[Washington Times] Michael Mainville - Low domestic birthrates and rising immigration from the former Soviet republics are producing explosive growth in Russia's Muslim community, which is on a track to account for more than half the population by midcentury. Russia's overall population is dropping at a rate of 700,000 people a year, largely because of the short life spans and low birthrates of ethnic Russians. The national fertility rate is 1.28 children per woman. The fertility rate for Muslim Tatars living in Moscow is six children per woman, while the Chechen and Ingush communities are averaging 10 children per woman. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Muslims from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan have been flocking to Russia in search of work. Russia's Muslim population has increased by 40 percent since 1989, to about 25 million. By 2015, Muslims will make up a majority of Russia's conscript army.
2006-11-24 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive