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Demographic Trends in Russia

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Population and Family in the Low Countries 1994

Part of the book series: European Studies of Population ((ESPO,volume 2))

Abstract

In order to understand the demography of Russia today, one needs to know its history and the diversity of its people. This paper describes the main demographic changes in Russia during the 20th century, with an emphasis on recent changes: aging, ethnic composition, mortality, marriage and divorce, fertility and family planning, and migration. It brings together information from a wide range of publications of Russian and Western origin. Much of the data has only become available very recently. Among the main findings are: (1) the number of births declined very rapidly in recent years, mainly a result of the socio-economic situation but also an echo effect of low fertility during World War II, (2) most women marry and have their children in their early twenties, (3) abortion remains the dominant method of family planning, (4) compared to other countries, mortality is particularly high among adult males, largely a consequence of deaths associated with accidents, poisoning, and violence, (5) the difference between female and male life expectancy is the highest in the world more than ten years, (6) of the 25 million Russians living in the other states of the former Soviet Union, less than 10% are expected to resettle in Russia in the near future, (7) the large volume of emigration of Russians expected a few years ago did not occur and is not expected to occur in the near future. International migration to the West mainly consists of Jews, Germans, and Armenians.

1 The Sovjet Union ceased to exist on 31 December 1991. It followed the agreements of Minsk on December 8, 1991 and Alma-Ata on 21 December 1991, creating the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Soviet Union has been in existence since 31 December 1922. On 25 December 1991, the territory of Russia became the Russian Federation (Rossiyskaya Federatsiya).

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  1. Population Research Centre, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Frans Willekens & Sergei Scherbov

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  1. Frans Willekens
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Hans van den Brekel Fred Deven

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Willekens, F., Scherbov, S. (1995). Demographic Trends in Russia. In: van den Brekel, H., Deven, F. (eds) Population and Family in the Low Countries 1994. European Studies of Population, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0269-8_7

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