KIEV, June 18 (RIA Novosti) - The population of
Ukraine is steadily declining, losing another 229,000 in 2008
to fall below the psychological figure of 46 million, official
statisticians said.
The former Soviet state's statistics committee said that
as of January 1, 2009, the population was 45,963,000, compared
with 46,192,000 on January 1, 2008.
The population has been declining since 1989, when it was
52 million, and experts say the figure could go down to 30
million by 2050.
One of the main reasons for the decline is a shorter life
span compared to West Europe, particularly for men, who are
outnumbered by women by 3.6 million.
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