Trade Union Forum

DEMOGRAPHICS

General overview

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia, the population of the Russian Federation exceeds 146 million people (2021). The share of male population is 46% of the total population (68 million people), the share of female population is 54% (78 million people). The median age is 40 years. People over 70 years old constitute the largest age group (10%). The percentage of people under the age of 18 is 23%. The smallest group is constituted by people of 20 to 25 years (6,889,000 people, 2020 est.), which makes up almost 5% of the total population. The total life expectancy is 72 years: approximately 66 years of men, and 77 years of women (2021 est.).

Racial composition and religion

Racial composition

Russia is a multinational and multicultural country. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia, representatives of more than 200 ethnic groups live on the territory of the Russian Federation. There are seven main ethnic groups numbering more than 1 million people:

- Russians (81%), East Slavic people, characterized by light pigmentation, medium density of eyebrows and beard, moderate width of the face and with the predominance of a medium horizontal profile and a medium high nose. Height varies from medium to high. There are many local anthropological types of them.

- Tatars (3.9%), Turkic people, divided into three main groups: Volga-Ural, Astrakhan, and Siberian. They have four anthropological types.

- Pontic type is characterized by dark or mixed pigmentation of the hair and eyes, a high nose bridge, a convex back of the nose with a lowered tip, a significant growth of the beard. Height is medium with a tendency to increase.

- Light Caucasian type is characterized by light pigmentation of the hair and eyes, medium or high nose bridge with a straight back of the nose, medium beard, medium height.

- Sublaponoid type is characterized by mixed pigmentation of hair and eyes, wide and low nose, weak beard growth and a short, medium-wide face with a tendency to flatness.

- Mongoloid type is characterized by dark shades of hair and eyes, a broad and flattened face and a low nose bridge, often met with epicanthus and weak beard growth. Height is medium.

- Ukrainians (1.4%) belong to the Dnieper-Carpathian anthropological group of Slavs, the difference from Russians is a broader face.

- Bashkirs (1.1%) take an intermediate position between the Caucasian and Mongoloid races, characterized by dark or mixed pigmentation of hair and eyes, a straight or protruding back of the nose, and large facial sizes. Height is medium.

- Chuvashs (1%) consist of Caucasian and Mongoloid anthropological types and their mixed forms, characterized by a low and broad flattened face with pronounced cheekbones, dark pigmentation of the eyes and hair.

- Chechens (1%), living in the North Caucasus, chechens are characterized by pronounced cheekbones and jaws, dark hair pigmentation, light eye pigmentation, abundant hair, convex nose back.

- Armenians (0.9%), representatives of the Armenoid race, characterized by dark hair color, dark eyes, abundant hair, short body length, medium-wide faces and prominent noses.

Religion

Russia is a secular state, citizens have freedom of religion, including the right to practice any religion individually or jointly with others, or not practice religion at all. The main religions in Russia are:

- Christianity: three main branches of Christianity are present in the country (Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism). According to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 75% of Russians declare themselves Orthodoxies. Less than 1% of the population are Catholics, about 2% are Protestants.

- Islam in Russia is professed by more than 14% of the population. Mostly by ethnic Muslims. The majority of Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region, as well as in the North Caucasus, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Western Siberia.

- Judaism:  about 10% of the population of Russia profess Judaism, according to the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, there are about 500,000 Jews in Moscow, about 170,000 in St. Petersburg. There are about 70 synagogues in the country.

- Buddhism is a traditional religion in Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia. More than 1% of the population profess Buddhism.

The official language

In accordance with article 68 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the official language of Russia is Russian. The republics that are federal subjects of the Russian Federation have the right to establish their own state languages, which are used along with the official language of the country. Languages of fourteen language families can be found across Russia. The most common languages are those of the Indo-European, Altaic, Caucasian, and Uralic language families. In total, ethnic groups in Russia speak 178 languages, and more than fourteen of them languages are official.