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U.N. Predicts Extinction of Villagers in Russia
A half of the world’s people will live in urban areas by the end of this year; it will happen first time in the history of humanity, says the World Urbanization Prospects Report presented by the U.N. yesterday. The world urban population will be two-fold above the rural one by 2050. In Russia, nearly all population will become urban by 2025 with Moscow remaining a sole megacity with over 10 million residents, while the country’s population will sink to 128 million.
The U.N. experts predict Russia’s population to go down to 128.2 million by 2025 with 96 percent living in cities and towns. The result will be the dangerous depopulation of vast rural areas. There will be 10 cities with 1 million to 5 million residents and only Moscow will have more than 10 million. In number of residents, this city will be followed by St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg and Nizhni Novgorod.
In 2025, Moscow will have the same number of residents as today, sinking to the 23rd position from the current 18th place in the ranking of the most densely populated cities of the world. The trend will change after 2025, when people start moving from cities and only 88.7 percent will remain urban by 2050. The country’s population will go down to 107.8 million.
Russia had some 142.2 million residents in 2007, according to official statistics. Of them, 73 percent were urban. An average Russian is 66.6 years old, but the men generally live until 60. The population went down by 6 million in the last ten years.
Russia’s authorities provided their estimates and projections past May. It was First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that presented the concept of Russia’s demographic policy up to 2025. The pessimistic scenario sets forth the 27-million reduction to 115 million by 2025. The government, however, sticks to the second scenario that predicts the end of decline by 2011, certain stabilization by 2015 (140 million) and the increase to 145 million by 2025. The plans are to attain these indicators by improving living conditions of the Russians and attracting the migrants.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 28, 2008
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