Population

Subject / Ethnic culture
Population. According to the census of 2002 in the Leningrad Oblast there were 1669,205 thousand people; according to the estimate made on 1 July 2005 there were 1647,6 thousand people including the town dwellers numbering 1093,9 thousand people (the biggest towns are Gatchina, Vyborg, Tikhvin, Volkhov, Kirichi, Kingisepp), the country dwellers numbering 553,7 thousand people. The average size of a village is a one where 150-170 dwellers live, the villages with population more than 500 people amount to 5 per cent (they are situated on the south of the Leningrad Oblast and near S.Petersburg). In the 20th century the population size of the Leningrad Oblast increased excepting the periods of the Civil War and World War II. According to the census of 1897 on the territory of the present Leningrad Oblast about 1 million people lived, in 1926 - 970 thousand people, in 1939 - 1200 thousand people, in 1959 - 1245 thousand people, in 1970 - 1399 thousand people, in 1979 - 1515 thousand people, 1989 - 1659 thousand people. At the turn of the 20th - the 21st centuries there wasn't any substantial reduction of the population size. It was available due to immigration as the population death rate exceeded the birth rate. So, in the first half-year of 2005 the number of the deceased exceeded the number of the people were born 2,7 times (17090 people and 6391 people respectively). The average population density is 19,8 people by a square kilometer (country population density is 7 people by a square kilometer. It is 2,5 - 3 times more than in the neighbour Novgorod and Pskov oblasts). Western districts of the Leningrad Oblast are traditionally more densely populated than eastern ones. At the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries population density of Izhora Pogost, including the lands of Prinevye, was 2,5- 3 people by a square kilometer. S.Petersburg, which is a separate constituent territory of Russian Federation, influences a lot on placement and employment of the population of the Leningrad Oblast. At present 39% of the able-bodied population are occupied in industry, 34% - in service industries, 18% - in agriculture, 9% - in transport. In the second quarter 2005 a correlation between the average income per head and the living wage increased in comparison with the level of 2004 (167,3% and 156,1% respectively). 60% of the population had the incomes less than the average income per person in the Leningrad Oblast in whole. For the last millenium the ethnic composition of the population of the Leningrad Oblast
(mainly its western part) changed repeatedly. In the 7th century the Slavs came to the region settled by Finno-Ugric peoples. After signing the Orekhovets Treaty (Treaty of Nöteborg or Treaty of Oreshek) in 1323, which fixed a border between Sweden and Novgorod possessions, Finns from the Central Finland resettled to the western (Swedish) part of the Karelian Isthmus. In the 17th century after passing the Karelian Isthmus and Ingermanlandia to Sweden there was a migration of the Orthodox population (Karelians, Russians) to Russia, the lands which became deserted were occupied by Finns-Lutherans (see Finns of Ingermanlandia). In the 1930s-40s in the Leningrad Oblast ethnic deportation affected the Baltic and Finnish population and Germans were carried out. Finns, who had lived on the territory of the present Vyborg and Priozersk districts, resettled to Finland during the Soviet -Finnish War in 1939-40 (in 1941-44 a part of Finns returned to the previous places of living for a short period of time ). In the 1940-50s organized resettlement of Russians (Byelorussians in a less degree ) from other regions of the USSR was carried out. In 2002 there were 1495,295 thousand of Russians, 7965 Finns of Ingermanlandia, 2019 Veps, 2057 Karelians, 177 Izora, 12 Votes, 1409 Estonians, 2373 Germans. Among the rest of ethnic groups the East Slavic peoples prevail: Ukrainians - 41842 people, Byelorussians - 26 290 people. During the last decades there was increasing the number of other ethnic communities: Tatars - 9450 people, Armenians - 5518 people, Gipsies - 4573 people, Azerbaijanians - 3855 people, Chuvashes - 2817 people, Mordvins - 2245 people, Moldavians - 1977 people, Bashkirs - 1102 people, Uzbeks - 1001 people. The number of the rest of communities is less than 1000 people. On the territory of the Leningrad Oblast there are illegal immigrants not taken into account by the official statistics. Chistyakov, Anton Yuryevich
Neighbouring Territories/Finland
Leningrad Oblast, the/Gatchina District/Gatchina Town
Historical Toponyms/Ingermanlandia (Ingria)
Historical Toponyms/Izhora Pogost
Topographical landmarks/Karelian Isthmus, the
Leningrad Oblast, the/Kingisepp District/Kingisepp Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Kirishi District/Kirishi Town
Neighbouring Territories/Novgorod Oblast, the
Topographical landmarks/Prinevye
Leningrad Oblast, the/Priozersk District
Neighbouring Territories/Pskov Oblast, the
Leningrad Oblast, the/Tikhvin District/Tikhvin Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Volkhov District/Volkhov Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Vyborg District
Leningrad Oblast, the/Vyborg District/Vyborg Town
Исаченко Г. А. «Окно в Европу»: История и ландшафты. СПб., 1998, С 53-168
Мы живем на одной земле: Население Петербурга и Ленингр. обл. / Сост. и науч. ред. К. В. Чистов. СПб., 1992., С 53-168
Даринский А.В. География Ленинградской области. СПб., 1996., С. 64-71
Finns
Finns of Ingermanlandia
Izhora (Izhora men)
Karelians
Veps
Vod (Votes)