Russia has an estimated population of 146.0 million as of 1 January 2025, down from 147.2 million recorded in the 2021 census. It is the most populous country in Europe, and the ninth-most populous country in the world. Russia has a population density of ,146,028,325 inhabitants / 17,098,246 km² = 8.5 inhabitants per km² with its overall life expectancy being 73 years (68 years for males and 79 years for females) . The total fertility rate across Russia was estimated to be 1.37 children born per woman , which is in line with the European average but below the replacement rate of 2.1.
By the end of 2024, the natural decline of the Russian population amounted to 596.2 thousand people, according to published data from Rosstat. Compared to the end of 2023, the indicator increased by 20.4% (from 495.3 thousand). However, this decline is offset by massive immigration, particularly from Central Asia.
From 1992 to 2012, and again since 2016, Russia's death rate has exceeded its birth rate, which has been called a demographic crisis by analysts. In 2009, Russia recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years; during the mid-2010s, Russia had seen increased population growth due to declining death rates, increased birth rates and increased immigration. Between 2020 and 2021, Russia's population had undergone its largest peacetime decline in recorded history, due to excess deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war further deepened the crisis with increased emigration and military fatalities.
Russia is a multinational state, home to over 193 ethnic groups nationwide. In the 2021 Census, nearly 72% of the population were ethnic Russians and approximately 19% of the population were ethnic minorities.*
According to the United Nations, Russia's immigrant population is the world's third largest, numbering over 11.6 million; most of whom are from other post-Soviet states.
Population Demographic statistics according to the latest Rosstat vital statistics and the World Population Review in 2019. One birth every 22 seconds One death every 13 seconds Net loss of one person every 30 seconds
Demographic crisis
After having peaked at 148,689,000 in 1991, the population then decreased, falling to 142,737,196 by 2008. Russia has become increasingly reliant on immigration to maintain its population; 2021 had the highest net immigration since 1994, despite which there was a small overall decline from 146.1 million to 145.4 million in 2021, the largest decline in over a decade.
The natural population had declined by 997,000 between October 2020 and September 2021 (the difference between the number of births and the number of deaths over a period). The natural death rate in January 2020, 2021, and 2022 have each been nearly double the natural birth rate.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the demographic crisis in the country has deepened, as the country has suffered high military fatalities while facing renewed human capital flight and brain drain caused by Western mass-sanctions and boycotts. The number of Russian men which died due to the Russo-Ukrainian war has been censored by the Russian 2022 war censorship laws. In 2022, tens of thousands of tech workers left Russia.Russian Tech Industry Faces ‘Brain Drain’ as Workers Flee, New York Times, April 13, 2022.As Russia sees tech brain drain, other nations hope to gain, Associated Press, March 31, 2022 In 2024, the website of the science journal Science indicated that Russia has seen a multi-year brain drain in the science profession and that salaries are decreasing in the Russian scientific community.News at a glance: Russian brain drain, Trump’s nominees, and a long-distance traveler goes extinct, website of the science journal Science. 21 Nov 2024 Many commentators predict that the situation will be worse than during the 1990s. Although, a large part of the emigrants have returned home to Russia in a continuing process.
In March 2023, The Economist reported that "Over the past three years the country has lost around 2 million more people than it would ordinarily have done, as a result of war [in Ukraine], disease and exodus."
The UN is projecting that the decline that started in 2021 will continue, and if current demographic conditions persist, Russia's population will be 120 million in 50 years, a decline of about 17%. In January 2024, the Russian statistics agency Rosstat predicted that Russia's population could drop to 130 million by 2046.
Fertility
Between 1993 and 2008 there was a great decrease in the country's population from 148 to 143 million. There was a huge 50% decrease in the number of births per year from 2.5 million in 1987 to 1.2 million since 1997, but the current 1.37 fertility rate is still higher than that of the 1990s.
At the beginning of 2022, 320,400 babies were born between January and March, 16,600 fewer than January–March 2021. There were nearly twice as many deaths (584,700) as births. The crude birth rate – 8.9 per 100,000 inhabitants – was the lowest since the year 2000.
