Russia's population in July 2004 is estimated at 143,782,338, broken down as follows: 0-14 years: 15% (male 11,064,109); female 10,518, 595); 15-64 years: 71.3% (male 49,534,076; female 52,958,107); 65 years and over: 13.7% (male 6,177,580; female 13,529,871) (Russia, 2005). The median age for the total population is 37.9 years; for men the median age is 34.7 years and for women, 40.7 years (2004 estimates) (Russia, 2005). This indicates that the life expectancy for men is much lower than for women. The reasons for this include poor health care and diet, high alcoholism, elevated suicide rates and the effect of wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya.

The sex rate at birth is 1.06 males to 1 female; under 15 years it is still 1.05 males to 1 female; but between 15-64 years, the ratio shifts so that it's 0.94 males to 1 female (Russia, 2005). And for people 65 years of age and over, there is only one man for every two women: 0.46 males per female (Russia, 2005).

Russia has a negative growth rate of -0.45%, with 9.63 births per 1,000 population and 15.17 deaths per 1,000 population, according to the 2004 estimates (Russia, 2005).

Infant mortality rates in total are 16.96 deaths per 1,000 live births in total; for baby boys it's slightly higher: 19.58 deaths per 1,000 live births; for girls it's lower: 14.18 deaths per 1,000 live births (Russia, 2005). The life expectancy at birth for the total population is 66.39 years; for men it's only 59.91 years while for women it's close to figures from the West: 73.27 years (Russia, 2005).

With regard to HIV/AIDS, Russia has an adult prevalence rate of 0.9%, which is a 2001 estimate (Russia, 2005). In 2001, it was estimated that there were 700,000 people living with AIDS, and 9,000 deaths from the disease (Russia, 2005).

There are many different ethnic groups in Russia, enumerated as Russian, 81.5%; Tatar, 3.8%; Ukrainian 3%; Chuvash, 1.2%, Bashkir, 0.9%; Belarusian, 0.8%; Moldavian, 0.7%, and other 8.1%. These are 1989 figures (Russia, 2005). These percentages should probably be taken as approximations, since they must depend largely on people who self-identify as members of the various groups, and may not be entirely accurate.

Russia is a nation in transition, struggling to change from a communist system to a free market economy all at once. The statistics reveal a large population in decline, since the birth rate is negative; also, poverty is a part of life for many Russians. Perhaps the biggest danger here is that Westernization is not happening quickly enough, leading some Russians to conclude the experiment with democracy and capitalism has failed.

REFERENCE
Russia. (2005). Retrieved March 20, 2005 from http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rs.html