Russian population tentatively estimated at 147 mln - Rosstat, based on census data

MOSCOW. April 8 (Interfax) - According to preliminary information from a population census held between October 15 and November 14, 2021, Russia had a population of 147 million as of October 1, 2021, and the final number might be 500,000 larger or smaller, Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) head Pavel Malkov said at a press briefing.

Since the previous population census in 2010, the Russian population has grown by approximately 1.8 million (it stood at 145.14 million, including residents of Crimea, in October 2010).

The Russian government discussed the preliminary results of the population census at a meeting on Friday, Malkov said.

The census showed that the population was more than 1 million over the administrative estimate, which stood at 145.8 million as of October 1, 2021, he said.

This is a traditional discrepancy, mostly caused by migration accounting errors, Malkov said. In his words, the 2010 census showed there were 1 million more people in Russia than administratively estimated, and the number was 1.8 million higher in 2002.

The final estimate of the Russian population will be published in May, and all population census results will be available by the end of this year, Malkov said.

About 25 million people, or 17%, took part in the population census online, which is much more than was expected, he said.

Some 3,000 census takers contracted Covid-19; all of them were insured and none of them died, Malkov said.