Life expectancy in Russia was 29.6 in the year 1845, and over the course of the next 175 years, it is expected to have increased to 72.3 years by 2020. Generally speaking, Russian life expectancy has increased over this 175 year period, however events such as the World Wars, Russian Revolution and a series of famines caused fluctuations before the mid-twentieth century, where the rate fluctuated sporadically. Between 1945 and 1950, Russian life expectancy more than doubled in this five year period, and it then proceeded to increase until the 1970s, when it then began to fall again. Between 1970 and 2005, the number fell from 68.5 to 65, before it then grew again in more recent years.

In 2022, life expectancy at birth for urban residents in Russia was ***** years. For those living in rural areas, it was approximately **** years on average. Both urban and rural populations' average life span figures increased from the previous year. In total, Russians born in 2022 were expected to live roughly **** years. Russia’s life expectancy is lower than in most other European countries and the United States. The Russian government set a national goal to achieve a life expectancy of 78 years by 2030. Change factors As in many other countries, life expectancy in Russia saw a decline in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and an increase in deaths from the disease. Even though the figure has increased since 2022 and exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2023, the war in Ukraine and mobilization affect the indicator negatively. That particularly holds for men’s life expectancy, which has historically been significantly lower than women’s. Historical development In 2023, life expectancy in Russia was almost 44 years higher than in 1845. Over that period, the indicators experienced a decline during the World Wars, the Russian Revolution of 1917, and a series of famines in the mid-*****. Moreover, the indicator decreased between 1970 and 1985, in part due to male life expectancy being impacted by alcohol consumption. The 2023 figure was the highest in Russia and the Soviet Union’s history.

In 1970, life expectancy at birth in the Soviet Union and United States was fairly similar, at 69.3 and 70.8 years respectively; a difference of 1.5 years. As the decades progressed, however, this difference widened. While improvements in the recording of such statistics in the Soviet Union gave a more reliable picture of life expectancy across the region, especially in Central Asia and rural areas, the largest influence was due to the side-effects of deteriorating economic conditions. As lifestyles and medical care in the U.S. steadily improved, the decline in life expectancy the USSR was largely due to preventable causes, particularly alcoholism and accidental deaths among the male population. By 1985, life expectancy in the U.S. was 6.3 years higher than in the Soviet Union.

When looking at each gender, life expectancy among women in the U.S. in 1985 was seven years higher than men, whereas there was a difference of almost 10 years in the USSR. Women in the U.S. could also expect to live for five years longer than their Soviet counterparts in this year, while life expectancy among men in the U.S. was eight years higher than in the USSR. Overall, the gap between the two countries narrowed in the late 1980s as the Soviet Union's existence came to an end, however, this gap then grew even larger throughout most of the 1990s and early-2000s, and the post-Soviet states continue to deal with the social and economic legacy of Soviet dissolution on their respective demographics thirty years later.

Graph and download economic data for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for the Russian Federation (SPDYNLE00INRUS) from 1960 to 2023 about life expectancy, life, birth, and Russia.

Russian mortality rates during the Second World War were among the highest in the world. In terms of distribution, over one quarter of all deaths were of infants who had not yet reached one year old, and almost half of all deaths took place among children below the age of five. The distribution of these deaths varied between urban and rural regions, with a higher share of adults dying in urban areas.

The disproportionate impact of the war on male mortality rates, alongside the fact that the natural life expectancy among men is lower than that of women, meant that the share of men who died between the ages of 15 and 64 was much higher than female death rates. For women, the share of deaths among the youngest and oldest age groups were higher than those of men.

The spike in infant and child mortality rates due to Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, meant that almost half of all deaths in Soviet Russia in 1941 were among those below the age of five, and the majority of those were among infants below the age of one year. The consequences of this and the decrease in Soviet fertility can be observed in the unusually-low mortality rates among infants in 1942. Because of this spike, the share of deaths across other age groups was lower than what would have been typical of Russia in terms of its demographic development. The share of deaths among children then decreased as the war progressed and the conflict moved west, although it remained disproportionately high until the late 1940s.

