RUSSIA'S POPULATION FALLS BY NEARLY 0.5 MLN IN 6 MONTHS

MOSCOW. Aug  20  (Interfax)  -  Russia's  population  decreased by 458,400 or  0.3% in  the first  half  of  2001  to  144.4  million,  the government said on Monday.

In the first six months of 2000, the country's population shrank by 425,400.

"The increase of the population due to migration for the first half of 2001  compensated for  only 5.5%  of the natural decrease," the State Statistical Committee  said.   This is  "the lowest  indicator  for  the entire period  of population  decrease from  1992  to  2000,"  it  said. "Despite the  reduction of  the natural  decrease," the  ratio  is  "the result of  a considerable reduction (from the first half of 2000) in the migration increase."

The birth  rate was  higher and  the death  rate lower in the first half of  2001 than in the first half of 2000. The first half of 2001 saw 644,200 births and 1.13 million deaths, compared with 623,500 births and 1.15 deaths in the first half of 2000. (Число рождений выросло, а число смертей уменьшилось, тем не менее.)

This means a natural decrease of 484,900 for the first half of 2001 compared with 522,700 for the first half of 2000, a 7.2% decline.

There were  more marriages than divorces in the first half of 2001, but the  number of  marriages showed  slower annual  growth than that of divorces. Whereas  400,000 marriages  were registered  in 2001  compared with 349,700  in 2000,  a 14.4% increase, there were 366,000 divorces in 2001 compared with 305,800 in 2000, a 19.7% increase.

Migration-caused population  increase was  79% lower  in the  first half of 2001 than in the first half of 2000. In 2001, 21,600 more people arrived in  Russia than  left the  country, while  in  2000  there  were 100,700 more arrivals than departures (вот, где собака порылась!, в пять раз). Altogether 81,100 people moved to Russia and  59,500 emigrated from it in the first half of 2001, compared with 173,000 and 72,300 respectively in the same period in 2000.

"The number  of migrants  within  Russia  is  also  continuing  the decrease: it  diminished by  72,700 people in the first half of 2001, or 7%, from the first half of 2000," the Committee said.