KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine's population declined by an estimated 205,000 people in 1998, and now stands at slightly over 50 million, the State Statistics Committee said Tuesday.
The country's population has been declining steadily in the past several years. A protracted economic decline has left millions impoverished, pushing down birth rates and worsening the national health care system, contributing to higher mortality rates.
The 1998 figures, however, signal a smaller rate of decline from the previous three years, when Ukraine's population was contracting by about 400,000 people annually.
The average life expectancy in the former Soviet republic currently stands at 62.3 years for men and 73.2 for women, approximately nine years behind Western nations, according to official figures.
The Health Ministry recently estimated that Ukraine's population would contract by another 2 million people by as early as 2002.
AP-NY-12-29-98 1000EST