Rosstat: Twice as many people left Russia in the first half of 2022 as in the first half of 2021

419,000 people left Russia in the first half of 2022, the news agency RBC reported, citing Russia's Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat). That’s twice as many people as in the first half of 2021, when only 202,000 left the country.

In the first six months of 2022, Rosstat recorded a net migration outflow (-96,700). That’s another change from the first half of 2021, when Russia experienced a net influx (+114,000).

In the same period in 2022, 368,000 people left Russia for other CIS countries, while 294,000 people entered Russia from CIS countries. That means Russia saw a net outflow within the former Soviet Union, losing 73,000 people. In the first six months of last year, there was a net influx from CIS countries: 111,000.

Meanwhile, a little over 50,000 people left Russia for non-CIS countries in the first half of 2022, while 27,000 people came to Russia from non-CIS countries. That’s a net loss of 22,000 people, compared to a net growth of 2,500 people in the first half of 2022.

RBC noted that Russia’s total population decreased by about 480,600 people, or 0.33 percent, in the first half of 2022. That’s compared to a decrease of 307,700 people, or 0.21 percent, in the first half of 2021.