Page 43 - RusRPTFeb24

Russia’s population could drop to 130mn by 2046 due to declining immigration numbers and low birth rates, according to a worst-case projection by Russia’s statistics agency Rosstat, the RBC news website reported. Rosstat predicts Russia’s population will drop from the current 146.1mn to 138.8mn by 2046 under its most likely scenario, which was released in October. Rosstat’s latest worst-case scenario anticipates an even deeper population decline of 15.4mn over the next 22 years, which would amount to 700,000 fewer people living in the country each year. The agency’s best-case scenario envisions an increase of 4.59mn people to 150.87mn by 2046.
Various polls on how Russians perceive the war in Ukraine, conducted at the end of 2023, show a Russia that supports the war and peace negotiations simultaneously.
Russia-based Levada Center reported that in its November poll, 74% of the 1,625 people it interviewed “support the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine,” with a growing number of respondents saying the war’s going smoothly (66% in November versus 55% in June) for Russia.
The US-based University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC) found that 63% of respondents supported Russia’s invasion in its own November poll.
In October, the Chronicles research project found that 52% of respondents said they supported it. However, the Russian opposition-initiated project concluded that many respondents likely chose the answers they gave out of fear of government repercussions.
43 RUSSIA Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com