the previous year.
The long-term dynamics of international migration show that migration processes are different in different countries in the world.It is formed by economic, geographic, demographic and other factors that lead to the development of migration "corridors".The largest corridors tend to be from developing countries to larger economies such as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Germany; Large corridors can also reflect protracted conflict and related displacement, such as from the Syrian Arab Republic to Turkey, which is the second largest corridor in the world.Many corridors are expected to still exist in the future.
International migration is increasingly influenced by digital technology development.The possibilities of artificial intelligence are endless: they can provide people with the information and advice they need, at the optimal time, during the migration journey.Various apps are available for migrants to assist them better integrate into host countries, navigate visa processing requirements, and more.It should be noted that the technology introduction increases the risks related to privacy and personal information protection.
Discussion and Results.In Georgia and other countries, the factors causing emigration and immigration are complex and related to economic, social and political changes as well as individual decisions of people.In the recent history of Georgia, there was a period when emigration was mainly caused by the unstable situation in the country and security-related circumstances (for example, civil war, armed conflicts).However, later economic and social factors played a more significant role in the growth of emigration flows [5].
Migration issues management and policymaking are integral parts of the entire country's management and policy development process [6].The main legislative act regulating migration policy in Georgia is the "Organic Law of Georgia on Georgian Citizenship" [7], which has been in force since June 2014.This law regulates the mechanisms of determining Georgian citizenship and naturalization.Also significant is the Law of Georgia "On the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons" [8], which regulates the issues of entry and stay of foreigners in Georgia (including obtaining new visas and residence permits); Labor migration is regulated by the Law of Georgia "On Labor Migration" [9], which has been in force since November 1, 2015.The law regulates the issues of employment of Georgian citizens abroad and the status of employment agencies and their responsibilities and provides mechanisms to protect the rights of Georgian citizens employed abroad.In 2015, by the Government Resolution (#417), the Government of Georgia also approved regulations on the employment of foreigners in Georgia, which are gradually changing and becoming more complete.
The growth of international migration in Georgia was facilitated by the acceleration of the process of visa liberalization with the European Union and better opportunities for employment and education in developed countries.Since March 28, 2017, Georgia has a visa-free travel regime with 72 countries.Citizens of Georgia have the opportunity to move freely in these countries.Following the development of migration processes, migration strategies for 2013-2015, 2016-2020 and 2021-2030 were developed to No 171 establish, improve and increase the management system effectiveness.Also, the functions of the Government Commission on Migration Issues, which is the main platform for discussion of migration-related issues and a tool for coordinating competencies distributed among different agencies, have increased [10].
In the wake of changes in the field of migration, new challenges are emerging.The goal of the state migration policy of Georgia is to correctly assess the existing challenges and establish measures to solve them.
Statistics related to migration processes in Georgia are worrying.In 2020, the number of Georgian emigrants abroad amounted to 861,077 people, which is about 22% of the total population.The largest parts of Georgian emigrants are in Russia, Greece, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, the United States of America and Armenia [11].In the last two years, 2021-2022, 87,222 people emigrated from Georgia.In the last ten years, the number of emigrants reached 245,000.Saxstat summarizes the data of those who left Georgia every year.The numbers show that after the pandemic, twice as many people from Georgia move to live in other countries than return from emigration.According to the National Statistics Service, in 2022, the number of emigrants increased by 25.3 percent compared to the previous year, and the number of immigrants increased by 142.9 percent.During the same period, 84. 3  No 171 The main challenge for both the Georgian government and the non-governmental and academic sector is to determine what harm mass emigration is causing to our society and how it affects macroeconomic indicators.The fact is that the acute consequences of migration are not only reflected in numbers but also affect the daily life of each citizen and their psychology.There is almost no person left in Georgia whose family member, close relative or neighboring families did not move to another country.In the last two or three years, this process has accelerated even more, and as Saxstat data confirms, it reached a historical maximum in 2022.Citizens of Georgia leave the country with their families.Parents take their children to live abroad en masse.Only in 2022, more than 5,000 students left Georgia.
