Russia ethnic group Russians
Demographics
Russia is one of the world's most sparsely populated and urbanised countries, with the vast majority of its population concentrated within its western part. It had a population of 142.8 million according to the 2010 census, which rose to roughly 145.5 million as of 2022. Russia is the most populous country in Europe, and the world's ninth most populous country, with a population density of 9 inhabitants per square kilometre (23 per square mile).Since the 1990s, Russia's death rate has exceeded its birth rate, which some analysts have called a demographic crisis. In 2019, the total fertility rate across Russia was estimated to be 1.5 children born per woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1, and is one of the world's lowest fertility rates. Subsequently, the nation has one of the world's oldest populations, with a median age of 40.3 years. In 2009, it recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years, and subsequently experienced annual population growth due to declining death rates, increased birth rates, and increased immigration.However, since 2020, Russia's population gains have been reversed, as excessive deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in its largest peacetime decline in history. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the demographic crisis in the country has deepened, 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.Russia is a multinational state with many subnational entities associated with different minorities. There are over 193 ethnic groups nationwide. In the 2010 census, roughly 81% of the population were ethnic Russians, and the remaining 19% of the population were ethnic minorities; while over four-fifths of Russia's population was of European descent—of whom the vast majority were Slavs, with a substantial minority of Finnic and Germanic peoples. According to the United Nations, Russia's immigrant population is the world's third-largest, numbering over 11.6 million; most of which are from post-Soviet states, mainly Ukrainians.
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