Russia population shrinks by 113,000

MOSCOW: Russia’s population shrank by over 113,000 in January, official data showed Friday, more than double its rate of decline over the same month last year, as the country is battered by the pandemic. The Rosstat statistics agency released figures showing that in January Russia saw 219,769 deaths and 106,603 births, meaning its population shrunk by 113,116. The decline was 2.5 times as much as the decrease of 45,255 people in January 2020.