DEVELOPMENTS AND PROSPECTS FOR POPULATION STATISTICS IN COUNTRIES OF THE FORMER SOVIET-UNION

This paper examines recent developments and prospects for population s tatistics in the former Soviet Union, whose dissolution provides both opportunities and problems. It is important for scholars to be aware o f past limitations of Soviet data, since the formation of independent states has neither removed bureaucratic impediments to the production of high-quality data, nor has it led to a population more ready to ans wer questions fully. Temporarily at least, there is a decrease in the amount and comparability of available information, and in some instanc es, in its quality. We begin with an overview of the system used to ga ther population statistics in the former Soviet Union and its inherent problems. We then discuss the challenges faced by the newly independe nt countries and the changes they need to make to achieve global compa rability, including a shift toward the use of standard international d efinitions and away from political restrictions on data availability.