Russian Census Results Confirm Population Decline

Results of the 2010 Census of the Russian Federation have just been released and, according to the report from the New York Times, they confirm that the population of Russia is in decline.

A census carried out in October 2010 showed that the population had fallen to 142.9 million, from 145.2 million in 2002, when the previous census was taken, and from 146.3 million in 2001, according to Russia’s Federal Statistics Service. Russia is expected to lose an estimated one million workers every year until 2017.

Assuming that Russians are generally not happy about this demographic decline, the only "good" news might be that the decline was less than demographers at the UN Population Division had expected. Their projections, completed in 2008, suggested that Russia would be down to 140.4 million by 2010.