Simferopol is the very heart of Crimea. Although it is not a resort city in the truest sense of the word, because it has no access to the sea, it nevertheless ranks second on the peninsula after Sevastopol in terms of the number of inhabitants. So what is the population of Simferopol?
A bit of the history of the city
There is evidence that the valley of the Salgir River has attracted residents since ancient times. There were bison, deer, wild horses and even mammoths. The fertile soil favored agriculture and animal husbandry. Remains of Tauri settlements in the valley dating back to the 9th century BC have been preserved.
In the 4th century BC Scythians settled in the vicinity of the current city, and already in the 3rd century their settlement became the capital of Lesser Scythia. The real name of the city has sunk into oblivion, but in the Greek chronicles it is called Neapolis, that is, "new city". Therefore, historians call it that - Scythian Naples. It was a real city with fortified walls, a square, a royal palace, noisy bazaars and crowded streets. True, all this disappeared in the 3rd century AD. afterthe invasion of the Huns and was buried under piles of earth and ashes. And only in 1827, traces of the ancient capital of the Scythians were discovered on the plateau of the Petrovsky Mountains.
The next inhabitants of this territory were the Tatars, who built the town of Ak-Mechet in the 15th century, which became the residence of the governor of the khan. During the Crimean War, it was captured by the Russian army. Catherine II wanted to build the capital of the Tauride region on this site. A decree was given to the existing constructions of the Ak-Mosque to complete new quarters. The future capital was given the name Simferopol (from the Greek words "benefit" and "city"). The date of foundation of today's center of Crimea is 1784.
Changes in the population of Simferopol
The first residents were retired soldiers and immigrants from Ukraine and Russia. According to the census taken in 1839, 7,000 people lived in the settlement. The population of Simferopol grew smoothly, a breakthrough was observed only after 1874, when the first train arrived at the newly built railway station in the city. So, at the beginning of the 20th century, more than 60,000 people lived in the city. In 1914, before the outbreak of World War I, the population was 91,000.
After the end of the war, only 71,000 remained in Simferopol (data from 1923). The numbers speak for themselves: thousands died, and the once flourishing and developing city lay in ruins. But time does not stand still, Simferopol seemed to have a second wind, and by 1939 the above number doubled, 143,000 people lived and worked in the regional centerman.
But there were difficult years ahead: the Second World War claimed many lives, and the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944 had a negative impact on quantitative indicators. These people were accused of collaborating with the German occupiers and massively exported to the territory of the Mari USSR, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan.
So, as of 1945, the city was half empty: there were only 67,000.
But since that time it began to grow rapidly, new plants and factories were built, infrastructure developed. As a result, in 1959 the population tripled to 186,000, and their number increased at a gigantic pace, reaching 343,565 in 1989.
Population of Simferopol within Ukraine
If we talk about average figures, then after the collapse of the Union and until now, approximately 340,000 people lived in the regional center, and this figure slightly fluctuated within 1-2%. For example, according to the data of 2001, the population of Simferopol was 343,644, and in 2009 - 337,139.
Future prospects
Now the demographic growth as such has actually stopped. This is a problem not only for Simferopol, since since the late 1980s the post-Soviet space has seen a decline in the birth rate, and this Crimean city is no exception. Although a special program was introduced to encourage the birth rate (the state provided material assistance for child care), this did not significantly affect demographic indicators. In addition to natural growth, there is also migration, but this phenomenontemporary and will not save the situation either.
Of course, there is no need to trumpet that Simferopol is dying out. This is a large comfortable city with a temperate Crimean climate and developed infrastructure.
There are many educational institutions here, so the concentration of students here is guaranteed. And life here does not stop with the end of the tourist season, as in other cities of the southern coast of Crimea. After all, it is still a regional center with many administrative institutions. In a word, there are prospects for further growth or at least demographic stability.
Population of Simferopol since 2014
Data for 2013 show that 337,285 people lived in the city. After the events of 2014, many Simferopol residents left the peninsula, and the population decreased by 5,000 inhabitants, so there were 332,317 people in the city. 2015 turned out to be stable, there is even a slight increase. Now the population of Simferopol is 332,608 inhabitants.
What will happen next, time will tell, it is difficult to predict anything in the current political situation.
Composition of population
There is data from 2002, which indicates that 66.8% of Simferopol residents are Russians by nationality (at that time this figure was 225,898 people), 20.8% - Ukrainians (70,143 people), 7.4% - Crimean Tatars (25,005 people). 5% identified themselves as other nationalities (Jews, Armenians, Belarusians, Azerbaijanis, etc.). As can be seen from these figures, the population of the city of Simferopolmultinational, however, as in the whole Crimea. It is especially valuable that representatives of the Crimean Tatar culture live next to Russians and Ukrainians in their historical homeland (after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they were allowed to return to Crimea).
Main occupations of the population
Where do most people work? Can the city in the conditions of the economic crisis provide decent work for its population?
Simferopol is a large industrial center. About 70 enterprises operate in the city. The main industries are mechanical engineering, food and light industry. Particularly noteworthy is the Fiolent plant, which produces power tools, micromachines and ship automation. Also important enterprises are the plant "Santekhprom", clothing, leather goods, confectionery, pasta factories, as well as a cannery. Simferopol produces household chemicals, plastics, essential oils.
The population of Simferopol also works in the field of transport, since a railway passes through the city, connecting the administrative center with other cities of the peninsula and with the outside world. From the city you can get to any point of the Crimea thanks to the bus service. Also, two airports have been built here, one of which is of international class. All this provides residents with jobs.
Judging by all this, Simferopol has a future. And if so, then the demographics will not stand still.
