Russia: SOCIETY

SOCIETY



Population: In July 2005, Russia’s population was an estimated 143.4 million, a decrease of 3.1 million since 1989. That total made Russia the seventh most populous country in the world. Of the total, 73 percent live in cities and towns, and 27 percent live in rural areas, a ratio that has remained stable since 1989. Some 89 million people (61 percent of the population) were of working age in 2002. About 1 million residents of Russia are citizens of other countries. In 2003 the rate of immigration was 0.9 per 1,000 after a decrease of 55 percent since 2002. That year the emigration rate increased by 50 percent.



Demography: In 2004 the average age was 37.7 years, an increase of three years since 1989, indicating a steadily aging population. Only 14 percent of the population was less than 15 years of age. Life expectancy was 59.9 years for men and 73.3 years for women; 53.4 percent of the population was female. The birthrate was 9.6 per 1,000 population; the death rate was 15.2 per 1,000 population. Infant mortality was 17.0 per 1,000 live births, and the average number of children per woman of childbearing age was 1.3.



Ethnic Groups and Languages: According to the 2002 census, the largest ethnic groups were Russians (representing 80 percent of the total), Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Chuvash, Chechens, and Armenians, each of which accounted for at least 1 million residents. The official language is Russian; approximately 100 other languages are spoken.



Religion: The official state religion is Russian Orthodoxy, with which the government has a unique relationship. About 75 million Russians belong to that faith, but the fastest growing religion is Islam, professed by about 20 million. Other religions are Roman Catholicism, 1.3 million; Judaism, estimated at between 400,000 and 550,000; and Jehovah’s Witnesses, 131,000. Religious activity increased markedly following the collapse of communist rule in 1991, but limitations have remained. A 1997 law set requirements that religions be registered, putting unrecognized groups at a disadvantage. For example, all Muslim groups falling outside the government-sanctioned Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Russia are repressed as potential terrorist organizations.

Education and Literacy: Russia traditionally has had a highly educated population. According to the 2002 census, 99.5 percent of the population above age 10 was literate. The constitution guarantees the right to free preschool, basic general, and secondary vocational education. Basic general education is compulsory for nine years, from age six until age 15. The first three years are considered primary, the remaining years secondary. After exclusive state operation of the education system in the Soviet era, many private education institutions appeared in the 1990s. The education budget fell drastically in the 1990s, although the Putin administration has restored it somewhat since 2002. In the early 2000s, incomplete curriculum reform has impeded training in new technical fields. Beginning in the 1990s, the teaching profession has suffered from low pay and loss of quality individuals, and textbooks, computers, and laboratories have been in short supply. In the early 2000s, many private institutions of higher learning opened. By 2004 more than 1,000 public and private institutions were in operation. Unlike in the Soviet period, about half of higher education students pay fees and/or entrance bribes.



Health: Health care is free in principle, but in practice adequate treatment increasingly depends on wealth, and private health care is increasingly sought. Doctors are poorly trained and inadequately paid, and hospitals generally are in poor condition. There is a persistent shortage of nurses, specialized personnel, and medical supplies and equipment. The hospital system suffers decaying infrastructure and long waiting lists. Distribution of facilities and medical personnel is highly skewed in favor of urban areas, especially politically sensitive cities. Russia’s high ratio of hospital beds to population—12.1 to 1,000 in 1998—is because outpatient care is not emphasized as much as in the West. In 2001 there were 4.7 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants. The poor quality of air and water in many areas and the prevalence of heavy smoking and alcohol use (especially among men) exacerbate the overall poor health of the nation. Preventive health care is a low priority. The medical conditions most frequently causing death are heart disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases, and diabetes. In 2001 some 0.9 percent of individuals between the ages of 15 and 49 were reported to be afflicted with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In 2004 experts estimated as many as 2 million cases of HIV. Mainly through the young, drug-abusing segment of its population, in 2005 Russia had the most rapid rate of increase in HIV cases outside sub-Saharan Africa.

Welfare: In the 1990s, economic transition and the end of Soviet-era public welfare forced more Russians into poverty as state social support programs failed to meet the social needs of a new economic system. Most enterprises provide an extensive social safety net for their workers, including maternity leave, child allowances, housing, paid vacations, and medical care. However, many workers are forced to postpone retirement because the post-Soviet pension system, which is Russia’s largest expenditure for social welfare, has not been adequate to provide for retirees. Between 2002 and 2004, average monthly benefits increased from US$45 to US$58.Worker pensions are funded by employers through a single social tax and by a direct assessment on self-employed workers and independent farmers. In January 2005, the government’s poorly planned conversion of pensioner benefits, such as subsidized medicines and transportation, into less valuable cash payments aroused large demonstrations all over Russia. In mid-2004, an estimated 20 percent of the population fell below the minimum subsistence level of US$79 per month. Most welfare agencies are run at local or regional rather than national levels, but they suffer from inadequate funding and corruption. No agency ministers specifically to the homeless, whose number has grown since 1991. The Fund for Social Support, which maintains a number of social assistance programs, has suffered from corruption scandals. Private charities do not function as freely or as actively as in the West.