Stagnating Numbers: Separatist South Ossetia Faces Demographic Challenges
The negative dynamics of the main demographic indicators for the recent period were noted at the International Scientific and Practical Conference in the separatist South Ossetia. Vyacheslav Dzhabiev, the head of the Department of Socio-economic Research of the South Ossetian Research Institute, reported in "Analysis of the socio-economic state of the Republic of South Ossetia and prospects for its development."
"In 2018, more than 56,450 people lived in South Ossetia, and in 2022 - 56,260 people; this shows a decrease of 0.3%, and it would seem that these are insignificant figures, but for our small republic - these are negative indicators. For example, countries with an area roughly similar to our republic have a population of half a million or more," Dzhabiyev added.
He also noted that the share of the urban population has significantly increased over five years. "The increase is almost 14% - from 58% to 66%, while the share of the rural population has decreased from 41% to 33%. This shows that urbanization of the population is taking place," he added.