The Second World War had a profound impact on gender ratios within the Soviet Union's population, and its effect on different age groups varied greatly. The Soviet population structure had already been shaped heavily by the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the famines of the early 1920s and early 1930s. The impact of these events on mortality and fertility meant that, in 1941, the generations whose births corresponded with these events had a lower population than would be expected on a typical population model. For example, in 1941, those aged between 5 and 9 had a significantly lower population than those aged 10 to 14, due to the effects of the Soviet famine of 1932-1933. Additionally, women outnumbered men in all age groups except the very youngest, due to the disproportionate effect of conflict and infant mortality on male populations. Impact of WWII In order to observe the impact of the war, one must compare populations of specific age groups in 1941 with the following age group in 1946. For men of "fighting age" in 1941, i.e. those aged between 15 and 44, these populations experience the most substantial decrease over the course of the war. For example, there are 5.6 million men aged 15-19 in 1941, but just 3.5 million aged 20-24 in 1946, giving a decrease of 38 percent. This decrease of almost forty percent can be observed until the 45-49 group, where the difference is 25 percent. Additionally, women aged between 15 and 34 saw a disproportionate decrease in their populations over this period, as many enlisted in the army and took an active part in the conflict, most notably as medics, snipers, and pilots.

The war's impact on fertility and child mortality meant that, in 1946, the total population under four years old was less than half its size in 1941. Generally, variations between age groups then fluctuated in line with pre-war patterns, however the overall ratio of women to men increased further after the war. For all age groups over 20 years, the number of men decreased between these years, whereas all women's age groups over 30 years saw an increase; this meant that, despite the war, women over 30 had a higher life expectancy in 1946.

In all age groups until 29 years old, there were more men than women in Russia as of January 1, 2024. After that age, the female population outnumbered the male population in each category. The most represented age group in the country was from 35 to 39 years old, with approximately *** million women and *** million men. Male-to-female ratio in Russia The number of men in Russia was historically lower than the number of women, which was a result of population losses during World War I and World War II. In 1950, in the age category from 25 to 29 years, ** men were recorded per 100 women in the Soviet Union. In today’s Russia, the female-to-male ratio in the same age group reached *** women per 1,000 men. Russia has the highest life expectancy gender gap The World Health Organization estimated the average life expectancy of women across the world at over five years longer than men. In Russia, this gap between genders exceeded 10 years. According to the study “Burden of disease in Russia, 1980-2016: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016,” Russia had the highest gender difference in life expectancy worldwide.

Throughout the later decades of the Soviet Union, there was a consistent imbalance in the ratio of men to women. This was not only due to the legacy of the Second World War (during which time the Soviet Union lost up to 27 million people, the majority of which were men), but also due to a much lower life expectancy among men in the Soviet Union in later years. This disparity has been attributed to high rates of alcoholism and accidental deaths, which was exacerbated by economic difficulties in the final decades of the 20th century. In 1970, there were almost 20 million more women in the USSR than men, with each gender making up 54 and 46 percent of the population respectively. Natural births gradually offset the population imbalance created by the war (as the natural gender ratio at birth is generally 105 boys for every 100 girls born), and men made up over 47 percent of the population in 1989, however the gender imbalance and lower life expectancy among males remains a persistent problem across Russia and other former-Soviet states to this day.

The infant mortality rate in Russia, for children under the age of one year old, was over 266 deaths per thousand births in 1870. This means that for all babies born in 1870, over one quarter did not survive past their first birthday. Unfortunately some information is missing in the early twentieth century, during Russia's revolutionary period and again during the Second World War, however it is noticeable that Russia's infant mortality rate fell to one death for every ten babies born in 1955, and from this point the rate has fallen to just six deaths per thousand births today.

Throughout the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union had relatively similar total populations. The U.S.' population grew from around 205 million to almost 250 million people between 1970 and 1990, while the USSR's population grew from around 240 to 290 million in this time. In these years, the Soviet Union had the third largest population in the world, and the U.S. had the fourth largest (behind China and India respectively). Despite their similar sizes, these populations differed in terms of distribution as the U.S.' population was approximately three quarters urban in this period, whereas the Soviet Union's urban population was just 56 percent in 1970 and 66 percent in 1989. Additionally, the Soviet Union's population was much younger than that of the U.S. due to a higher birth rate and lower life expectancy.