By DemocracyRules
Updated from From May 06, 2008
The population of Russia is dropping rapidly by about 700,000 per year. Both Russian and non-Russian demographers agree the situation is serious.
The Russian population is declining about one-half a percentage point per year. The current population of Russia is about 141 million, compared to the U.S., which now exceeds 300 million, and shows robust growth. Russian immigration is low, and deaths exceed births. Poverty is high when measured in an absolute sense, and health care is mediocre. The life expectancy at birth is about 66 years, very short for an industrialized country. Canadians have a life expectancy of about 80 years. The Russian suicide rate is very high, and alcoholism strongly contributes to morbidity and mortality.
Michale Hayden, the head of the CIA, recently predicted that by 2050, the Russian population will decline to about 108 million, a 25%, reduction.
The World Bank expects a similar decline, with population reducing 12% by 2025. The labor supply will reduce by 11 million in the next 20 years.
Russian demographers predict similar trends. The newspaper Kommersant cited a recent report of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. They predict that the population will fall to 138 million in 2020 and to 133 million by 2030. The working age population will reduce from about 90 million to about 78 million.
WHY ARE THEY DYING OUT?
Because the demographics are very much against them. The main child-bearing age-group, ages 20 to 29, will soon plummet. As these young people continue to be childless, Russia will soon be sucked down into a vicious cycle, with each generation yielding fewer and fewer offspring.
THIS demographic catastrophe helps explain why Russia is so desperate to absorb any ethnic Russians from anywhere, including Georgia. Russia also has a very strong eye on the millions of ethnic Russians in the Ukraine.
Russia continues to waste vast amounts of money on defense spending, and Freedom House no longer lists Russia as a democracy.
Maybe when Russia is smaller it will be less aggressive.
Pro Patria
The USA continues to waste vast amounts of money on defense spending, and it is a democracy only in name. In fact the USA wastes more money on defense than the defense spending of the defense spending of the rest of the entire world...
Maybe when the USA is smaller it will be less aggressive, but don't count on it.
Installing new missile defense on the back door of Russia - in Poland - is no different to Russia installing missiles in Cuba - which almost caused WW3 in the Cuban Missile Crisis - because the USA refused to accept it.
Total hypocracy - the acts of the US neocon government.
[FROM DR -- WELL, AT LEAST your comment is short!]
Posted by: Yes but truthfully | August 25, 2008 at 08:18 AM