6 Million ‘Ghosts’: Rosstat Caught in Mass Deception

Rosstat accused of large-scale population data manipulation in Russia — according to demographic experts, the actual population of the country is underestimated by 6 million people. Analyst Alexey Raksha claims that last year's decline in the number of Russians was downplayed fourfold in official agency reports, reports NewsBox.

Demographer Alexey Raksha stated that Rosstat has significantly distorted the population data of Russia, underplaying the rate of decline by a factor of four. By his calculations, the real number of residents is 6 million less than what is shown in official reports.

The expert notes that in 2023, the population of Russia decreased by approximately 500,000 people, while Rosstat reported only a decline of 122,000. He emphasizes that the natural population decrease (the difference between births and deaths) over 11 months was 545,100 people, potentially reaching 587,300 for the entire year. Meanwhile, statistics unexpectedly show a record increase in migrants since 1997 — 464,000 people, despite stricter migration policies and mass deportations.

Interestingly, in September, Rosstat reported a modest migrant increase of 125,000 people, but later withdrew the published data. Two months later, the agency updated its reports, introducing an additional 300,000 migrants "out of nowhere." According to Raksha, demographic data in Russia has become a tool for informational manipulation.

According to his estimates, the real population of Russia is about 140 million, not 146.2 million as stated by Rosstat. The manipulations began, in the expert's opinion, after the authorities acknowledged a demographic crisis and Vladimir Putin demanded to halt the natural population decline, which has exceeded 10 million over 25 years.

Such manipulations have occurred before. For instance, the 2021 census, conducted with numerous violations, added 1.5 to 2 million "ghost" residents to the Russian population. Moreover, the official statistics almost completely ignored the mass emigration following the onset of the war with Ukraine in 2022 — various sources suggest up to 500,000 people left the country.