Russia is shrinking again

Russia’s natural population decline is back. According to figures released by the Federal Statistics Agency, the number of people living in Russia fell by 134,000 in 2017. A year earlier, the country’s population rose by an estimated 5,400 people. Russia’s birth rate fell to a 10-year low, hitting 1.69 million births in 2017 — 203,000 fewer than a year before. In 2007, just 1.61 million births were recorded. On the other hand, Russia’s mortality rate has also slipped, falling to 1.8 million people (about 64,000 deaths fewer in 2017 than in 2016).

Russia’s current total population is estimated to be 146.8 million people. Maxim Topilin, who heads the Labor and Social Protection Ministry, previously warned that Russia’s birth rate is insufficient to ensure the country’s population growth.

Vladimir Putin had advocated stimulating Russia’s birth rate by offering monthly payments of 10,500 rubles ($186) to families having their first child.