Despite its immense expanse, Russia faces a staggering population crisis, its numbers dwindling to 146 million as emigration, low birth rates, and a stark gender imbalance paint a challenging demographic future.
Key Takeaways
- As of January 1, 2024, Russia's total population was 146,152,802 persons, reflecting a 0.31% decline from the previous year due to negative natural increase and net migration
- Russia's population density in 2023 averaged 8.5 persons per square kilometer, with vast disparities between European and Siberian regions
- In 2022, Russia's population growth rate was -0.49%, one of the lowest globally, driven by a crude death rate exceeding births
- Russia's median age in 2023 was 40.3 years, indicating advanced demographic aging
- Population aged 0-14 years comprised 17.2% of total in 2022, down from 25% in 1990
- Working-age population (15-64) was 65.8% in 2023, projected to drop to 58% by 2046
- Russia's sex ratio at birth was 105.8 males per 100 females in 2022
- Overall sex ratio in 2023 was 86.8 males per 100 females, due to higher male mortality
- Male population was 67.9 million (46.4%) vs females 78.3 million (53.6%) in 2023
- Urban population share reached 75.0% in 2023, up from 73.7% in 2010
- Rural population declined to 36.6 million (25%) in 2023, accelerating depopulation
- Moscow urban agglomeration population was 20.0 million in 2023, 13.7% national share
- Russians (ethnic) comprise 80.85% of population per 2021 census
- Tatars second largest at 3.87% or 5.3 million in 2021 census
- Ukrainians 1.35% (1.9M) in 2021, down from 1.4% in 2010 due to migration
Russia's population is declining and aging due to low birth rates and high mortality.
Age Structure and Dependency
- Russia's median age in 2023 was 40.3 years, indicating advanced demographic aging
- Population aged 0-14 years comprised 17.2% of total in 2022, down from 25% in 1990
- Working-age population (15-64) was 65.8% in 2023, projected to drop to 58% by 2046
- Elderly population (65+) reached 15.9% in 2023, highest in Moscow at 19.4%
- Youth dependency ratio in 2022 was 26.1 dependents per 100 working-age
- Old-age dependency ratio was 24.2 in 2023, straining pension systems
- Total dependency ratio peaked at 52.0 in 2006, now 50.3 in 2023
- In 2023, 20.7 million Russians were over 65, with women outnumbering men 2:1
- Centenarians (100+) numbered 24,320 in 2023, up 12% from 2022
- Moscow's median age was 39.8 years in 2023, younger than national average due to migrants
- Siberia's age dependency ratio was 55.2 in 2023, highest regionally due to youth outmigration
- Children under 5 numbered 8.9 million in 2022, 6.1% of population
- Population aged 80+ was 3.2 million in 2023, projected to double by 2050
- Rural elderly share was 28% vs 14% urban in 2023, exacerbating rural decline
- Life expectancy at birth shapes age pyramid, with 73.4 years average in 2023
- School-age population (7-17) was 17.5 million in 2023, declining 1.2% yearly
- Pension-age population eligibility covers 28 million in 2023 under current laws
Age Structure and Dependency Interpretation
Russia is aging like a fine but neglected wine, with a dwindling youth population to pour it, a ballooning elderly cohort to drink it, and a shrinking workforce stuck with the tab.
Ethnic and Cultural Demographics
- Russians (ethnic) comprise 80.85% of population per 2021 census
- Tatars second largest at 3.87% or 5.3 million in 2021 census
- Ukrainians 1.35% (1.9M) in 2021, down from 1.4% in 2010 due to migration
- Bashkirs 1.15% (1.57M), concentrated in Bashkortostan republic 2021
- Chuvash 0.97% (1.3M), Volga-Ural autonomous group 2021 census
- Chechens 1.43% (2M), North Caucasus largest minority growth 2021
- Armenians 0.86% (1.18M), largest diaspora in Moscow/Siberia 2021
- Avars 0.70% (970K), Dagestan dominant group 2021 census
- Mordvins 0.44% (600K), Finno-Ugric decline from 2010 2021
- Yakuts (Sakha) 0.46% (640K), Far East indigenous majority 2021
- Indigenous small-numbered peoples total 300K or 0.2% in 2023, 40 groups
- Muslims estimated 14-20 million (10-14%) in 2023, growing via fertility
- Russian Orthodox adherents 41% self-identify in 2023 Levada poll
- Buryats 0.36% (500K), Mongolian group in Baikal region 2021
- Languages: Russian spoken by 97.6%, Tatar 3.2% in 2021 census
Ethnic and Cultural Demographics Interpretation
Even as Russia often presents itself as a monolith, its own census reveals a stubbornly diverse, multi-ethnic empire where the majority's 80% share masks a complex tapestry of growing, shrinking, and migrating peoples, all under one vast and complicated roof.
Gender Distribution and Ratios
- Russia's sex ratio at birth was 105.8 males per 100 females in 2022
- Overall sex ratio in 2023 was 86.8 males per 100 females, due to higher male mortality
- Male population was 67.9 million (46.4%) vs females 78.3 million (53.6%) in 2023
- Sex ratio for 0-14 age group was 105.2 males/100 females in 2023
- For 15-64, sex ratio was 92.1 males/100 females, reflecting war losses and health gaps
- Over 65, sex ratio was 44.5 males/100 females, extreme feminization
- Moscow's sex ratio was 88.6 males/100 females in 2023, less imbalanced than national
- Rural areas had 78.2 males/100 females vs urban 89.4 in 2023
- Life expectancy gap: males 68.5 years, females 78.4 years in 2023
- Male crude death rate was 16.2 per 1000 vs female 12.1 in 2022
- Working-age males outnumbered in industrial regions like Chelyabinsk at 95/100
- Tuva Republic's sex ratio was 96.5/100, highest nationally due to nomadic traditions
- Infant mortality sex ratio favors females at 1.15 male deaths per female in 2023
- Suicide rates: males 45.2 per 100,000 vs females 8.1 in 2022
- Alcohol-related deaths: 70% male in 2023 statistics
- Military-age males (18-27) totaled 10.2 million in 2023 pre-mobilization
Gender Distribution and Ratios Interpretation
While Russia starts with a promising surplus of baby boys, a grim cocktail of war, work, vodka, and a health gap ruthlessly culls them, leaving a nation where women increasingly outnumber men from middle age onward, and grandmothers profoundly outnumber grandfathers.