Russia has a low fertility rate with 1.37 children per woman in 2025, below 2.1 children per woman, which must be the number reached to maintain its population. As a result of their low fertility for decades, the Russian population is one of the oldest in the world with an average of 40.3 years. In February 2026, the Russian Ministry of Health approved new guidelines recommending that women indicating that they do not want to have children are referred to psychotherapy to "foster a positive attitude toward motherhood". Speaking with France24 under only their first names, several Russian women criticized the plan.
Historical fertility rates
The total fertility rate is the number of children born to each woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.
In many of the years from 1843 to 1917, Russia had the highest total fertility rate in the world. These elevated fertility rates did not lead to population growth due to high mortality rate, the casualties of the Russian Revolution, the two world wars and to a lesser extent the political killings. From 1840 to 1910 Russia's total fertility rate remained consistently elevated between 6.7 and 7.4 children per woman.
TFRYears 184018411842184318441845184618471848184977 77.017.027.037.057.067.087.08 18501851185218531854185518561857185818597.077.07 7.077.067.057.037.0176.986.97 18601861186218631864186518661867186818696.956.93 6.956.966.986.997.017.026.516.87 18701871187218731874187518761877187818796.747.03 6.857.247.177.157.026.876.586.98 18801881188218831884188518861887188818896.86.66 7.036.896.836.746.476.616.966.8 18901891189218931894189518961897189818996.717.44 6.577.177.187.347.437.527.287.36 19001901190219031904190519061907190819097.367.2 7.367.27.246.727.047.087.447.12 19101911191219131914191519161917191819197.27.2 7.26.966.883.365.25.045.723.44 19201921192219231924192519266.724.72 66.486.726.86.72
Years 19411942194319441945 4.602.961.681.721.92
Historical crude birth rates
Years1801–18101811–18201821–18301831–18401841–18501851–1860Crude birth rates of Russia43.740.042.745.649.752.4 Years1861–18701871–18801881–18901891–19001901–19101911–191418th century(only Orthodox)1801–1860(only Orthodox)Crude birth rates of Russia50.350.450.449.246.843.951.050.0-
Age structure
Structure of the population
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 66,264,910 76,936,820 143,201,730 100 0–4 4,377,526 4,155,682 8,533,208 5.97 5–9 3,762,806 3,588,032 7,350,838 5.13 10–14 3,396,364 3,231,761 6,628,125 4.63 15–19 3,776,026 3,615,840 7,391,866 5.16 20–24 5,708,187 5,515,543 11,223,730 7.84 25–29 6,262,379 6,179,628 12,442,007 8.69 30–34 5,583,513 5,647,636 11,231,149 7.84 35–39 5,087,565 5,331,818 10,419,383 7.28 40–44 4,589,504 4,861,983 9,451,487 6.60 45–49 4,632,279 5,151,813 9,784,092 6.83 50–54 5,279,364 6,219,077 11,498,441 8.03 55–59 4,480,855 5,817,559 10,298,414 7.19 60–64 3,523,990 5,010,867 8,534,857 5.96 65–69 1,602,839 2,571,671 4,174,510 2.92 70–74 1,989,724 3,975,348 5,965,072 4.17 75–79 1,179,476 2,709,384 3,888,860 2.72 80–84 722 151 2,073,803 2,795,954 1.95 85–89 253 028 1,008,627 1,261,655 0.88 90–94 46 736 219 427 266 163 0.19 95–99 8 634 43 988 52 622 0.04 100+ 1 964 7 333 9 297 0.01Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 11,536,696 10,975,475 22,512,171 15.72 15–64 48,923,662 53,351,764 102,275,426 71.42 65+ 5,804,552 12,609,581 18,414,133 12.86
Median age
total: 40.7 years. Country comparison to the world: 51st male: 37.6 years female: 43.5 years (2021 est.)
Life expectancy
total population: 70.06 years for a child born in 2021, decreasing from 73.34 in 2019 male: 65.51 years (2021) female: 74.51 years (2021)
Infant mortality rate
total: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2020) male: 5.0 deaths/1,000 live births (2020) female: 3.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2020)
Vital statistics Before WW1 Gampminder, V12, 2017
Notable events in Russian demographics:
1872, 1885, 1892-1893, 1909-1910 – major cholera outbreaks 1877-1878 – Russo-Turkish War 1891-1892 – Famine 1889-1895 – Russian Flu 1904-1905 – Russo-Japanese War 1905 – First Russian revolution