Demographics of West Miersa

Demographics in West Miersa are gathered by a decennial census held every ten years by the Ministry of Social Development, with the census collecting data on information relating to population and its distribution by age, sex, ethnicity, religion, language, and whether they live in urban areas or not, among other data.

The census only takes place in territory administered by the Miersan Sotirian Republic (excluding the eastern voivodeships and the separatist-controlled regions of Małomiersa), meaning that while the 1947, 1957, 1967, and 1977 censuses include Ziarnokosz and all of Małomiersa, all censuses since 1987 have not included Ziarnokosz, and all of Małomiersa, which has the effect of making comparisons somewhat difficult.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1936	15,256,750	—
1947	17,316,411	+1.16%
1957	20,727,744	+1.81%
1967	20,312,666	−0.20%
1977	19,702,099	−0.30%
1987	19,793,166	+0.05%
1997	19,246,386	−0.28%
2007	18,624,215	−0.33%
2017	17,906,711	−0.39%
Godfredson Plan estimates (1936); Ministry of Social Development (1947-present)

As of the 2017 census, there are 17,906,711 people residing in the territories controlled by the Miersan Sotirian Republic (excluding the eastern voivodeships and the separatist-controlled regions of Małomiersa).

This is a decrease of 717,504 people since the 2007 census, and continuing a long-term trend of population decline since the 1967 census, with most of the population decline caused by emigration to other countries, primarily other countries in Samorspi since the signing of the Treaty of Samistopol in 1989, and death, which has become common as the average median age of the Miersan Sotirian Republic has risen.

Age distribution

As of the 2017 census, the age distribution of the Miersan Sotirian Republic is arranged thusly:

Age	Females	Males	Total	Percent
100+	773	145	918	0.01%
95-99	3,581	1,791	5,372	0.03%
90-94	46,559	46,556	93,115	0.52%
85-89	243,558	238,505	482,063	2.72%
80-84	310,502	207,002	517,504	2.89%
75-79	412,302	137,434	549,736	3.07%
70-74	687,618	458,412	1,146,030	6.40%
65-69	796,163	398,215	1,194,650	6.67%
60-64	871,460	435,730	1,307,189	7.30%
55-59	978,873	489,477	1,468,350	8.20%
50-54	578,082	562,575	1,140,658	6.37%
45-49	541,886	541,670	1,083,356	6.05%
40-44	624,974	624,914	1,249,888	6.98%
35-39	718,069	718,049	1,436,118	8.02%
30-34	382,001	376,872	753,873	4.21%
25-29	497,080	282,735	779,815	4.35%
20-24	563,775	563,357	1,126,932	6.29%
15-19	455,893	478,837	934,730	5.22%
10-14	444,742	468,500	913,242	5.10%
5-9	427,634	449,795	877,429	4.90%
0-4	408,923	432,692	841,615	4.70%
Total	9,993,448	7,913,263	17,906,711	100.00%

Thus, as of the 2017 census, 55.81% of the West Miersan population were female, compared to 44.19% of the population, who were male, with most of the imbalance being attributed to a combination of young men emigrating from West Miersa and the deaths as a result of the Miersan War, either through the war, or by its aftereffects.

The median age of West Miersa is at 46.7 years, an increase from 2007, when it was at 35.2, with 8,988,669 people, or just over half of the population, being over the age of 45. While it is expected to continue growing for another decade, due to youth emigration from West Miersa, it is expected that by 2027, the median age will start to decrease as the older generations begin to die off.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity in West Miersa
Ethnicity			Percentage
Miersan			68.7%
Soravian			18.7%
Radushian			3.1%
Vedmedi			1.8%
Lemovician			1.1%
Savader			0.8%
Other or unknown			5.8%

Of the 17,906,711 people residing in the Miersan Sotirian Republic, the largest ethnic group are the Miersans, comprising 68.7% of the population, or 12,298,192 people, and spread out across West Miersa. The next largest ethnicity are the Soravians, comprising 18.7% of the population, or 3,349,476 people, and predominantly concentrated near the border with Soravia, Vedmed, and Velzemia, and also in major cities like Krada, Sechia, and West Żobrodź.

Of the remaining 12.6% of the population, major minority groups among the remainder of the population include Radushians, at 3.1% of the population, or 555,108 people, the Vedmedis, forming approximately 1.8% of the population, or 314,770 people, Lemovicians, forming 1.1% of the population, or 199,061 people, Savaders, forming 0.8% of the population, or 149,345 people, and Kantemoshans, who form 0.7% of the population, or 125,347 people. A wide array of ethnic groups form the remainder of the population, including Zalyks and Witterites.

Religion

The largest religion in the Miersan Sotirian Republic is Episemialist Sotirianity, comprising approximately 85.0% of the population, or 15,228,956 people. Virtually all Episemialists in West Miersa are members of the Miersan Episemialist Church, with only a handful of recent Episemialist immigrants not being members of the Miersan Episemialist Church. The next largest religion in the country is the Solarian Catholic Church, followed by 12.1% of the population, or 2,168,236 people.

Finally, of the remaining 2.9% of the population, or 509,519 people, 254,767 people, or 1.4% of the population, are irreligious, while the remainder follow other religions, with the largest minority religions or sects being Witterism, Marolevic neopaganism, and TBD.

Per the West Miersan constitution, Sotirianity is the state religion, although the document specifies that "all sects of Sotirianity shall be considered official, in order to accommodate both those who follow the Episemialist and the Catholic Churches," in addition to allowing practice of beliefs other than Sotiranity.

Language

Under the West Miersan constitution, the Miersan Sotirian Republic only recognises Miersan as the official language. However, per the first amendment in 1957, the government has permitted the granting of minority language status, although since 1961, only Soravian has been designated a minority language.

As of the 2017 census, around 66.9% of the population, or 11,979,590 people, declared Miersan to be their first language. This is followed by Soravian, spoken by around 23.5% of the population, or 4,208,077 people, as a first language. Finally, 9.6% of the population, or 1,719,044 people have declared other languages, primarily Vedmedi, Lemovician, or Savader, to be their first language.

While the census does not report on dialect usage, there are three major dialects of Miersan spoken across the country, including northwestern dialect spoken in northern West Miersa, the central dialect, spoken in the central regions of the country, which is the standard language, and the southwestern dialect, spoken in the southern regions of the country. In addition, surzhyk is prevalent, particularly in the western regions near the border with ex-Soravian countries, although one of the most infamous examples of surzhyk, the Kradian dialect, is close to extinction as of 2020.

Largest cities

As of the 2017 census, 53.73% of the population, or 9,621,276 people, live in urban areas (defined as having an area of at least five square kilometres, with a minimum population density of 150 people per square kilometre, and a minimum population of 1,000 people). Of this, 2,610,904 people, or 27.136% of the urbanized population live within the top ten largest cities.

The largest metropolitan area is Krada, with a metropolitan area of 1,129,050 people, or 6.3% of the population, closely followed by West Żobrodź, which has a metropolitan area of 1,002,832 people, or 5.6% of the population, and Sechia, which has a metropolitan area of 362,356 people, or 3.4% of the population.