More than 70 percent of Russians had a negative attitude toward the United States in September 2024, marking an increase from the previous survey. Over the observed period from April 1990, the largest share of Russians held a negative opinion of the U.S. in January 2015, at over 80 percent.

Due to the devastating impact of the Second World War on the Soviet population, the total population in 1950 was almost 15.5 million fewer than in 1940, which is a decrease of eight percent. In Russia (RSFSR), the largest of the Soviet states, the population difference was almost nine million people; also eight percent. It would take until 1955 for the populations of either the USSR or Russia to reach their pre-war levels, which was a decade after the conflict had ended. Urbanization Despite this drop in total population, industrialization and urbanization saw a significant change in the USSR's population distribution between the given years. The Soviet urban population increased by 6.3 million, or ten percent, between 1940 and 1950; 5.8 million of this was in Russia, which was a 15 percent increase. In contrast, the Soviet Union's rural population dropped by 21.8 million (a 17 percent change), 14.5 million of which in Russia (a decrease of 20 percent). In terms of overall population, the urban population of the USSR rose from 33 to 39 percent between 1940 and 1950, and from 34 to 43 percent in Russia. By 1955, 44 percent of the Soviet population, and 49 percent of the Russian population, lived in an urban setting.

In 2023, only nine percent of respondents in the United States reported having a favorable opinion toward Russia. The share of people in the United States viewing Russia positively saw a decrease in recent years.

The number of people with Russian citizenship living in European countries as of January 1, 2023, was by far the highest in Germany. The country's population includes around 260,000 Russian citizens. That was more than double the number of Russian citizens living in Spain. To compare, over 35,400 Russian nationals resided in Czechia.

The Central Federal District was the most populated in Russia with around 40.2 million residents as of January 1, 2024. The Volga Federal District followed, with a population of roughly 28.5 million. The lowest population was recorded in the Far Eastern Federal District at less than 7.9 million inhabitants. In total, over 146.1 million people were estimated to be living in Russia as of the beginning of 2024. The country ranked ninth worldwide by population size.

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 6.5 million women and 6.3 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, 68 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 976 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.

As of January 1, 2025, more than 146 million people were estimated to be residing on the Russian territory, down approximately 30,000 from the previous year. From the second half of the 20th century, the population steadily grew until 1995. Furthermore, the population size saw an increase from 2009, getting closer to the 1995 figures. In which regions do most Russians live? With some parts of Russia known for their harsh climate, most people choose regions which offer more comfortable conditions. The largest share of the Russian population, or 40 million, reside in the Central Federal District. Moscow, the capital, is particularly populated, counting nearly 13 million residents. Russia’s population projections Despite having the largest country area worldwide, Russia’s population was predicted to follow a negative trend under both low and medium expectation forecasts. Under the low expectation forecast, the country’s population was expected to drop from 146 million in 2022 to 134 million in 2036. The medium expectation scenario projected a milder drop to 143 million in 2036. The issues of low birth rates and high death rates in Russia are aggravated by the increasing desire to emigrate among young people. In 2023, more than 20 percent of the residents aged 18 to 24 years expressed their willingness to leave Russia.

From July 2023 to June 2024, more than half of the network intrusions by the Russian state or state-affiliated cyber threat actors were directed against the Middle East & North Africa. A further 23 percent of incidents targeted North America.

As of July 2019, the majority of Russians considered decreasing the level of inflation in their country the main priority of state politics, as per 45 percent of survey participants. Price increase was the most worrying problem for the Russian society in 2019. According to poll results, the second most popular area that Russian politics had to concentrate on was improvement of quality of medical services provided in the country, which was named by 41 percent of respondents. Furthermore, 40 percent of Russians were of the opinion that the reform of the utilities sector and making living conditions of residents better was the main priority of national politics.

According to the survey results, 60 percent of Russians held the view that it was the state's responsibility to take care of all citizens and to provide everyone with a decent standard of living. Only seven percent of respondents wanted less interference into citizens' life and economic activity by the state as of January 2020.

In Soviet Russia (RSFSR) in 1939 and 1959, ethnic Russians made up the largest share of the total population, with a share of approximately 83 percent. Tatars were the second largest ethnic group, followed by Ukrainians. Russians were consistently the largest ethnic group in the Soviet Union as a whole, with an overall share of 53 percent in 1979.

The gap between the number of women and men in Russia was measured at 10.26 million as of January 1, 2023, with the female population of the country historically outnumbering the male population. Both genders saw an increase in inhabitants compared to the previous year.

Why are there more women than men in Russia?

One of the factors explaining gender imbalance in modern Russia is the gap in average life expectancy between genders. In 2021, Russian women outlived men by close to 10 years. In particular, working-age men were six times more likely to die from external causes of death, such as accidents and suicides, compared to working age women in that year. Furthermore, partial mobilization announced as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war resulted in a mass exodus of young men fleeing from conscription. In response to the government’s call to recruit up to 300,000 reservists in end-September 2022, Google search interest in the term "How to leave Russia" increased sharply.

