Notebook

Half-a-Million Less

The Russian population declined by 430,000 in 1996, totaling 147.5 million at the end of the year, the Russian State Statistics Committee reported. In 1996, the death rate dropped from 15 to 14.4 per thousand, while the birthrate fell from 9.5 to 9.1. Russian population figures started their decline in 1992, just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which brought a general decline in living standards.