Population of Russia

Russia is the largest country in the world by land area and currently ranks 9th in the world for total population. Recent projections indicate an estimated 2026 population of 142,950,481, which represents a slight decrease from the latest official 2024 figure of 143,533,851. The country is characterized by a high urbanization rate of over 75% and an extremely low population density due to its vast, often inhospitable territory. Current demographic trends show a negative growth rate of approximately -0.2% per year, driven by a natural decrease where deaths outnumber births.

The population history of Russia has been marked by significant volatility over the last century. Following the Second World War, the country saw steady growth during the Soviet era, peaking in the early 1990s. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union triggered a period often referred to as the Russian Cross, a demographic phenomenon where the death rate rose sharply and the birth rate plummeted. This led to a sustained period of natural population decline throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the population stabilized temporarily due to improved economic conditions and government incentives for larger families, such as the Maternity Capital program. Despite these efforts, the underlying age structure of the population, characterized by a smaller generation of parents born during the 1990s, has led back to the current trend of decline. Historical events, including waves of emigration and changing life expectancy, continue to shape the nation's demographic landscape.

Current estimates indicate an annual population growth rate of -0.20%, signaling a continued contraction of the total population. This decline is largely the result of a fertility rate of 1.418 births per woman, which is significantly below the 2.1 required for a stable population. With a crude birth rate of 8.4 per 1,000 people and a crude death rate of 12.4 per 1,000 people, the country experiences a substantial natural decrease that migration has not been able to fully offset. Future projections suggest that the population will continue to shrink unless there are significant changes in social policy or migration patterns. The aging population presents long-term economic challenges, as the workforce is expected to contract relative to the number of retirees. While the government has implemented various financial incentives to encourage higher birth rates, the latest data shows that these measures have yet to reverse the long-term trend of negative growth.

The current estimated population density for Russia is 8.7 people per km² (22.5 per sq mi), making it one of the most sparsely populated nations in the world relative to its size.

Recent data shows that 75.11% of the population lives in urban areas, reflecting a concentrated settlement pattern where the vast majority of citizens reside in the more developed western regions.

Russia holds a unique position as the most populous country in its region, with a global rank of 9 of 215 countries. It is ranked 1 of 47 countries in Europe and 1 of 4 in Eastern Europe, making it the dominant demographic power on the continent. Its population size far exceeds that of its European neighbors, such as Belarus or Ukraine, as well as its neighbors in Central Asia like Kazakhstan. Despite its high total population, Russia's population density rank is very low, placing at global 202 of 215. This is a stark contrast to many of its European and Asian neighbors, which are much more densely settled. While Russia is the largest country in Europe by population, it faces demographic challenges similar to many Western European nations, such as low fertility and an aging society, but with the added complexity of a much higher crude death rate.