1989 All-Union Population Census
January 12, 1989 (1989-01-12)–
January 19, 1989 (1989-01-19)
Soviet State Emblem
Census Logo
General information
CountrySoviet Union
Results
Total population286,730,819 (Increase 9.3%)
Most populous ​republicRussian SFSR
147,400,537
Least populous ​republicEstonian SSR
1,572,916
1989 Soviet census information pamphlet
1989 census form

The 1989 Soviet census (Russian: Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989, lit. '1989 All-Union Census'), conducted between 12 and 19 January of that year, was the final census carried out in the Soviet Union. The census found the total population to be 286,730,819 inhabitants.[1] In 1989, the Soviet Union ranked as the third most populous in the world, above the United States (with 248,709,873 inhabitants according to the 1990 census), although it was well below China and India.

Statistics

In 1989, about half of the Soviet Union's total population lived in the Russian SFSR, and approximately one-sixth (18%) of them in the Ukrainian SSR. Almost two-thirds (65.7%) of the population was urban, leaving the rural population with 34.3%.[2] In this way, its gradual increase continued, as shown by the series represented by 47.9%, 56.3% and 62.3% of 1959, 1970 and 1979, respectively.[3]

The last two national censuses (held in 1979 and 1989) showed that the country had been experiencing an average annual increase of about 2.5 million people, although it was a slight decrease from a figure of around 3 million per year in the previous intercensal period, 1959–1970. This post-war increase had contributed to the USSR's partial demographic recovery from the significant population loss that the USSR had suffered during the Great Patriotic War (the Eastern Front of World War II), and before it, during Stalin's Great Purge of 1936–1938. The previous postwar censuses, conducted in 1959, 1970 and 1979, had enumerated 208,826,650, 241,720,134, and 262,436,227 inhabitants, respectively.[3]

In 1990, the Soviet Union was more populated than both the United States and Canada together, having some 40 million more inhabitants than the U.S. alone. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, the combined population of the 15 former Soviet republics stagnated at around 290 million inhabitants for the period 1995–2000.

This significant slowdown may in part be due to the remarkable socio-economic changes that followed the dissolution, that have tended to reduce even more the already decreasing birth rates (which were already showing some signs of decline since the Soviet era, in particular among the people living in the European part of the Soviet Union, beginning from 1988-89).

Regarding the situation today, the population of the 15 Soviet republics is around to 299 million, with much of this growth attributed to the Central Asian states, which have increasing fertility, and in a smaller part Azerbaijan and Russia. Estonia, Belarus, Armenia and Georgia have also recorded some positive growth in the recent years. Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia and Lithuania are in continuous decline in population since early 1990s, although Ukraine's decline seemed to stabilise in early 2010s, before the Ukrainian crisis. Since 2019 Lithuania seems to appear some first signs of stabilisation around 2.8 million.

Largest cities of the USSR according to the 1989 census.
Largest cities of the USSR according to the 1989 census.

Ranking of Soviet republics

Rank
Soviet Republic
Population as of
1979 Census
Population as of
1989 Census[4]
Change
Percent
change
1  Russian SFSR 137,551,000 147,400,537 9,849,537 Increase 7.2% Increase
2  Ukraine 49,755,000 51,706,742 1,951,742 Increase 3.9% Increase
3  Uzbekistan 15,391,000 19,905,158 4,514,158 Increase 29.3% Increase
4  Kazakhstan 14,684,000 16,536,511 1,852,511 Increase 12.6% Increase
5  Byelorussia 9,560,000 10,199,709 639,709 Increase 6.7% Increase
6  Azerbaijan 6,028,000 7,037,867 1,009,867 Increase 16.8% Increase
7  Georgia 5,015,000 5,443,359 428,359 Increase 8.5% Increase
8  Tajikistan 3,801,000 5,108,576 1,307,576 Increase 34.4% Increase
9  Moldavia 3,947,000 4,337,592 390,592 Increase 9.9% Increase
10  Kirghizia 3,529,000 4,290,442 761,442 Increase 21.6% Increase
11  Lithuania 3,398,000 3,689,779 291,779 Increase 8.6% Increase
12  Turkmenia 2,759,000 3,533,925 774,925 Increase 28.1% Increase
13  Armenia 3,031,000 3,287,677 256,677 Increase 8.5% Increase
14  Latvia 2,521,000 2,680,029 159,029 Increase 6.3% Increase
15  Estonia 1,466,000 1,572,916 106,916 Increase 7.3% Increase
   Soviet Union 262,436,000 286,730,819 24,294,819 9.3%

Ethnicities of the Soviet Union

Rank
Ethnicity
Population as of
1989 Census[5]
Percentage
- Total population 285,742,511 100%
1 Russians 145,155,489 50.8%
2 Ukrainians 44,186,006 15.5%
3 Uzbeks 16,697,825 5.8%
4 Belarusians 10,036,251 3.5%
5 Kazakhs 8,135,818 2.8%
6 Azerbaijanis 6,770,403 2.4%
7 Tatars 6,648,760 2.3%
8 Armenians 4,623,232 1.6%
9 Tajiks 4,215,372 1.5%
10 Georgians 3,981,045 1.4%
- Others 35,292,310 12.4%

See also

References

  1. ↑ This is the total "de facto" population (nalichnoye naseleniye – наличное население); the "permanent" population (postoyannoye naseleniye – постоянное население) was about 1 million persons fewer. Over time, the State Statistics Committee changed its method of reporting population totals in censuses. In the 1959 and 1970 censuses, it used the permanent population; in 1979 and 1989 it used the de facto or present population. See Barbara A. Anderson and Brian D. Silver, "'Permanent' and 'Present' Populations in Soviet Statistics," Soviet Studies, Vol. 37, pp. 386-402, July 1985.
  2. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica Book of the Year 1991, Soviet Union, page 720.
  3. 1 2 United Nations: Demographic Yearbook, Historical supplement - Population by sex, residence, and intercensal rates of increase for total population, each census: 1948-1997, on the UN Statistics Division website (unstats.un.org Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine).
  4. ↑ Almanaque Mundial 1996, Editorial América/Televisa, Mexico, 1995, pages 548-552 (Demografía/Biometría table).
  5. ↑ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Demoscope.ru (in Russian).

Further reading

  • Barbara A. Anderson and Brian D. Silver, "Growth and diversity of the population of the Soviet Union", The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , Vol. 510, No. 1, 155–177, 1990.
  • Ralph S. Clem, Ed., Research Guide to Russian and Soviet Censuses, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1986.
  • John C. Dewdney, "Population change in the Soviet Union, 1979-1989," Geography, Vol. 75, Pt. 3, No. 328, July 1990, 273–277.
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