Editing Aging of Russia (section)

==== Population trends 2015–present ====
{{Seealso|COVID-19 pandemic in Russia|Russian emigration following the Russian invasion of Ukraine|Casualties of the Russo-Ukrainian War}}
[[File:№ 3009 А.И. Старчков.jpg|thumb|Russian soldiers killed in [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|war in Ukraine]] have further exacerbated Russia's demographic crisis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia's 'catastrophic' missing men problem |url=https://theweek.com/russia/1017914/russias-catastrophic-missing-men-problem |work=The Week |date=10 May 2023 |archive-date=28 November 2023 |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128215352/https://theweek.com/russia/1017914/russias-catastrophic-missing-men-problem |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
In 2020, over 500,000 deaths were attributed to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], bringing the total deaths since its onset to approximately 700,000. Although 2021 was initially projected to have less impact on mortality, death rates still surpassed birth rates. President [[Vladimir Putin]]'s plan to overturn the stagnation was announced in 2017 in response to the downward trend. However the plan only partially helped in their demographic crisis and was hindered by the Pandemic, despite showing signs of recovery.

{{Historical populations
|type =
|footnote = Source:<ref>{{cite web|title=RUSSIA: historical demographical data of the whole country|url=http://www.populstat.info/Europe/russiac.htm|website=Populstat.info|access-date=6 July 2017|url-access=subscription|archive-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707234550/http://www.populstat.info/Europe/russiac.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="gks.ru-popul">{{cite web|url=https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/population-by-country.htm|format=XLS|script-title=ru:Оценка численности постоянного населения на 1 января 2020 года и в среднем за 2019 год|trans-title=Preliminary estimated population as of 1 January 2020 and on the average for 2019|language=ru|work=[[Russian Federal State Statistics Service|Rosstat]]|access-date=20 December 2021|archive-date=13 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113215738/http://nationsonline.org/oneworld/population-by-country.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2020|reason=Two references are offered; one is inaccessible, and the other doesn't contain any of this historical data.}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.findeasy.in/population-of-russia/ | title=Population of Russia 2022 &#124; Religion in Russia | date=3 May 2021 | access-date=20 December 2021 | archive-date=8 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208170941/https://www.findeasy.in/population-of-russia/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
| percentages = pagr
|1897 | 67473000
|1926 | 93459000
|1939 | 108377000
|1959 | 117534000
|1970 | 130079000
|1979 | 137552000
|1989 | 147386000
|2002 | 145166731
|2010 | 142856836
|2015 | 144985057
|2019 | 146764655
|2020 | 146171015
|2021 | 146000460
}}

The [[Rate of natural increase|natural population]] 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).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/13/russias-population-undergoes-largest-ever-peacetime-decline |title=Russia's population undergoes largest ever peacetime decline |first=Pjotr |last=Sauer |date=13 October 2021 |work=The Guardian |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-date=13 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013112949/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/13/russias-population-undergoes-largest-ever-peacetime-decline |url-status=live }}</ref> The natural death rate in January 2020, 2021, and 2022 have each been nearly double the natural birth rate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/75708/ |title=Natural population decrease in Russia down by 21% in Jan 2022 vs Jan 2021, but twice higher than in Jan 2020 - Rosstat |date=6 March 2022 |publisher=Interfax News Agency |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-date=12 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212161240/https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/75708/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] in 2022, the demographic crisis in the country has deepened,<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia stares into population abyss as Putin sends its young men to die |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/26/russia-stares-population-abyss-putin-sends-young-men-die/ |work=The Telegraph |date=26 February 2023 |archive-date=30 December 2023 |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230083717/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/26/russia-stares-population-abyss-putin-sends-young-men-die/ |url-status=live }}</ref> as the country has reportedly suffered high military fatalities while facing renewed [[brain drain]] and [[human capital flight]] caused by Western mass-sanctions and boycotts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/8c576a9c-ba65-4fb1-967a-fc4fa5457c62 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/8c576a9c-ba65-4fb1-967a-fc4fa5457c62 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title=Ukraine war threatens to deepen Russia's demographic crisis|date=4 April 2022|last1=Cocco|first1=Federica|last2=Ivanonva|first2=Polina|work=[[Financial Times]]|access-date=6 October 2022|location=London}}</ref> Many commentators predict that the situation will be worse than during the 1990s.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://jamestown.org/program/russias-demographic-collapse-is-accelerating/|title=Russia's Demographic Collapse Is Accelerating|last=Goble|first=Paul|volume=19|issue=127|date=18 August 2022|location=Washington, D.C.|journal=Eurasia Daily Monitor|publisher=[[Jamestown Foundation]]|archive-date=21 October 2023|access-date=1 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021105942/https://jamestown.org/program/russias-demographic-collapse-is-accelerating/|url-status=live}}</ref>

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."<ref name="economist-2023">{{cite news |title=Russia’s population nightmare is going to get even worse |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/03/04/russias-population-nightmare-is-going-to-get-even-worse |work=[[The Economist]] |date=4 March 2023 |archive-date=11 March 2023 |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311153739/https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/03/04/russias-population-nightmare-is-going-to-get-even-worse |url-status=live }}</ref> 

According to Russian economist Alexander Isakov, "Russia’s population has been declining and the war will reduce it further. Reasons? Emigration, lower fertility and war-related casualties."<ref>{{cite news |title=Putin’s War Escalation Is Hastening Demographic Crash for Russia |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-18/putin-s-war-escalation-is-hastening-demographic-crash-for-russia |work=Bloomberg |date=18 October 2022 |archive-date=2023-10-12 |access-date=2023-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012000000/https://web.archive.org/web/20231012065405/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-18/putin-s-war-escalation-is-hastening-demographic-crash-for-russia |url-status=live }}</ref> Russian journalist [[Andrey Vladimirovich Kolesnikov|Andrey Kolesnikov]] noted that "We are seeing a phenomenon Russia has faced many times: wave after wave of wars and repression that drain away human resources."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kolesnikov |first1=Andrei |title=Russia’s Second, Silent War Against Its Human Capital |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2023/01/russias-second-silent-war-against-its-human-capital?lang=en |work=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]] |date=8 February 2023}}</ref>

The UN is projecting that the decline that started in 2021 will continue, and if current demographic conditions persist, Russia’s population would be 120 million in fifty years, a decline of about 17%.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=World Population Prospects 2022, Standard Projections, Compact File, Variant tab, Total Population, as of 1 January column |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/MostUsed/ |website=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division |access-date=2023-07-01 |archive-date=2022-07-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711213112/https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/MostUsed/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="economist-2023"/>

In January 2024, the Russian statistics agency [[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Rosstat]] predicted that Russia’s population could drop to 130 million by 2046.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia's Population Could Fall to 130Mln by 2046 – Rosstat |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/01/10/russias-population-could-fall-to-130mln-by-2046-rosstat-a83687 |work=[[The Moscow Times]] |date=12 January 2024 |archive-date=14 January 2024 |access-date=14 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114183040/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/01/10/russias-population-could-fall-to-130mln-by-2046-rosstat-a83687 |url-status=live }}</ref> The UN's 2024 scenarios projected Russia's population to be between 74 million and 112 million in 2100, a decline of 25 to 50%.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Population Prospects 2024 |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/world-population-prospects-2024 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=2024-09-05 |archive-date=2024-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715163803/https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/world-population-prospects-2024 |url-status=live }}</ref>