In 2024, 1.7 million Tajik citizens visited Russia. This represents a 21% decline compared to 2023, when 2.12 million Tajik nationals traveled to the country. These statistics come from the Border Service of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia, as analyzed by RBC.
Overall, the number of foreign trips to Russia in 2024 increased by 8.2% compared to the same period in 2023. Foreign nationals crossed the Russian border 16.7 million times in 2024, up from 15.4 million in 2022.
As in previous years, the majority of foreign visitors came from neighboring countries. The leading group was Kazakh citizens, whose trips to Russia increased by 7.7% year-on-year, reaching 3.4 million. Additionally, travel from Belarus rose by 25% year-on-year.
Travel trends from other countries to Russia
Among non-CIS countries, the largest increase in trips to Russia came from China. The number of visits from China doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year, reaching nearly 1.7 million. This surge followed the resumption of visa-free group travel between the two countries, which had been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In contrast, trips from the European Union (EU) decreased by 16% in 2024 compared to 2023. The FSB recorded 469,200 EU citizen entries, down from 558,100 the previous year. Despite the decline, many EU citizens maintain humanitarian and business ties in Russia, and some have relatives in the country, making business, private visits, work, and study the primary reasons for their trips.
Among EU countries, Germany led in absolute numbers of visits to Russia in 2024. The number of German trips increased by 17% year-on-year, reaching 119,500.
How the FSB Border Service compiles its data
The FSB Border Service counts the number of border crossings by foreign citizens in one direction. This means the statistics reflect the number of trips, not the number of unique individuals.
Under this methodology, if the same foreigner enters Russia multiple times within the reporting period, they are counted each time they cross the border.
The FSB categorizes visits based on purpose, including:
- Business;
- Employment;
- Tourism;
- Private visits;
- Education;
- Permanent relocation;
- Transport service operations;
- Military personnel travel.
