Skills Mapping Through Big Data: A case study of Armenian diaspora in the United States of America and France (Armenian)

Armenia has one of the largest and oldest diasporas in the world. Its diaspora has been a driving force for the country’s economic survival and development over the past few decades, primarily by providing humanitarian support and remittances, as well as by implementing philanthropic and development projects.

While a number of studies of the Armenian diaspora – both generally and in specific countries of destination – have been carried out, none have focused specifically on identifying the skills and professional networks existing within it.

The report presents the results of the mapping of the Armenian diaspora worldwide, with a special focus on the United States and France, conducted through innovative methods of using big data, including web traffic analysis and onomastic analysis of public databases. The databases were analysed specifically to create demographic and skills profiles, with identifiers such as education level, sector of employment and field of study. To better understand skilled diaspora communities and how they might be reached for development through knowledge transfer initiatives, interviews with key stakeholders, experts and diaspora members supplemented the quantitative analysis.

The report will serve as a reliable resource for researchers, scientists and policymakers, as well as the general public, who are interested in general or, specifically, Armenian diaspora studies, the migration–development nexus, skills transfers and other similar topics.