MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's population has declined sharply since 1989 but an influx of migrants helped to partially fill the gap, according to preliminary census data reported Wednesday.
The population shrank by 1.3 percent - about 1.8 million people - and now stands at 145.5 million, according to preliminary results from October's census, reported by the Interfax news agency. Russia's last census in 1989, two years before the Soviet Union collapsed, counted 147 million people.
Officials had earlier predicted a sharper decline, to 143.4 million, due to Russia's minuscule birth rate and an overall decline in health following the Soviet collapse.
However, a wave of migration partially filled the gap, according to the census data. Russia lost 7.4 million people but more than 5.5 million migrants entered the country, Interfax reported.
Russia now has the seventh largest population in the world, after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan. Some 73.3 percent of Russia's population live in cities, and women outnumber men 54 percent to 46 percent.
The October census was originally scheduled to take place in 1999 but was delayed three years due to lack of funds.
Critics have questioned whether the head count was capable of providing an accurate snapshot of the nation, given Russians' traditional distrust of authorities. Many were wary of letting strangers into their homes or revealing information about themselves. Many Russians have unofficial side jobs and do not pay taxes on their wages. Others break regulations that require official registration at their place of residence.
Human rights groups have also expressed skepticism about preliminary results already announced from Russia's breakaway republic of Chechnya, where officials say the population has grown since 1989, despite two wars in the last decade and a mass exodus of civilians.
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