Short answers, pulled from the story.
Russia's estimated population was 146.0 million as of the 1st of January 2025, down from 147.2 million recorded in the 2021 census. Russia is the most populous country in Europe and the ninth most populous country in the world.
Russia's total fertility rate was 1.37 children per woman in 2025, well below the replacement level of 2.1. The country has maintained a low fertility rate for decades, contributing to an average population age of 40.3 years and sustained natural population decline since 1992.
Between October 2020 and September 2021, Russia's natural population declined by 997,000 people, which demographer Alexei Raksha attributed primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was Russia's largest peacetime population decline in recorded history. Life expectancy fell from 73.34 years in 2019 to 70.06 years for a child born in 2021.
Over 300,000 Russian citizens and residents were estimated to have left Russia by mid-March 2022, at least 500,000 by the end of August 2022, and an additional 400,000 by early October. The total number of political refugees, economic migrants, and conscientious objectors is estimated to exceed 900,000.
Russia is home to over 193 ethnic groups. In the 2021 census, approximately 71.73% of those who declared an ethnicity identified as ethnic Russians, with roughly 19% of the total population belonging to various ethnic minorities including Turkic peoples, Mongolian peoples such as Buryats and Kalmyks, and the Indigenous peoples of Siberia.
The United Nations projects that if current demographic conditions persist, Russia's population will reach 120 million within 50 years, a decline of roughly 17% from present levels. Rosstat, the Russian statistics agency, predicted in January 2024 that Russia's population could drop to 130 million by 2046.