Demographics of Russia

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Demography of Russia 1992-2003. Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands
Demography of Russia 1992-2003. Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands

Russia's area is about 17 million square kilometers (6.5 million sq. mi.). It remains the largest country in the world by more than 7 million square kilometers (2.5 million sq. mi.). Its population density is about 9 persons per square kilometer (22 per sq. mi.), making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Its population is predominantly urban.

Contents

According to the 2002 Russian Census, Russia had 145,166,731 inhabitants, including 106,003,702 in the four European federal districts, and 39,129,729 in the three Asian federal districts.

Most Russians derive from the Eastern Slavic family of peoples, with Turkic (8.4%), Caucasian (3.3%), Uralic (1.9%) and other minorities.

Births: 1,476,200 (2006) [1]

Deaths: 2,165,700 (2006)

Population Growth Rate (2006): -0.39%[2]

Birth rate: 9.95 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 14.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Population structure:
0-14 years: 14.2%
15-64 years: 71.3%
65 years and over: 14.4% (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.08 years
male: 60.45 years
female: 74.1 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)

For detailed TFR by federal regions in 2005, see TFR Russia

In 2006, the regions with the highest population growth rate were Chechenya (1.79%), Aginsky Buryatia (1.19%), Ingushetia (1.16%), Yamalo-Nenets (0.73%), Daghestan (0.65%), Yugra (0.62%), Tyumen(0.48%), Altay Republic (0.45%), Tyva Republic (0.3%) and Moscow (0.22%). The regions with lowest growth rate were Koryakia (-2.68%), Magadan (-1.78%), Evenkia (-1.68%), Taymiria (-1.60%), Pskov (-1.56%), Smolensk (-1.25%), Tambov (-1.22%), Tula (-1.21%), Novgorod (-1.17%) and Kurgan (-1.16%). [3]

Suicide rate: According to the WHO, Russia has a yearly 38.7 suicides per 100,000 people, the second-highest suicide rate in the world.

Population aging

Lower birth rates and higher death rates reduced Russia's population at a 0.5% annual rate during the 1990s. This rate however is accelerating. [1] For every 1,000 Russians there are 16 deaths and just 10.6 births leading to a population decline of about 750,000 to 800,000 a year. The UN warned that Russia's 2005 population of about 140 million could fall by a third by 2050. However the number of Russians living in poverty has halved since the economic crisis following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the improving economy has had a positive impact on the country's low birth-rate (According to the US Census Bureau the nadir was 8.27 per 1000 in 1999 the 2006 rate is estimated at 9.95 per 1000. For comparison the US birth rate in 2006 is 14.14 and the current UK birth rate is 10.71 per 1000)[2].

By comparison, in many developed countries birth rates have also dropped below the long-term population replacement rate. Most countries "use" immigration to avoid the population actually declining. Population decline is particularly drastic in Russia, with higher death rates especially among working-age males due to poverty, abuse of alcohol and other substances, disease, stress, and other afflictions. (According to the US Census Bureau the death rate in 1989 was 10.76 per 1000, the low point came in 2001 at 15.45 per 1000, the 2006 rate is estimated at 14.65. For comparison the current US death rate is 8.26 per 1000 and the UK death rate is 10.13 per 1000) Russians mostly disapprove of permanent or temporary immigration of working-age males from countries other than the Russian-speaking former Soviet states.

The crisis and planned government measures to halt it was a key subject of Vladimir Putin's 2006 state of the nation address[3].

It is estimated that there are more abortions than births in Russia. In 2004, at least 1.6 million women had an abortion (a fifth of them under the age of 18) and about 1.5 million gave birth. The reason behind this high abortion rate is the fact that the birth of a first child pushes many families into poverty. [4]

  • Abortion (see above)
  • Smoking, drug abuse and alcoholism
  • Pollution and environmental degradation, leading to birth defects and miscarriages

The Russian Federation is home to as many as 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples, referred to collectively as rossiyane. As of the 2002 census, 79.83% of the population (115,889,107 people) is ethnically Russian, followed by (groups larger than one million):

Most smaller groups live compactly in their respective regions and can be categorized by language group The ethnic divisions used here are those of the official census, and may in some respects be controversial. The following lists all ethnicites resolved by the 2002 census, grouped by language:

  • Ket 1,494 (0.00%)

Some 1.6% of the population are ethnicities not native to the Russian territory. The census has an additional group of 'other' ethnicities of 42,980 (0.03%).