Overall Population Metrics
- As of January 1, 2024, Russia's total population was 146,152,802 persons, reflecting a 0.31% decline from the previous year due to negative natural increase and net migration
- Russia's population density in 2023 averaged 8.5 persons per square kilometer, with vast disparities between European and Siberian regions
- In 2022, Russia's population growth rate was -0.49%, one of the lowest globally, driven by a crude death rate exceeding births
- Projected population for Russia in 2050 by UN medium variant is 132,349,000, assuming continued low fertility and moderate migration
- As of 2023, Russia's de jure population (registered residents) stood at 146.4 million, while de facto was lower due to unregistered migrants
- Russia's population in 1897 census was 125,640,021, marking the start of modern demographic records
- In 2023, total population of Moscow federal city reached 13,097,577, the largest urban agglomeration in Europe
- Siberia Federal District's population in 2023 was 17,028,217, comprising 11.6% of national total with low density
- Far Eastern Federal District's population declined to 7,976,558 in 2023, a 0.7% drop due to out-migration
- Northwestern Federal District's 2023 population was 13,859,635, with high urbanization rates
- Southern Federal District's population grew to 16,746,486 in 2023, boosted by internal migration
- North Caucasian Federal District's 2023 population was 10,171,556, with highest fertility rates in Russia
- Central Federal District's population in 2023 was 40,318,986, 27.6% of Russia's total
- Volga Federal District's 2023 population stood at 28,567,287, featuring diverse ethnic groups
- Ural Federal District's population was 12,080,747 in 2023, industrial hub with aging populace
- Russia's population at 2021 census was 147,182,123 including Crimea, up from preliminary estimates
- Crimea Federal District's 2023 population was 1,905,762, post-annexation growth via migration
- Kaliningrad Oblast's 2023 population was 1,032,228, exclave with unique demographic pressures
- Nenets Autonomous Okrug's population in 2023 was 44,058, lowest among federal subjects
- Chukotka Autonomous Okrug's 2023 population was 47,945, with extreme density challenges
- Magadan Oblast's population fell to 136,085 in 2023, severe depopulation trend
Overall Population Metrics Interpretation
Russia's vast but sparsely populated landscape is slowly hollowing out, as the relentless arithmetic of low birth rates, high mortality, and a westward drift of its citizens gradually turns its immense eastern frontiers into echoing, empty spaces.
Spatial Distribution
- Urban population share reached 75.0% in 2023, up from 73.7% in 2010
- Rural population declined to 36.6 million (25%) in 2023, accelerating depopulation
- Moscow urban agglomeration population was 20.0 million in 2023, 13.7% national share
- St. Petersburg metro area had 6.4 million residents in 2023, second largest
- Novosibirsk oblast urbanized at 81.2% in 2023, Siberian tech hub
- Over 1,100 cities and towns house 74% of urban dwellers in 2023
- Rural density in Central Russia averages 40/km² vs 1/km² in Far East 2023
- 15 mono-cities with over 75% population in single enterprise, 2.5M people 2023
- Northern urban areas like Murmansk have 95% urbanization despite harsh climate
- Black Sea coast cities grew 1.2% in 2023 via tourism migration
- Transbaikal region's rural share 45.6% in 2023, high for east
- Arctic zone population 2.4 million across 18 subjects in 2023, shrinking
- Volga region's urban density 250/km² in key areas like Tatarstan 2023
Spatial Distribution Interpretation
Russia is becoming a nation of urban clusters, from Moscow's mammoth dominance to resilient Arctic cities, while its vast rural heartland empties out—a transformation both impressive and, for many remote communities, quietly alarming.
Vital Rates and Migration
- Total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.41 births per woman in 2023, below replacement 2.1
- Crude birth rate 8.6 per 1000 in 2023, lowest since 1999 except COVID
- 1,264,000 births registered in 2023, down 3.5% from 2022
- Crude death rate 15.9 per 1000 in 2023, elevated post-COVID
- Natural increase -908,000 in 2023, 113th consecutive month negative
- Net migration +144,000 in 2023, offsetting half natural loss
- Infant mortality rate fell to 4.6 per 1000 live births in 2023
- Maternal mortality 11.2 per 100,000 live births in 2022 WHO data
- Life expectancy at birth 73.4 years in 2023, males 68.5, females 78.4
- Abortion rate 36.5 per 1000 women 15-49 in 2023, halved since 2010
- International migrants 11.6 million (8%) in 2020 UN data, mostly CIS
- Emigration peaked at 1.1 million in 2022 post-mobilization
- Remittances inflow $13.4 billion in 2023, Central Asian labor migrants
- Internal migration net to Moscow +200,000 yearly average 2018-2023
Vital Rates and Migration Interpretation
Russia is caught in a long-term demographic vise: its people are having too few children to replace themselves while death rates stubbornly climb, leaving the nation reliant on migrants to partially fill the deepening human deficit.
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