In Chechnya, birth rate is 5 times mortality rate

According to preliminary results of the 2010 census, the average annual birth rate in Chechnya is about 32,000 newborns against the mortality rate of about 6200, with the migration loss of about 2000, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Ramzan Digaev, head of the Territorial Department of the Russian Federal State Statistics ("Rosstat") for the Chechen Republic.

"According to the 2002 census, the permanent population of the Chechen Republic was 1,103,600 persons. According to preliminary data of the 2010 census, the population of Chechnya was 1,269,100 persons," said Mr Digaev.

His deputy Lala Turlueva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in the post-war period the republic has restored more than 900,000 square meters of housing, educational institutions for 30,000 pupils and outpatient polyclinic institutions - to the total capacity of more than 3000 visits per shift.

She noted that under the 2002 census there were no more than 2-3 percent of non-Chechens in the republic, while before 1991 there were about 40 percent of them; in 2010, the count of returnees surely went up, but there is no exact data so far, as the material are still being processed.

According to Tamara Alieva, a resident of Grozny, recently the housing rental rates has gone up. "Thus, if a year ago it was possible to hire a two-room flat for 5000 roubles per month; now the rates doubled. More and more people return home; not only Chechens, but also Russian-speaking people, residents of Grozny, who were forced to leave Grozny during the war but were unable to integrate and settle down in other regions of Russia," she said.