Socio-Economic Situation in Russian Regions and Demographic Results of 2019

Natalia V. Zubarevich – Main Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Doctor of Geographic Sciences, Professor (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alla O. Makarentseva –Leading Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Nikita V. Mkrtchyan – Leading Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Geographic Sciences (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Weak growth in 2019 prevented most regional indicators from returning to pre-crisis levels. Income started to grow in 59 regions, but the crisis recession was not overcome. Growth in regional budget revenues slowed down despite significant growth in transfers. Expenditures grew one and a half times faster than revenues, which resulted in budget deficits in 36 subjects of the Russian Federation. Regional differentiation of per capita social expenditures was somewhat mitigated; social expenditures were a priority for the vast majority of regions.

For the second year in a row Russian population decline. It has happened due to both a significant reduction in the number of births and an insufficient reduction in mortality. The natural decline of Russia’s population in 2019 was 316,200 people, with a total decline of the population by 35,600 people. The mortality rate fell by 1.6 per cent (to 12.3 per 1,000 population) compared to the previous year. The total fertility rate in 2019 was 1.51 children per woman of reproductive age – which was 4.4% lower than in 2018 (1,58).

The migratory growth of the Russian population in 2019 increased to 285.6 thousand people. However, it did not compensate the increased natural loss of population. The increase in migration growth has affected the migration balance of many regions of the country, including Siberia and the Far East. However, main centers of attraction remained the same.

In 2019 there were noticeably more foreigners temporarily staying in Russia – especially tourists, employees and those who arrived for private purposes. The number of labor migrants from the CIS countries is increasing by 3–5% from year to year, except for Ukraine and Moldova citizens. The share of migrants legalized on the labor market changes a little and fluctuates around 70%.

Key words: regional development, money income, budgets, population, birth rate, mortality, migration.