Belgorod Oblast - Demographics

Demographics

In terms of area, the oblast is in the 67th place among the federal subjects of Russia; while in terms of population it is 28th (as of the results of the 2010 Census, up two places compared to the 2002 Census results. According to the results of the 2010 Census, the population of the oblast was 1,532,526, with the urban population of 66.1% and the rural population of 33.9%. This is up from 1,511,620 recorded in the 2002 Census, and 1,380,723 recorded in the 1989 Census.

Population density in 2008 was 56.1 persons per 1 km2. The average age is 38.5 years—35.6 for men and 41 for women; 46% of the population are economically active.

As in other regions of the European part of Russia, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union there has been a natural population decrease (about -5 per 1,000 of the population). In recent years, there has been some reversion of this decline as a result of growth of fertility and mortality. Nevertheless, despite the negative trend of growth, the population of the area has remained relatively stable because of immigration. Belgorod, even in Soviet times, attracted retirement workers from the Far North and Ukraine. This trend has increased since 2005 and now cancels out the natural decline in population. Immigrants also arrive in Belgorod from Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.