Kaliningrad is a special city. Its history, geographical location, climate significantly distinguish it from other cities of Russia. We will tell you about the population of Kaliningrad, its demographic indicators and living conditions.
Settlement history
In the west of the Russian Federation is a city that connects with the rest of the country only by sea. This half-exclave is Kaliningrad. The settlement was located at the confluence of the Pregol River into the Baltic Sea. A convenient place on the riverbank has long been inhabited by people. The first settlers lived here in the Bronze Age. Permanent settlement appeared in the 6th century.
The history of the city is associated with various cultures: German, Polish, Lithuanian. A significant role in the formation and development of the city was played by the Teutonic Order. Kaliningrad survived many destructive wars, the worst of which was World War II. After it, the city became part of the Soviet Union and began a new life. The population of Kaliningrad (Koenigsberg) has been growing throughout almost the entire history; this was facilitated by an exceptionally convenient geographical position.
Climate and ecology
Despite the fact that Kaliningrad is located in the northern latitudes, here, thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, a comfortable temperature is kept all year round. True, the characteristics of this region are rather high humidity, about 800 mm of precipitation falls here per year. In Kaliningrad there is no heat and severe frost. In summer, the thermometer rises to an average of 18 degrees Celsius, in winter it drops to 0 ...- 2 degrees.
Such mild weather attracted residents to the region, due to which the population of the city of Kaliningrad steadily grew from century to century. And today the city is an attractive place for migrants. Despite the growing number of residents, the ecology in the city is within normal limits. Of course, the increasing number of cars pollutes the air, but in general this is not yet critical. There are no harmful industries in the city, so the water and air here are quite clean.
Population dynamics
It is known that in 1897 162 thousand people lived in Koenigsberg. Regularly, the population of Kaliningrad begins to be estimated from 1956, then there were 188 thousand citizens. Since that time, the number of residents has been constantly growing, a slight decline was observed in 1986. A decrease in the number of Kaliningraders was recorded from 2000 to 2009. After this, an increase in the number of inhabitants was again observed. Today, Kaliningrad, whose population (2016) is 459 thousand people, is one of the most attractive places to move from other regions of the country and neighboring countries.
Demographic indicators
In recent years, the population of the city of Kaliningrad has been increasing mainly due to migrants. For several years in a row, the city recorded a negative natural increase in residents. Kaliningrad clearly demonstrates a pan-European tendency to increase people's life expectancy and aging populations. Today, for every thousand able-bodied Kaliningraders, there are 722 disabled people (children and pensioners). Such a high coefficient of the pension burden creates quite big problems for the city budget, and so far no solution has been found for them.
Economics and quality of life
Stable population growth is usually associated with a good quality of life. In Kaliningrad, the economic situation as a whole is quite prosperous, although the financial crisis is felt and production is declining. Unemployment in the city officially makes up about 1%, but in reality there are more unemployed, there are problems with employment, especially for specialists with higher education.
Two large enterprises operate in the city: the carriage and shipbuilding plants, and the service sector is also well developed. There is also a good social infrastructure: a sufficient number of hospitals, schools, leisure facilities. But the roads, according to the townspeople, require additional attention, but this is already an all-Russian problem. In general, Kaliningrad has a fairly high standard of living, and therefore people from other regions tend to come here. This leads to the fact that the population of Kaliningrad is steadily increasing, albeit at a slow pace.