See also: Northern indigenous peoples of Russia, Detailed Table of 2002 census

The demographic structure of Russia has gradually changed over time. In 1970, Russia had the third largest population of Jews in the world, estimated at 2,150,000, following only that of the United States and Israel. By 2002, due to Jewish emigration, their number fell as low as 230,000. A sizeable emigration of other minorities has been enduring, too. Predominantly these are European peoples like Germans, Czechs, Greeks and members of their families. The main destinations are the USA (Jews, Meskhetian Turks etc.), Israel (Jews), Germany (Germans and Jews), Canada, Finland (Finns).

At the same time, Russia experiences a constant flow of immigration. On average, 200,000 legal immigrants enter the country every year; about half are ethnic Russians from the other republics of the former Soviet Union. In addition, there are at least 1.5 million illegal immigrants in the country. There is a significant inflow of ethnic Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks, and Ukrainians into big Russian cities, something that is viewed very unfavorably by many citizens and even gives rise to nationalist sentiments. Numbers of Chinese flee the overpopulation and birth control regulations of their home country and settle in the Far East and in southern Siberia. Many immigrant ethnic groups have much higher birth rates than native Russians, further shifting the balance.

Median ages of ethnic groups vary considerably between groups. Ethnic Russians and other Slavic and Finnic groups have higher median age compared to the Caucasian groups.

Median ages are strongly correlated with fertility rates, ethnic groups with higher fertility rates have lower median ages, and vice versa. For example, in 2002, in the ethnic group with the lowest median age - Ingush - women 35 or older had, on average, 4.05 children; in the ethnic group with the highest median age - Jews - women 35 or older averaged only 1.37 children. [4]

Ethnic Jews have both the highest median age and the lowest fertility rate; this is a consequence of Jewish emigration.

Ethnic Russians represent a significant deviation from the pattern, with second lowest fertility rate of all major groups, but relatively low median age (37.6 years). This phenomenon is at least partly due to the fact that children from mixed marriages are often registered as ethnic Russians in the census.

The following table shows the variation in median age and fertility rates according to 2002 census. [5]

Ethnic Group Med Age Male Female Urban U.Male U.Female Rural R.Male R.Female Children/woman

(age 15+)

 Children/woman

(age 35+)
Russian 37.6 34.0 40.5 37.1 33.5 40.1 39.0 35.7 41.7 1.446 1.828
Tatar 37.7 35.3 39.6 37.2 34.7 39.1 38.8 36.5 41.1 1.711 2.204
Ukrainian 45.9 44.7 47.3 45.6 44.5 46.8 47.0 45.2 49.0 1.726 1.946
Bashkir 34.2 32.1 36.2 32.9 30.6 34.7 35.4 33.3 37.6 1.969 2.658
Chuvash 38.6 36.4 40.4 37.9 36.3 39.1 39.4 36.5 42.5 1.884 2.379
Chechen 22.8 22.1 23.5 22.9 22.5 23.4 22.7 21.9 23.5 2.163 3.456
Armene 32.8 33.4 32.0 33.0 33.7 32.2 32.1 32.6 31.5 1.68 2.225
Mordvin 44.4 42.1 46.9 44.2 42.3 45.9 44.7 41.7 48.5 1.986 2.303
Avar 24.6 23.8 25.4 23.8 23.4 24.1 25.1 24.0 26.2 2.09 3.319
Byelorussian 48.0 45.9 50.2 47.7 45.8 49.6 49.1 46.1 52.4 1.765 1.941
Kazakh Kyrghiz 30.2 29.4 31 29.5 29 30.1 30.6 29.7 31.4 2.015 2.964
Udmurt 40.0 37.4 42.0 41.2 39.0 42.6 38.9 36.1 41.3 1.93 2.378
Azerbaidzhani 29.5 31.9 24.6 30.0 32.3 24.7 26.5 28.7 24.1 1.83 2.619
Mari 36.7 34.5 38.5 36.4 34.6 37.7 36.9 34.5 39.3 1.917 2.493
German 39.7 38.2 41.2 39.6 38.0 41.0 40.0 38.4 41.4 1.864 2.443
Kabardin 28.2 27.1 29.3 28.8 27.4 30.2 27.7 26.9 28.4 1.799 2.654
Osset 34.1 32.5 35.7 34.0 32.2 35.7 34.4 33.2 35.6 1.665 2.267
Dargwa 24.6 23.9 25.3 24.3 23.8 24.8 24.8 24.0 25.6 2.162 3.476
Buriot 28.6 26.6 30.5 27.6 25.7 29.5 29.5 27.4 31.5 1.949 2.861
Yakut 26.9 25.1 28.7 26.9 25.2 28.5 27.0 25.1 28.8 1.972 2.843
Kumyk 24.6 23.7 25.4 24.8 23.9 25.6 24.4 23.5 25.2 1.977 3.123
Ingush 22.7 22.4 23.0 22.9 22.5 23.4 22.5 22.3 22.7 2.325 4.05
Lezghin 25.4 25.2 25.7 25.0 25.2 24.8 25.9 25.2 26.6 2.045 3.275
Komi 38.8 35.8 41.0 39.4 35.5 41.6 38.3 36.0 40.4 1.869 2.363
Tyvin 23.0 21.7 24.2 22.3 21.4 23.3 23.6 22.0 25.1 1.996 3.407
Jewish 57.5 55.7 61.1 57.6 55.7 61.2 53.5 52.0 55.3 1.264 1.371
Karachayev 29.5 28.3 30.5 27.6 26.4 28.9 30.5 29.5 31.5 1.86 2.836
Qalmaaq 31.3 29.2 33.3 28.6 26.3 31.3 33.9 32.6 35.1 1.853 2.625
Adyghe 34.2 32.4 36.0 32.0 30.3 33.7 36.2 34.2 38.2 1.757 2.363
Permyak 40.8 38.6 42.7 41.3 39.5 42.5 40.5 38.1 42.8 2.145 2.604
Balkar 30.1 29.5 30.7 29.3 28.8 29.8 30.9 30.1 31.9 1.689 2.624
Karelian 45.7 42.4 48.6 44.7 41.3 47.2 47.0 43.5 51.2 1.823 2.108
Khakass 30.7 28.4 32.9 30.1 27.9 32.4 31.2 28.8 33.5 1.872 2.609
Altay 27.5 25.5 29.4 22.7 21.5 24.2 28.9 26.9 30.8 2.021 2.933
Cherkess 31.2 30.1 32.3 29.7 28.3 30.9 32.1 31.1 33.3 1.807 2.607

