The official name is Russia, the Russian Federation (Russian Federation). It is located in the eastern part of Europe and in the northern part of Asia. The area is 17,075.4 thousand km2, the population is 145.537 million people. (according to preliminary data of the population census held on October 9, 2002). The state language is Russian (according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the republics — the subjects of the Federation, along with Russian, have the right to establish their own state languages). The capital is Moscow (10.358 million people – according to preliminary data from the population census held on October 9, 2002).
Public holidays – Day of the Declaration of State Sovereignty on June 12 (since 1990), Constitution Day on December 12 (since 1993). The monetary unit is the ruble (equal to 100 kopecks).
Member of the UN (since 1945), CIS (since 1991).
Population of Russia
According to Countryaah, Russia ranks 7th in the world in terms of population after China, India, USA, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan. In 1985, the population of the RSFSR was 183.5 million people, in 1989 – 147 million, in 1992 the population of Russia was 148.3 million people. In 2002, the population of Russia was 145.537 million people. Of these, 67.806 million men, 77.731 million women. The permanently resident population of Russia is 145.182 million people.
During 1989–2002, the permanent population of Russia decreased by 1.84 million people, or by 1.3% (Table 3). The natural decline in the population amounted to 7.4 million people. The migration increase was positive and amounted to 5.56 million people: 10.976 million people arrived in the country for permanent residence, 5.416 million people left.
Table 3. Dynamics of the resident population, according to the latest censuses
Year | Total population, thousand people | Including | In % of the previous population census | |||
urban, thousand people | rural, thousand people | the entire population | urban | rural | ||
1970 (as of January 15) |
129 941.2 | 80,631.4 | 49,309.8 | 111 | 132 | 88 |
1979 (as of January 17) |
137,409.9 | 94,942.3 | 42,467.6 | 106 | 118 | 86 |
1989 (as of January 12) |
147,021.9 | 107 959.0 | 39,062.9 | 107 | 114 | 92 |
2002 (as of October 9) |
145 181.9 | 106 470.2 | 38,711.7 | 99 | 99 | 99 |
Distribution of the population by federal districts (in % of the total population): Central (26.2), Volga (21.5), Southern (15.8), Siberian (13.8), Northwestern (9.6), Ural (8.5), Far East (4.6). The population has declined in 66 subjects of Russia (especially in the Far East, North, Siberia and the central regions of the country). The population of the southern regions increased: in particular, in Dagestan – by 43%, in Kabardino-Balkaria – by 20%, in the Stavropol Territory – by 17%, in the Krasnodar Territory – by 11%. In the 1990s part of the townspeople and most of the migrants from the CIS countries moved to the countryside, which led to a reduction in the urban population of Russia by 1.5 million people, while the rural population stabilized at 39 million people. However, the stability of the rural population of Russia is partly fictitious; people are registered (registered) in villages, but live and work in cities. As the latest census revealed, about 12.5 thousand out of 155 thousand rural settlements in Russia turned out to be completely extinct. According to documents, citizens live in these villages, but in reality there is no one there. The number of villages, in each of which no more than 10 people live, is 22% of all rural settlements.
The predominant part of the country’s urban population (64%) lives in cities with a population of 100,000 people. and more. In 2002, 40% of the inhabitants of large cities were concentrated in 13 million-plus cities, compared to 37% in 1989 (Table 4).
Table 4. Population in the largest cities of Russia
City | Thousand people | In % to 1989 |
Moscow | 10,357.8 | 117 |
St. Petersburg | 4669.4 | 94 |
Novosibirsk | 1425.6 | 99 |
Nizhny Novgorod | 1311.2 | 91 |
Yekaterinburg | 1293.0 | 95 |
Samara | 1,158.1 | 92 |
Omsk | 1,133.9 | 99 |
Kazan | 1105.3 | 102 |
Chelyabinsk | 1078.3 | 94 |
Rostov-on-Don | 1070.2 | 106 |
Ufa | 1042.4 | 97 |
Volgograd | 1012.8 | 102 |
Permian | 1000.1 | 92 |
The annual natural decline in the population is 930-960 thousand people. During 1970-2001, the death rate per 100,000 people more than doubled. from diseases of the circulatory system, digestion, accidental alcohol poisoning. Mortality from homicide increased more than 4 times (Table 5). 30-40 thousand people die in car accidents. in year. For 1970-2001, relative infant mortality (children under 1 year old) per 10,000 newborns tends to decrease (Table 6).
Table 5. Mortality by main classes of causes of death (per 100,000 people)
1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2001 | |
Died of all causes | 868 | 1100 | 1117 | 1535 | 1564 |
Including from some infectious and parasitic diseases | 24 | 21 | 12 | 25 | 25 |
neoplasms | 147 | 164 | 194 | 206 | 204 |
diseases of the circulatory system | 412 | 580 | 617 | 849 | 869 |
respiratory diseases | 87 | 92 | 59 | 71 | 66 |
diseases of the digestive system | 23 | thirty | 29 | 45 | 48 |
accidents, poisoning and injuries | 125 | 165 | 134 | 220 | 230 |
Of which from:– accidental alcohol poisoning – suicide – homicide |
14 30 7 |
23 35 13 |
11 26 14 |
26 39 28 |
29 40 30 |
Table 6. Infant mortality by main classes of causes of death (per 10 thousand newborns)
1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2001 | |
Deaths under 1 year of age from all causes | 230 | 221 | 174 | 153 | 147 |
Including from some infectious and parasitic diseases | eleven | 31 | thirteen | nine | eight |
respiratory diseases | 94 | 78 | 25 | 17 | fourteen |
diseases of the digestive system | 12 | 4 | one | one | one |
congenital anomalies (malformations), deformities and chromosomal disorders | 31 | 35 | 37 | 36 | 34 |
individual conditions arising in the perinatal period | 62 | 52 | 80 | 68 | 66 |
accidents, poisoning and injury | eleven | eleven | 7 | ten | nine |
Life expectancy is 58.96 years for men and 72.34 years for women (2001 estimate). These figures in 2000 are 59 years and 72.2 years, in 1999 – 59.93 and 72.38, in 1990 – 63.79 and 74.27 years. More than 100 different peoples live on the territory of Russia. Ethnic composition: Russians – 83%, Tatars – 3.8, Ukrainians – 2.4, Chuvashs – 1.2, Bashkirs – 0.9, Belarusians, Chechens and Mordovians – 0.7 each, Germans, Udmurts, Armenians – each 0.5, Avars, Mari, Kazakhs – 0.4 each, Ossetians, Buryats, Sakha (Yakuts), Kabardians, Jews – 0.3 each, Komi, Lezgins, Kumyks, Ingush – 0.2 each, Tuvans – 0, one. The remaining peoples make up less than 0.1% of the total population of Russia (population microcensus 1994).
The population of Russia belongs to various religious denominations. The officially registered religious denominations are: Russian Orthodox Church, Islam, Roman Catholic Church, Judaism, Buddhism, etc. In the 1990s. The number of believers has increased significantly. The importance of the two main religions, Orthodox Christianity and Islam, has especially grown.