Russia classified even data on population size

The russian authorities have closed almost all demographic statistics. The report on the socio-economic state of Russia for May, published this week, did not contain the usual information on natural population growth, the number of births and deaths, marriages and divorces, migration, and even the population size.

"The "Demography" section is simply absent" in the report, MMI analysts are indignant: "It's one thing when they close data that could be a reason for imposing sanctions. But it's a completely different thing when they close data that concerns us, Russians."

Rosstat has already closed detailed statistics. The report "On the Natural Movement of the Population" published in May announced only general figures for the first quarter and March without a breakdown by region. Since then, the section has not been updated, and there is no data for April.

Now, according to MMI analysts, "something even more terrible has happened": even the most general figures have become unavailable. "We have been completely deprived of information about the number of people in the country, how many are born, how many die," they state, calling on the government "to either explain why this data is closed, or to resume its publication." The latest available data are as follows: as of April 1, the population was 146.1 million people, having decreased by 61.1 thousand since the beginning of the year. In three months, 288.8 thousand people were born, 471.8 thousand died, the natural decrease in the population was 183.3 thousand people, which was compensated by migration by 2/3. The war sharply worsened the already difficult demographic situation in Russia. Rosstat predicted that by 2046 Russia's population will decrease to 138.8 million people: the natural decrease will exceed 12 million, but will be partially compensated by migration growth.