Russia in the early 1990s hit its population high of 148 million people. But since this mark, the country has been on a decline. With a bleak future, Russia knows the reasons for this problem, but few solutions have been put into place to reject the grim future for their numbers.

The Shrinking Numbers

Russia has gone from its peak of 148 million to now 143 million. With numbers falling like these, many predict that if the decline continues at this pace, the country will be down to 111 million by 2050. This gives Russia a population decrease of 20%.



Why the Decline?

Russia is shrinking due to many problems. One such problem is simply a failure to reproduce themselves. Most families can only afford to have one child. So these families are only replacing one of the parents with their only child.

Economic problems fuel this mentality. The birth average per woman in Russia is 1.1 children. This produces a decline in itself, because it would require 2.4 children born per woman to keep the population steady.

Abortions are also killing off Russia’s population. In 2003, for every 13 abortions, there were only 10 live births. And in 2004, 1.6 million women had abortions, while only 1.3 women actually gave birth.

A high death rate also contributes to this problem. Men only have a life expectancy of 59 years. And women are expected to live until 72 years of age. A large factor in the small life expectancy of men is the problem with alcoholism in the country. Alcohol-related deaths are high. Poverty, disease, stress, and other substance abuses contribute as well.

For every 1000 Russians, 15 die every year. This is high considering the U.S. average is 8 per 1000 per year.

Immigration is another problem that has kept Russia from growing. When was the last time you heard of someone moving to Russia when they retired? Or relocating because of a job? Or just buying a summer home there? No one wants to live in Russia at this point, not even its citizens. Many of its population has actually moved out to western Europe to find better opportunity.

Solutions

There are solutions to this problem, but few of them are being implemented.

The possibility of bringing Chinese for immigration from the overcrowded China has been ignored. Russia will only consider this idea in dealing with the neighboring countries that already speak Russian.

Another idea is to find a way to get them women to stay at home and have babies. At this point, women are career oriented and have made no time to have children. And other woman simply can’t afford not to work. But this idea, too, is waiting to be put into place.

One idea that the country has put into action is “sex for the motherland”. A camp for Russia’s young people was held for 2 weeks outside of Moscow in July and sex for procreation was encouraged. Group weddings were held and special heart-shaped tents for provided for the couples to…well, you get the idea.

Conclusion

If Russia wants to keep their country out of extinction, they might consider being open to more effective ideas. Hopefully they can figure out some better solutions before the country annihilates itself.