CENSUS PRELIMINARY RESULTS: POPULATION OF RUSSIA IS 145 MILLION PEOPLE
MOSCOW, November 15th, 2002. /From a RIA Novosti correspondent/. - Vladimir Zorin, head of the committee on nationalities, told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that according to the preliminary results of the all Russian census the population of Russia is more than 145 mln. people.
Mr. Zorin pointed out that experts had though it would be 143 mln. people.
The head of the committee of nationalities affairs stressed that "despite all difficulties this country is facing now, its population is growing." According to him, the highest natality has been registered in the Central and South Federal constituencies, Moscow, Daghestan and Chechnya.
After his meeting with the Russian President, Mr. Zorin said that Vladimir Putin had instructed the committee to specify federal programs taking into account the state concept of national policy. He also recalled that it had been adopted in 1996 and it did not take into account all changes that had occurred, in particular, migration.
According to data of the State Committee of the Russian Federation on Statistics, about 7 mln. people entered Russia, 3 mln. people left the country and 27 mln people changed their residences inside the country in the last decade.