Mrs. Olga Ivanovna Antonova,

Data are disseminated on the de jure population of the federal level and regional levels of all republics, krays, oblasts, autonomous oblasts, and okrugs of the Russian Federation, broken down by age, sex, urban and rural population, international migration, life expectancy, etc.

In the 2002 All-Russian Population Census, the permanent (de jure) population of Russia comprised citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens, and stateless persons permanently residing and located in the territory of Russia on the date of the census, including those who were temporarily absent. Persons who were temporarily absent consisted of permanent residents of Russia who had left the country as of the census date for work or study for a period of up to one year, sailors at sea, and persons who had left the country to visit relatives and friends, and for medical treatment and vacation, regardless of the duration of the absence.

The permanent population does not include:

• persons temporarily located on the territory of the Russian Federation as of the census date and permanently residing abroad. This group includes persons who have entered the country from abroad for work or study for a period of up to one year and those who have come to visit relatives and friends, and for medical treatment and vacation, regardless of the duration of the stay;
• citizens of the Russian Federation whose jobs require them to live abroad for prolonged periods and family members residing with them.

These population categories were recorded separately.

The data cover the following persons:

• Citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens, and stateless persons located on the territory of the Russian Federation on the date of the All-Russian Population Census, with the exception of foreign citizens enjoying diplomatic immunity;
• citizens of the Russian Federation who are permanent residents of the Russian Federation but are located outside the Russian Federation on the date of the All-Russian Population Census;
• Foreign citizens who enjoy immunity and privileges in accordance with international treaties of the Russian Federation are excluded from the data.

The population estimates are based on the most recent census, which was held in 2002. The All-Russian Population Census is conducted at least once every ten years. 

Population estimates are updated annually with information obtained from administrative records. All births, deaths, marriages, and divorces are recorded at civil registry offices (national coverage). 

The population is determined as of January 1 of each year, based on data from January 1 of the previous year, taking into account natural and migration increases, as well as changes in population size resulting from administrative and territorial reforms over the previous year.

Annual data on the federal level of the Russian Federation are accessible on July 30 of the following year.

All data on population are simultaneously released to the public in Russian in the annual statistical bulletin Численность населения Российской Федерации по полу и возрасту (Number of Population of the Russian Federation on Sex and Age) (issue - October of the following year).

The information is published also in: 

• Российский статистический ежегодник (Statistical Yearbook of Russia) (issue - December of the following year) (in Russian only);
• Демографический ежегодник России (Demographic Yearbook of Russia) (issue - December of the following year) (in Russian only).

The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the terms and conditions of the Положение о Федеральной службе государственной статистики (Statute on the Federal State Statistics Service, Russia), adopted by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on July 30, 2004 №399.

Article 1 of the Statute stipulates that the Federal State Statistics Service (the Rosstat) shall provide official statistical information that constitutes part of government information resources on the country's social, economic, demographic and ecologic standing. 

Article 5.4 of the Statute stipulates that the Federal State Statistics Service shall develop the official statistical methodology for realization of statistical observations and formation of statistical indicators, provide conformity of the specified methodology to the international standards.

Article 5.15 of the Statute stipulates that the Rosstat shall provide in appropriate way the storage and protection of official, banking, tax, commercial secrets and other confidential information, received by the Rosstat during its activities.

The data are final when released. Published data are final, unless the tables indicate either in the title or in footnotes that the data are preliminary.

Revisions are made in two cases:

• when a census is completed, data on the number and structure of population are recompiled till the previous census;
• the data are recompiled as a result of administrative territorial changes (three months after the legislative and regulatory acts of Power). 

The final data from the All-Russian Population Census will be published in 14 volumes. To date, a total of four volumes have been released (in Russian only):

• Volume 1 - Численность и размещение населения (Population Size and Distribution) ;
• Volume 2 - Возрастно-половой состав и состояние в браке (Age and Sex Composition and Marital Status);
• Volume 3 - Образование (Education);
• Volume 5 - Источники средств к существованию (Sources of Livelihood);
• Volume 4 - Национальный состав и владение языками, гражданство (Nationality Composition and Language Fluency, Citizenship) will be released in December 2004.

The methodology for compiling specific indicators of the population is published in the publication Методологические положения по статистике  (Methodological Principles in Statistics).

A copy may be ordered from the Information and Publishing Center "Statistics of Russia" (see the Dissemination Formats Page).

Data on population can be cross-checked by the public against detailed data broken down by the federal and regional levels of the Russian Federation, published in annual publications :

• Российский статистический ежегодник (Statistical Yearbook of Russia) (in Russian only);
• Регионы России. Социально-экономические показатели (Regions of Russia. Social and Economic Indicators) (in Russian only);
• Численность и миграция населения (Number and Migration of Population) (in Russian only) ;
• Естественное движение населения (Natural Movement of the Population) (in Russian only);
• Demographic Yearbook of Russia (Демографический ежегодник России) (in English and in Russian);
• Russia in Figures (Россия в цифрах) (in Russian and in English).