Russia's population continues to fall

Russia’s population dropped by nearly 800,000 last year, the Russian statistics agency said, as the country continued a trend that some demographers have labelled a population crisis.

The Federal State Statistics Service said in a report released today in Moscow that the population dropped by 0.5% – 790,100 – to 143.4 million people as of January 1. In 2003 Russia’s population dropped by 0.6%, or more than 800,000.