Total population in Crimea amounts to 2,284,400 people: population census preliminary report

The population of the Crimean Federal District amounts to 2,284,400 people, with 1,889.4 thousand people living in the Republic of Crimea and 395 thousand people – in Sevastopol, according to a preliminary report of the population census conducted in the two new subjects of the Russian Federation, Head of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) Alexander Surinov announced today.

The population census was conducted in the period from October14 to 25. By the preliminary report, the Republic of Crimea is on the 27^th place in Russia by the population, while the town of Sevastopol is on the 77^th place. Female population accounts for 53.9% of total, male population – 46.1%.

The biggest cities of the Republic of Crimea are Simferopol with population of 350.6 thousand people, Kerch – 147 thousand people, Yalta – 133.6 thousand people, Eupatoria - 119.3 thousand people, and Feodosia – 101 thousand people.

Svetlana Nikitina, head of the Rosstat Department for Population Statistics, says the census was conducted with “acceptance of the population.”  

“People lined up at census stations on the first day of the census on October14. It was like a holiday for them,” she says. According to her, only 0.6% of the population refused to participate in the census. Some 2% of the population refused to participate in the countrywide census in Russia in 2010.

According to the head of the Rosstat, the preliminary report is insufficient to draw any substantial conclusions on the population development in Crimea.  Statisticians are to complete data processing in April and report to the Russian government on the census results in May. By the time, the nationality, family members, their education and other characteristics will become known. Specialists will be able compare those data with the results of the countrywide population census in Ukraine in 2001.  The population of Crimea was 2,024,000 people then, and the population of Sevastopol amounted to 377,200 people.

The census cost 386 million rubles. Surinov said a large sum was spent on repair of buildings of the statistical departments in Sevastopol and Simferopol.  New computers were purchased, as the Ukrainian equipment did not meet the requirements of the Russian law on protection of personal data.

As many as 7200 census takers were involved in the census.  

“We managed to pay relatively high rewards this time,” Surinov said.  Census takers received by 13,200 rubles, which accounts for 80% of the average salary in Crimea. The rewards in the course of the population census of 2010 in Russia amounted to 5,500 rubles or ¼ of the average salary.