The share of the population whose main income is remittances received from abroad has increased.Although remittances are a powerful tool for reducing poverty and improving the quality of life for migrant families, they have little impact on the country's economic development.The money is mostly used for health care and education.The number of women among migrants is particularly high.The share of young people among migrants is increasing.
Along with labor migrants, the movement of people for educational purposes is increasing.Young people from Georgia mainly go to Germany, Ukraine, Armenia, Turkey and the United States of America to get an education.Some Georgian universities offer English-language certified programs to international students and try to attract them to study in Georgia.The main countries of origin of immigrants seeking education in our country are India, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran and Nigeria.
During the pandemic years, there was a noticeable trend of emigrants returning to Georgia, which may be attributed to the stable growth of the economy.
In 2021, the economy of Georgia grew by 10.5%, and in 2022 -by 10.5%.Surprisingly, the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war did not slow down the growth rate of the Georgian economy.On the contrary, it accelerated it [13].
According to some researchers, the main reason for economic growth in Georgia is about 100 thousand migrants who came to live in our country.An attractive educational space and ease of doing business appear to be stimulating factors for migration.Main groups of immigrants mainly come to Georgia for study, temporary work or business.As the number of immigrants increases, so does their contribution to the Georgian economy [14].Research revealed that poverty still poses a significant challenge in the country despite economic growth [15].According to the data of 2022, a third of our population, more than 1,200,000, is registered in the base of socially vulnerable people, and a large part of them, almost 700,000 people, which is about 18% of our population, receives subsistence allowance.If we compare the data of the last ten years, the number of recipients of subsistence allowance has increased by 62%.And this socioeconomic background encourages high migration.

Poverty in Georgia
Currently, the Government of Georgia has a precisely defined migration policy.Their main task is to improve migration management, support legal migration and combat illegal migration, returnees reintegration, increase the diaspora involvement, and perfect the asylum system.Special emphasis is placed on the protection of human rights, especially in terms of gender.The main priorities of the migration policy are outlined in "Vision 2030 -Development Strategy of Georgia" [16] and "Migration Strategy of Georgia 2021-2030" [5].
In order to perfect the migration policy is planned to: -Development of the migration management system through No 171 the improvement of policy planning and analysis tools, universal involvement and strengthening of international cooperation; -Expanding and improving opportunities for developmentoriented legal migration; -Effective fight against illegal migration and transnational organized crime and improvement of border security protection; -promotion of sustainable reintegration of citizens returning to their homeland; -strengthening ties with the Georgian diaspora and creating broad opportunities for compatriots living abroad to participate in the country's development; -Development of the international protection systemthrough further refinement of the asylum procedure and institutional framework; -Improving the approaches related to the integration of foreigners living in Georgia and developing such integration programs that will help to use their potential for the development of the country; -Bringing the legal framework related to migration closer to EU legislation, taking international best practices into account and more.
Conclusion and recommendations.Thus, migration is one of the challenges of the Georgian government.Every year more people leave the country than enter.The main way to solve the problem is to implement such a socio-economic policy that ensures the country's stable development, reduces unemployment and raises the standard of living.A decrease in emigration flows is unlikely in the near future.Therefore, it is essential to raise the awareness of the broad masses of the population of Georgia about the possibilities of legal migration and the dangers associated with illegal migration.It is necessary to create such mechanisms for the regulation and management of circular labor migration, which will bring migration processes into a legal framework and reduce the statistics of illegal migration.It is necessary to strengthen ties with the numerous Georgian diaspora living abroad and facilitate the return of emigrants to the country; It is also significant to include the returned citizens in the socioeconomic development of the country.

Key facts and figures from World Migration Reports 2000, 2020 and 2022
This work is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).Proceedings of the 6th International Scientific and Practical Conference «Scientific Trends and Trends in the Context of Globalization» (September 19-20, 2023).Umeå, Kingdom of Sweden