Between 1993 and 2008, Russia’s population saw a considerable decline in its population from 148.37 million to 143.25. During this time, Russia experienced low birth rates and abnormally high death rates. Since then, the population has increased again to 145.93 million; however, the population is expected to reach its peak at the end of 2020 and is projected to start declining again.
Russia has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world of 1.58 births per woman, which is also below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. Russia also has one of the oldest populations in the world with an average age of 40.3 years. Further contributing to Russia’s population decline is a low level of immigration.
While projections into the future of Russia are very difficult, it's estimated that Russia will fall from the 9th most populous country to 17th by 2050. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has announced that he plans to boost Russia's dwindling population by encouraging immigration and higher birth rates, but estimates show that Russia's population will drop from 2014's 142 million to only 128 million by 2050.
Russia Population Growth
The Russian economy grew strongly during the first decade of the 20th century, and in 2009 the Russian population saw a small but significant increase. The increase was reported as between 15,000 and 25,000 people and was attributed to a falling death rate and increasing migration.
There are also indications that birth rates may be increasing slightly – probably due to a combination of increased confidence in Russia’s economic prospects and government incentives to new mothers -- especially a $10,000 payment which is made to mothers who have three or more children.
Population growth and demographics have long been a problem for Russia, as a decade ago the nation was losing 1 million people a year, and many doubt Vladimir Putin's plans will work. Time will tell if Russia is able to overcome its issues and see greater growth, as otherwise it will be prone to collapsing infrastructure with its massive land area and untapped natural resources.
Russia Population Projections
The rate of change of the Russian population is very close to 0% at present and the population isn't expected to change much by 2020. Further in the future, it is expected that the population will continue to decline slowly, getting down to 140 million by 2030, and 136 million by 2040.