section_path: Demographics
section_name: Demographics
paragraph_text: Demographics
  
  Russia had an estimated population of 146.0 million in 2025 (143.6 million excluding Crimea and Sevastopol), down from 147.2 million in the 2021 census. It is the most populous country in Europe and ninth-most populous country in the world. With a population density of 8.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (22 inhabitants/sq mi), Russia is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries, with the vast majority of its people concentrated within its western part. The country is highly urbanised, with two-thirds of the population living in urban areas. As of 2024, the total fertility rate across Russia is estimated to be 1.41 children born per woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1 and among the lowest in the world. Subsequently, it has one of the oldest populations in the world, with a median age of 41.9 years.
  
  Russia's population peaked at over 148 million in 1993, having subsequently declined due to its death rate exceeding its birth rate, which some analysts have called a demographic crisis. 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, these population gains have been reversed since 2020, as excessive deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the largest peacetime decline in its history. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the demographic crisis has deepened, owing to high military fatalities and renewed emigration. Recent studies have shown that between 15-45% of Russian emigrants have returned to Russia, though these numbers are not conclusive.
  
  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. Over four-fifths of Russia's population was of European descent —of whom the vast majority were Slavs, with a substantial minority of Finno-Ugric and Germanic peoples. Russia has the third-largest immigrant population in the world, with over 12 million immigrants residing in the country as of 2019. The vast majority of the Immigrants hail from post-Soviet states, with about half of them being from Ukraine and Kazakhstan as of 2020.