Moscow, Mar 2 (IANS/RIA Novosti): To meet the country's demand for economic development, Russia needs an inflow of over 300,000 migrant workers annually, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service Konstantin Romodanovsky has said.

Russia currently needs a total of five to six million foreign workers, who must then be naturalised, he said Friday.

"If we look closely at the situation and at issues concerning demographics, as well as economic issues, every year we need over 300,000 migrants to come get naturalised and permanently live in Russia," Romodanovsky said.

Migration is a contentious issue for Russia, with widespread disquiet in some sectors of society about the increasing numbers of foreign workers coming to Russia to live.

According to the 2012 International Migration Outlook, by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Russia is home to the world's largest number of illegal migrants. They account for almost seven percent of the country's working population.