Population of Russia by region: where the number of people is increasing and where it is decreasing
As of 1 January 2025, Russia was home to 146,119,928 people, and in 2024 the country lost 30,861 people. The population grew only in 22 out of 85 subjects, and in the remaining 63 it declined. The biggest absolute gains were in Moscow and Moscow Oblast, about 124.5 thousand people each, while the sharpest percentage drop was in Belgorod Oblast: minus 1.24% over the year.
Below is an analysis of why some regions grow and others empty, how the map has changed since 2012, and where the elderly are most concentrated. Figures are from Rosstat tables, each chart has an interactive version on the website.
How Rosstat calculates regional populations
Rosstat estimates the permanent population as of 1 January each year. It starts from the latest census and then each year adds births and arrivals and subtracts deaths and departures. Therefore the yearly change is always split into two parts:
- natural increase: births minus deaths;
- migration increase: arrivals minus departures, which includes moves between regions and immigration from abroad.
The data are presented without the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as noted in the table footnote. The latest table broken down by subjects was released with an estimate for 1 January 2025; data for early 2026 are not yet available. The full table for all regions and districts: population size and components of change.
Across the country in 2024, deaths exceeded births by 599,454. Migration almost closed this gap: it added 568,593 people. Hence the modest total, minus 30,861.
Which regions grew in 2024
Moscow added 124,482 people, Moscow Oblast 124,475. The difference between them is only seven people, but this growth is structured differently. In Moscow, there were 4,773 more births than deaths, and 119,709 more people moved in than left. In the Moscow region, deaths exceeded births by 25,417, the largest natural decline in the country. The region still grew because migration gain was record: 149,892 people.
Next come Saint Petersburg (plus 55,159), Tyumen Oblast together with Yugra and Yamalo‑Nenets (plus 40,896), Dagestan (plus 27,666), Leningrad Oblast (plus 23,717) and Chechnya (plus 23,686).
In percentages the picture is different. The fastest‑growing region is Chechnya: plus 1.53% per year. After it comes Moscow Oblast (1.44%), Yamalo‑Nenets and Ingushetia (each 1.38%), Yugra (1.27%) and Leningrad Oblast (1.17%). Moscow, with its huge absolute increase, added 0.95%.
Where the population is shrinking fastest
The most people lost in 2024 were in Bashkortostan: minus 21,984 people. Next are Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (minus 20,914), Kuzbass (minus 20,465) and Volgograd Oblast (minus 19,852). These are large regions, hence the large numbers.
If measured in percentages, the first is Belgorod Oblast: minus 1.24%. There, natural decline (11,708 people) was added to by out‑migration: 6,926 more left than arrived, the largest migratory loss in the country. Following Belgorod are Pskov Oblast (minus 1.15%), Kurgan Oblast (minus 1.13%), Kursk Oblast (minus 1.05%) and Tambov Oblast (minus 1.01%).
In 25 regions the population decreased on both sides simultaneously: more deaths than births, and more people left than arrived. Among them are almost the entire European North (Karelia, Komi, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Oblasts), Kursk, Bryansk, Tambov, Kostroma Oblasts, Kuzbass, Omsk Oblast and Chukotka.
Where more are born than die
Natural increase in 2024 occurred in only 13 subjects out of 85. Almost all of it is concentrated in the North Caucasus and the oil‑gas districts of Tyumen Oblast.
The top spots are Dagestan (plus 27,972) and Chechnya (plus 23,934). Tyumen Oblast together with its districts gave a plus 10,766, of which Yugra 7,406 and Yamal 3,620. Without the districts the oblast itself had a small decline, 260 people. Moscow (plus 4,773) is also in this list, the only capital.
In Dagestan and Chechnya the growth is almost entirely natural: slightly more people leave than arrive (migration decline 306 and 248 people). The North Caucasus Federal District became the only district in the country where births exceeded deaths: plus 53,434 people.
How many children are born in each region and how this has changed, see the page natural increase by years.
Where people move
Migration increase was positive in 54 regions. But it is distributed very unevenly.
Four regions of the two capitals (Moscow, Moscow region, St. Petersburg and Leningrad region) together received 374,189 people due to moves. For comparison: migration increase for the whole country for the year was 568,593 people. Following the capitals are Krasnodar Krai (plus 31,593), Tyumen Oblast with districts (plus 30,130), Tatarstan (plus 26,241) and Sverdlovsk Oblast (plus 19,718).
