Russian population down 2.2 million in eight years
The Russian population is still shrinking. According to preliminary results of the last population census, the population counts 2.2 million less than in 2002.
There were 142.9 million people in Russia during the population census in October 2010, Vedomosti reports, citing Rossiyskaya Gazeta. This is 1.6 percent less than during the last census in 2002.
The largest reduction was in the Far East Okrug, especially in Magadan where the population shrank 14.1 percent. Other regions with large reduction are the Republic of Komi (11.5 percent) and Murmansk Oblast (10.8 percent).
If the reduction continues in the same speed, the Russian population will be 116 million by 2050. In comparison, the population in the U.S. is growing so much, that they will have four times as many inhabitants as Russia in forty years. Today the U.S population is twice the size of the Russian.
There are several reasons for the reduction in the Russian population. Low birth rates and high mortality are the main reasons, but Russia is still experiencing a rather high level of brain drain to other countries.
The population is growing in some Russian regions, first of all in North Caucasus. In Dagestan the population is 15.6 percent higher than in 2002, in Chechnya 15 percent. Also the capital Moscow has more inhabitants than eight years ago (+7.2 percent).
There are still more women than men in Russia (53.7 and 46.3 percent respectively). 73.7 of all Russians live in towns.