Russian is the common official language throughout Russia understood by 99% of its current inhabitants and widespread in many adjacent areas of Asia and Eastern Europe. National subdivisions of Russia have additional official languages, see their respective articles. There more than 100 languages spoken in Russia. Many of them are in danger of extinction.

Main article: Religion in Russia
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow.
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow.
View of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow.
View of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow.

The most widespread religion in Russia is Eastern Orthodox Christianity dominated by Russian Orthodox Church.

Since the end of Soviet rule, up to 60% of citizens of Russia, including up to 80% of ethnic Russians, have identified themselves as Orthodox, Even non-religious ethnic Russians mostly associate themselves with Orthodox faith for cultural reasons [5]. Second largest religion is Islam, whose followers are estimated to comprise 4-6% of the population. Other branches of Christianity present in Russia include various Protestant faiths, Roman Catholicism, and Old Believers. There is some presence of Judaism, Buddhism, and Krishnaism, as well. These religions typically occur among minority groups and are quite rare among ethnic Russians and other Slavic peoples. Shamanism and other pagan beliefs are present to some extent in remote areas, sometimes syncretized with one of the mainstream religions.

Main article: Education in Russia

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.5%
male: 99.99%
female: 97% (1989 est.)

Russia's free, widespread and in-depth educational system, inherited with almost no changes from the Soviet Union, has produced nearly 100% literacy. Private schools are rare (although getting more popular) and can be mainly found in the capital region. 97% of children receive their compulsory 9-year basic or complete 11-year education in Russian. Other languages are also used in their respective republics, for instance tatar (1%), Yakut (0.4%) etc.

About 3 million students attend Russia's 519 institutions of higher education and 48 universities. As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and space and aviation research is generally of a high order.

The number of doctors in relation to the population is high by American standards, although medical care in Russia, even in major cities, is below Western standards.

The Russian labor force is undergoing tremendous changes. Although well-educated and skilled, it is largely mismatched to the rapidly changing needs of the Russian economy. Millions of Russian workers are underemployed. Unemployment is highest among women and young people. Many Russian workers compensate by working other part-time jobs. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic dislocation it engendered, the standard of living fell dramatically. The standard of living has been on the rise since 1999, but almost one-third of the population still does not meet the minimum subsistence level for money income. The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade estimates that the percentage of people under the subsistence level will gradually decrease by 23%-25% in the period up to 2005.

