Carrol
RUSSIA'S POPULATION FALLS BY NEARLY 0.5 MLN IN 6 MONTHS - GOVERNMENT
MOSCOW. Aug 20 (Interfax) - Russia's population decreased by 458,400 or 0.3% in the first half of 2001 to 144.4 million, the government said on Monday.
In the first six months of 2000, the country's population shrank by 425,400.
"The increase of the population due to migration for the first half of 2001 compensated for only 5.5% of the natural decrease," the State Statistical Committee said. This is "the lowest indicator for the entire period of population decrease from 1992 to 2000," it said. "Despite the reduction of the natural decrease," the ratio is "the result of a considerable reduction (from the first half of 2000) in the migration increase."
The birth rate was higher and the death rate lower in the first half of 2001 than in the first half of 2000. The first half of 2001 saw 644,200 births and 1.13 million deaths, compared with 623,500 births and 1.15 deaths in the first half of 2000.
This means a natural decrease of 484,900 for the first half of 2001 compared with 522,700 for the first half of 2000, a 7.2% decline.
There were more marriages than divorces in the first half of 2001, but the number of marriages showed slower annual growth than that of divorces. Whereas 400,000 marriages were registered in 2001 compared with 349,700 in 2000, a 14.4% increase, there were 366,000 divorces in 2001 compared with 305,800 in 2000, a 19.7% increase.
Migration-caused population increase was 79% lower in the first half of 2001 than in the first half of 2000. In 2001, 21,600 more people arrived in Russia than left the country, while in 2000 there were 100,700 more arrivals than departures. Altogether 81,100 people moved to Russia and 59,500 emigrated from it in the first half of 2001, compared with 173,000 and 72,300 respectively in the same period in 2000.
"The number of migrants within Russia is also continuing the decrease: it diminished by 72,700 people in the first half of 2001, or 7%, from the first half of 2000," the Committee said.