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Russia's Population Will Be Down a Quarter by Mid-Century
Russia's population will decrease by 32 million, that is by a quarter, in by 2050, according to CIA chief Michael Hayden, speaking at Kansas State University. He noted that Russia will have to attract foreign workers to support its economy. Those workers are likely to include citizens of former Soviet republics and emigrants from China and Central Asia. According to Hayden, that situation will be fraught with potential ethnic and religious conflict.
The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade published a forecast in March saying that Russia's population may shrink to 133 million by 2030. That report also noted that, if negative trends are not reversed, the country's population may fall from its 2007 level of 141.9 million to 138 million by 2020. The greatest reduction will be among the working age population (from 89.8 million to 77.5 million).
The World Bank reported in November 2007 that the population of Russia could shrink by 12 percent by 2025. According to its prognosis, one-fifth of Russians will be over 65 by that date. These demographic tendencies have a negative impact on labor supply. In the next 20 years, the number of working Russians will drop by 3 percent (about 11 million people).
www.kommersant.com
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Photo: Dmitry Lekay