Number of live births in Russia
Russia: Number of live births was 1.58 million births in 2018. ▼ Falling
Number of live births in Russia, 1959–2018
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in births.
Analysis
Russia recorded 1.58 million births for number of live births in 2018.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.1% on the previous year and down 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of live births in Russia peaked at 2.80 million births in 1959 and was at its lowest, 1.21 million births, in 1999.
That places Russia 2nd out of 34 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.80 million births | 2.80 million births | 2.80 million births | 1 |
| 1960s | 2.18 million births | 1.82 million births | 2.78 million births | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.07 million births | 1.90 million births | 2.18 million births | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.35 million births | 2.16 million births | 2.50 million births | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.46 million births | 1.21 million births | 1.99 million births | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.50 million births | 1.27 million births | 1.76 million births | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.81 million births | 1.58 million births | 1.91 million births | 9 |
Countries ranked near Russia
More population data for Russia
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.1% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 5.86 million people (2100)
- Population density 7.72 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.1% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 1.42 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 10,077 people (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 1.42 births per woman (2024)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 1.42 births per woman (2024)
- Natural population growth rate -0.3% (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.45 live births per woman (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of live births in Russia?
- Number of live births in Russia was 1.58 million births in 2018, according to Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of live births recorded in Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.80 million births in 1959.
- What is the lowest number of live births recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.21 million births in 1999.
- How does Russia rank for number of live births?
- Russia ranks 2nd out of 34 countries with data for 2018.
- Is number of live births rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Russia data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of live births. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The total number of live births recorded in a given year.