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.
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Population data
According to the 2002 Russian Census, Russia had a total population of 145,166,731, including 106,003,702 in the four European federal districts, and 39,129,729 in the three Asian federal districts. As of January 1, 2008, Russia's population declined to 142,008,838, according to the Russian State Statistics Service.[2][3]
Most Russians derive from the Eastern Slavic family of peoples, the origins of which very little is known about. [4]
Births: 1,602,387 (2007)[2] [5]
Deaths: 2,080,087 (2007)[2]
Population Growth Rate: -0.17%[2]
Birth rate: 11.28 births/1,000 population (2007)[2][5]
Death rate: 14.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007)[2][5]
Net migration rate: 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)[6]
Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (2008 est.)[6]
Sex ratio:[6]
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.45 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Age structure:[6]
0-14 years: 14.6% (male 10,577,858/female 10,033,254)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 48,187,807/female 52,045,102)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male 6,162,400/female 13,695,673) (2008 est.)
Median Age:[6]
total: 38.3 years
male: 35.1 years
female: 41.4 years (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:[7]
total population: 67.7 years
male: 61.5 years
female: 73.9 years (2007)
Infant mortality rate: [6]
total: 10.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.34 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Suicide rate:
Russia currently has a rate of 30 suicides per 100,000 people[8], which although among the highest suicide rates in the world, has been steadily decreasing since it peaked in the late 90s[9], including a 30% drop from 2001 to 2006. About 22% of all suicides are committed by people aged 40-49, and almost six times as many Russian males commit suicide than females.
In 2006, the regions with the highest population growth rate were Chechnya (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%). [10]
For detailed TFR by federal regions in 2005, see TFR Russia
Demographics
Declining population
- See also: Aging of Europe
Lower birth rates and higher death rates reduced Russia's population at a 0.5% annual rate, or about 750,000 to 800,000 people per year during the late 1990s and most of the 2000s. The UN warned that Russia's 2005 population of about 143 million could fall by a third by 2050.[11] However, the number of Russians living in poverty has halved since the economic crisis following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the improving economy has had a positive impact on the country's low birth-rate, as it rose from its lowest point at 8.27 births per 1000 people in 1999 to its current rate of 11.3 per 1000. 2007 marked the highest birth rate growth the country has seen in 25 years, according to the Minister for Health and Social Development, Tatyana Golikova.[5] For comparison, the US and UK birth rates in 2007 were 14.16 and 10.67 per 1000 respectively.
While the Russian birth-rate is comparable to that of other European countries, its population is declining at a much greater rate due to abnormally higher death rate (especially among working-age males due to poverty, abuse of alcohol and other substances, disease, stress, and other afflictions).[citation needed] For comparison, the current US death rate is 8.26 per 1000 and the UK death rate is 10.09 per 1000. However the Russian health ministry predicts that by 2011, the death rate will equal the birth rate due to increases in fertility and decline in mortality.[12]
In many developed countries rates of natural increase have also dropped below the long-term population replacement rate and immigration accounts for the continued rise in population.[citation needed]
Government measures to halt the demographic crisis was a key subject of Vladimir Putin's 2006 state of the nation address.[13] As a result, a national programme was developed to reverse the trend by 2020, the results of which are already being seen. A new study published in 2007 shows that, as a whole, the rate of population decrease has slowed: if the net decrease in January-August 2006 was 408,200 people, this year in the same period it was 196,600. The death rate accounted for 357,000 of these, which is 137,000 less than in 2006. At the same time in the 2007 period, there were just over 1 million births in Russia (981,600 in the 2006 period), whilst deaths decreased from 1,475,000 to 1,402,300. In all, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births by 1.3 times, down from 1.5 in 2006. Eighteen of the 83 provinces showed a natural growth of population (in 2006: 16). The Russian Ministry of Economic Development hopes that by 2020 the population will stabilize at 138-139 million, and by 2025, to increase again to its present day status of 143-145, raising the life expectancy to 75 years. [14]
Abortions
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. One of the reasons behind the high abortion rate is the fact that the birth of a first child pushes many families into poverty. [15] However government steps to help curb the demographic crisis seem to have been taking effect. According to Andrei Seltsovsky, head of the Moscow health department, the number of recorded abortions in Moscow halved between 2000 and 2006, declining from 57,324 to 28,502.[16]
Russia's fertility rate climbed from a low of 1.2 in 2000 to 1.39 in 2007. While still below the 2.1 replacement rate, it continues to show signs of improvement.[17][18]