Using the example of Krasnodar Krai it is clear how migration offsets loss. Deaths there were 22,357 more than births, yet the population still grew by 9,236 people. In Tatarstan natural loss was 9,651 people, but the result is plus 16,590. In Sverdlovsk Oblast the newcomers almost covered it: loss 20,961, migration plus 19,718, resulting in minus 1,243.
In total there are 11 such regions where migration completely covered natural loss. In addition to those already named, these are Adygea, Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Amur, Magadan and Sakhalin Oblasts.
How the country's migration increase changed over the years is shown on the page migration increase by years.
How the map has changed since 2012
In one year the changes look modest, over twelve years they are noticeable. The population of Russia on 1 January 2012 was 143,171 thousand people (still without Crimea), on 1 January 2020 it was 147,959.3 thousand (already with Crimea and Sevastopol), on 1 January 2024 it was 146,150.8 thousand (without four new regions).
Ingushetia grew the fastest: from 429.3 to 527.2 thousand people, plus 22.8%. Moscow Oblast added 19.4% (from 7,243.7 to 8,651.3 thousand), Chechnya 19.2%, Leningrad Oblast 16.8%. Moscow grew by 12.7%, from 11,668.7 to 13,149.8 thousand.
At the other end of the list is the north of the European part. The Komi Republic lost 18.4% of residents (was 883.1 thousand, became 720.6), almost one in five. Karelia lost 17.5%, Arkhangelsk Oblast together with Nenets Autonomous Okrug 17.1%, Murmansk Oblast 16.1%. Near them are the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (minus 16.2%) and Kurgan Oblast (minus 15.7%).
Rows for each subject since 2012 are collected in the table population by subjects, and the overall line for the country on the page population of Russia by years.
Where the most elderly are
In the same table, Rosstat shows the share of people older than the working‑age population. As of 1 January 2024 for Russia they are 23.7%, or 34,593.4 thousand people.
The "oldest" population is in Tambov Oblast: 29.2% of residents are older than the working age. Next are Kirov (28.7%), Tula (28.5%) and Kurgan (28.0) oblasts. The fewest elderly are in Ingushetia (9.4%), Chechnya (9.9%) and Tuva (10.2%). Yamalo‑Nenets (12.6%) and Chukotka (13.1%) are also among the most "young" regions.
This map largely repeats the depopulation map: where there are many elderly, more people die than are born. Tambov, Kurgan and Pskov oblasts appear both in the list of the most "old" and in the list of the fastest emptying.
Across the country the share of the elderly rose to 25.8% on 1 January 2019, and then began to decline. The reason is the pension reform: the working‑age threshold is being raised gradually, and part of the people who previously would have been considered retirees are now considered of working age.
Questions and Answers
How many regions are there in Russia according to Rosstat?
The tables contain the population of 85 subjects. Data for the Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are not included in the estimate for 1 January 2025, as noted in Rosstat’s footnote.
Which region of Russia is the most populous?
Moscow: 13,274,285 people on 1 January 2025. In second place Moscow Oblast (8,775,735), in third Krasnodar Krai (5,842,238), in fourth Saint Petersburg (5,652,922).
In which regions is the population growing?
In 2024 the population increased in 22 subjects. The largest absolute growth was in Moscow and the Moscow region, while the fastest percentage growth was in Chechnya, Moscow Oblast, Ingushetia and Yamalo‑Nenets.
Where is the population declining the fastest?
In percentage terms for 2024 the population fell most sharply in Belgorod (minus 1.24%), Pskov (minus 1.15%) and Kurgan (minus 1.13%) oblasts. Over the twelve years since 2012 the greatest losses were in Komi, Karelia and Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Why does the population grow in some regions and not in others?
Mostly because of migration. Natural increase (more births than deaths) occurs in only 13 regions, so migration decides everything: people move to capitals, to the south and to oil‑gas districts. The North Caucasus regions grow differently, thanks to high birth rates.
Where can I see the population of my region?
The population and components of change table includes all 85 subjects and the eight federal districts; alongside it are tables for urban and for rural population. Other indicators are collected on the page regions of Russia.
In Brief
- On 1 January 2025 Russia had 146,119,928 people, a decrease of 30,861 in 2024.
- The population grew in 22 of 85 regions and declined in 63.
- Natural increase occurred only in 13 regions, almost all in the North Caucasus and in Tyumen Oblast with its districts.
- Moscow, the Moscow region, Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast together gained 374,189 people due to migration.
- In percentage terms the fastest declines are in Belgorod, Pskov and Kurgan oblasts; over 12 years the European North has emptied the most.