Since July, Russia has stopped publishing key demographic indicators, including population size, birth rates, death rates, marriages, and divorces, to avoid drawing citizens’ attention to the country’s demographic crisis.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service.
“Russia is hiding demographic statistics because they no longer align with the propaganda slogans about a ‘great nation,’” the intelligence service noted.
In 2024, 1.222 million children were born in Russia — the lowest number since 1999. In the first quarter of 2025, only about 293–294 thousand children were born, which is 2.4% less than in the same period of 2024 and is the lowest figure in 200 years. Moreover, the death rate exceeds the birth rate: in 2024, the natural population decline was 596.2 thousand people, which is 20.4% higher than in 2023.
The main reasons for the demographic crisis include emigration (since February 24, 2022, between 800,000 and 950,000 people have left Russia), increased mortality, and fewer births. Additionally, Russia’s demographic statistics do not reflect losses in the war against Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service, the Russian authorities are losing not just soldiers but also demographic resources: the number of ethnic Russians, whom the Kremlin considers the regime’s backbone, is rapidly shrinking.