Gender imbalance and its consequences for Russia

In Russia, the labor market remains highly segregated by gender. Manual jobs in equipment operation, metal industry, manufacturing, and mechanics are male dominated, with over 10 million Russian men employed in those sectors combined as of 2022. The labor shortage in those spheres could limit the country’s potential for increased industrial production. Furthermore, fewer men exacerbate the issue of falling births in Russia. In 2021, only 1.4 million births were recorded nationwide, the lowest over the past decade. Coupled with a decreasing number of working-age men, such decline in live births could lead to less innovation, a larger share of retired people, and rising government expenditure on pensions and healthcare.

From July 2023 to June 2024, around 33 percent of the detected network intrusions by the Russian state or state-affiliated cyber threat actors were directed against governments. A further 15 percent of incidents targeted Think tanks and NGOs. According to the research, Russia's state-affiliated cyber threat actors aimed another nine percent of cyber attacks at educational institutions in other countries.

Over 60 percent of Russians had a negative attitude toward the Unified State Exam in 2024. Only 17 percent of respondents stated that it was a worthy substitute for the outdated examination system. The public opinion on the exam deteriorated over the observed period. The Unified State Exam was mandatory for school graduates in Russia to take after the 11th grade to be able to apply to higher education institutions.

In September 2024, the largest share of Russians with a positive attitude toward the United States was registered among the group aged 18 to 24 years, at 28 percent. At the same time, approximately 80 percent of the survey respondents aged over 55 years viewed the U.S. negatively.

Alaska had the highest male to female ratio in the United States in 2020, with 109.2 men for every 100 women. The male to female ration was lowest in the District of Columbia, with 90.3 men for every 100 women.

The final frontier

Alaska, which was purchased from the Russian Empire in 1867, is the largest state in the U.S. and one of the newest states, having been admitted to the U.S. in 1959. Although oil production dominates the economy, Alaska has a very high poverty rate and consistently has the highest unemployment rate in the country.

It’s a man’s world

Alaska is one of 10 states in the U.S. that has more men than women. The male to female ratio in the United States as a whole is about even, but as the population ages, there tend to be more females than males. Even though the sex ratio in the U.S. is almost one to one, a little more than 56 percent all females participated in the labor force in 2021, compared with 67.6 percent of men.

As of 2024, the number of women exceeded that of men in Russia in all age categories above 30 years. The lowest female-to-male ratio was recorded among Russians between 20 and 24 years old, measuring at 932 women per 1,000 men. Within the category aged 70 years and older, the number of women was approximately 2.1 times higher than that of men. Fertility rate in Russia According to the United Nations' report World Population Prospects 2019, Russia could have less than 84 million population by 2100. Despite the numerous programs implemented by the government to encourage births, such as maternal capital benefits, the fertility rate has been declining in recent years. One contributing factor was a decline in births in the early 1990s, which resulted in fewer Russian women entering reproductive age. Maternity capital benefits in Russia Launched in 2007, the maternal capital program by the Russian state announced that a woman, or in particular cases, a man receiving a second child would receive a bonus from the government. They could decide to spend on mortgage, pension of the parent, or education of a child. The main objective of the program, which was introduced in 2007, was resolving the demographic problem. In 2020, the program was slated for extension until 2026, with a subsidy per family receiving a second child increased and set to be indexed annually. Furthermore, the program also applied to mothers receiving their first child starting from 2020.

Russia had the highest population count among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, at an estimated 146.1 million in 2024, while the lowest figure was recorded in Moldova, at around 2.5 million. Between 2024 and 2029, the number of inhabitants was forecast to decrease in Russia, Belarus, and Moldova. The other members of the organization were expected to see their population grow. In total, roughly 251.8 million people resided in the CIS countries in 2024, and the population would expand by almost five million in the following five years. Demographic trends across the CIS countries The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is set to experience population shifts in the coming years until 2029, with Russia maintaining its position as the most populous member. Uzbekistan is expected to see significant growth, with its number of residents increasing from 36.9 million in 2024 to 41 million in 2029. Furthermore, Uzbekistan had the fastest-growing population in the CIS in 2023, at 2.1 percent compared to the previous year, closely followed by Tajikistan. In contrast, Russia and Azerbaijan recorded population declines of about 0.3 percent. This is reflected in fertility rates, with Tajikistan boasting the highest number of births per woman in the region, at 3.6 in 2024. Urbanization in the CIS and worldwide Urbanization levels differ significantly across the CIS. Belarus leads with over 80 percent of its population living in urban areas in 2023, followed by Russia. To compare, on a global level, the urbanization rate stood at 57 percent in 2023, up 4.4 percentage points from a decade back. The highest rates were recorded in Northern America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Across Europe, three-quarters of the population resided in cities.

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.

According to a survey conducted in March 2022, 61 percent of registered voters in the United States who identified as Democrats strongly supported social media companies banning content from Russian state-controlled media outlets. Overall, 42 percent of Republicans felt the same. In addition, 6 percent of Democrats and 11 percent of Republicans strongly opposed the banning of this content by social media companies in the United States.