As of 2004, the average life expectancy in Russia was 59 years for males and 72 years for females. The biggest factor that contributes to low life expectancy is high mortality among working-age males due to preventable causes (violent crimes, traffic accidents, alcohol etc.) Some infectious diseases are also implicated, such as AIDS/HIV and tuberculosis. Both diseases became widespread in Russia in the 1990s. However, the underlying problems with healthcare in Russia pre-date the post-Soviet period. The Soviet Union had been increasingly lagging behind Western countries in terms of mortality and life expectancy since the late 1960s. By 1985, life expectancy for males was only 62.7 years in Russia, compared to 71.6 in Great Britain and 74.8 in Japan. The turmoil in the early 1990s and the economic crisis in 1998 caused life expectancy in Russia to go down while it was steadily growing in the rest of the world.

Russia and Ukraine are said to have the highest growth rates of HIV infection in the world outside Sub-Saharan Africa. In Russia HIV seems to be transmitted mostly by intravenous drug users sharing needles, although data is very uncertain. There is evidence of growing transmission between sex workers and their clients. Data from the Federal AIDS Center shows that the number of registered cases is doubling every 12 months and by May 1, 2002 had reached 193,400 persons. When this number is adjusted to include people who have not been tested for the disease, estimates of the actual number of infected persons vary from 800,000 to 1 million.

Moscow is the largest city (population 10.1 million) and is the capital of the Federation. Moscow continues to be the center of Russian Government and is increasingly important as an economic and business center. Its cultural tradition is rich, and there are many museums devoted to art, literature, music, dance, history, and science. It has hundreds of churches and dozens of notable cathedrals; it has become Russia's principal magnet for foreign investment and business presence.

St. Petersburg (population 4.6 million), established in 1703 by Peter the Great as the capital of the Russian Empire, was called Petrograd during World War I and Leningrad after 1924. In 1991, as the result of a city referendum, it was renamed St. Petersburg. Under the Tsars, the city was Russia's cultural, intellectual, commercial, financial, and industrial center. After the capital was moved back to Moscow in 1918, the city's political significance declined, but it remained a cultural, scientific, and military-industrial center. The Hermitage is one of the world's great fine arts museums.

Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia, a major industrial city and a transportation hub. The most prominent Russian university outside Moscow and St.Petersburg -- Novosibirsk State University -- is located in a suburb of Novosibirsk.

Vladivostok, located in the Russian Far East, is becoming an important center for trade with the Pacific Rim countries.

Other large cities of importance include, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk), Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Samara, Rostov-na-Donu, and Chelyabinsk.

  1. ^ Russia's population falling fast Steven Eke
  2. ^ for a more detailed description of the demographic patterns, see Nicholas Eberstadt: "Russia, the Sick Man of Europe"; this article is a short version of the same author´s paper "The Russian Federation at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century: Trapped in a Demographic Straightjacket"
  3. ^ Vladimir Putin’s State-of-the-Nation Address
  4. ^ More Abortions Than Births in Russia — Health Official
  5. ^ in Russian:Социология религии


v • d • e
Demographics of Asia

Afghanistan · Armenia · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Cambodia · China (People's Republic of China (Hong Kong • Macau) · Republic of China (Taiwan)) · Cyprus · East Timor · Georgia1 · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel (see also Palestinian territories) · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan1 · Korea (North Korea · South Korea) · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia1 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Thailand · Turkey1 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen

1 Has some territory in Europe.

v • d • e
Demographics of Europe

Albania · Andorra · Armenia2 · Austria · Azerbaijan4 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus2 · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia4 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan1 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia1 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey1 · Ukraine · United Kingdom · Vatican City

Dependencies, autonomies and other territories
Abkhazia4 · Adjara2 · Åland · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Crimea · Faroe Islands · Gibraltar · Guernsey · Isle of Man · Jersey · Kosovo · Nagorno-Karabakh2 · Nakhichevan2 · Transnistria · Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus2, 3

1 Has significant territory in Asia. 2 Entirely in West Asia, but considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons. 3 Only recognised by Turkey. 4 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border between Europe and Asia.

v • d • e
Ethnic groups in Asia

Afghanistan · Armenia · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Cambodia · China (People's Republic of China (Hong Kong • Macau) · Republic of China (Taiwan)) · Cyprus · East Timor · Georgia1 · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel (see also Palestinian territories) · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan1 · Korea (North Korea · South Korea) · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia1 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Thailand · Turkey1 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen

1 Has some territory in Europe.

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