Many are interested in the question of what is the life expectancy in Russia? Life expectancy is one of the most important indicators of a country's well-being. It is influenced by a whole range of factors: material well-being, social and personal well-being, lifestyle, medical condition, environmental situation, level of education and culture, and others. This indicator reflects the situation in the country better than GDP per capita. Life expectancy in Russia is one of the lowest in the world.
What is the average life span
Life expectancy in Russia is 66 years. Moreover, in men it is only about 59 years old, while in women it is 73 years old. Although in all countries women live longer than men, such a big difference in life expectancy of representatives of different sexes is typical precisely for Russia. This is probably due to the peculiarities of the lifestyle of Russian men. In the future, this gap, according to the UN, will narrow.
Average life expectancy in Russia by years
In the past, the inhabitants of Russia lived about the same years as the inhabitants of developed countries. Due to frequent epidemics, wars, hunger and hard work, most of the inhabitants of our country lived only 30-40 years. Now such a length of life is observed only in some African states. Growth in life expectancy was observed in the Soviet years. Before Yeltsin came to power, she steadily remained in the region of 68 years.
In the 1990s, mortality rose sharply, which was associated not only with the spread of drunkenness, HIV and drug addiction, but also with a decline in citizens' incomes. The number of homeless people and cases of suicide has risen sharply. Many have ceased to feel in demand in society. The reduction in pensions had a particularly strong effect, which sharply worsened the welfare of pensioners. However, life expectancy was not reduced much - on average, only 3-4 years. Perhaps this was due to the improvement of the environmental situation, for example, due to the reduced use of pesticides and the shutdown of a number of industries.
Until 2006, a similar picture remained, despite an increase in the level of well-being of citizens. However, since 2006 there has been a steady increase in this indicator, which is likely to continue now. In 2014, Russians have lived a little more than seventy years. Despite the crisis and the decline in material wealth in recent years, the life expectancy of Russians has not decreased, but, on the contrary, has grown. At least that's what official statistics say.
Growth reasons
The reasons for the increase in life expectancy in recent years could be a program to combat smoking, the closure of a number of industries, the emergence of better medicines, the transition to environmentally friendly gasoline and government policies to promote healthy lifestyles and sports. Also, one cannot fail to note the fact that despite the scarcity of modern pensions, they still remain at a relatively tolerant level and are often indexed. What can not be said about the salaries of state employees.
Russia's place among other countries
In the list of countries in terms of life expectancy, Russia recently ranked 129th. Ahead of us are such seemingly backward countries as India, Tuvalu, Bangladesh. People live there for 2-3 years longer. At the same time, the duration in African countries is much shorter. However, these indicators are averaged, and now the situation may be different. So, according to data from recent years, Russia's position in the list has shifted for the better, and now our country occupies 116th line. In Ukraine, they still live longer, but the gap has become smaller. However, the duration there also increased markedly, despite the crisis.
Thus, increases are observed in all countries, but with different intensities.
General situation in the world
If you look at the map of life expectancy in the world, the most long-lived is the population of Western Europe, North America, Australia and Japan. All these are advanced economies. Minimum indicators are observed in African countries, which are also the most backward in economic terms. This indicates the need to develop in our country, first of all, the economic and social sector. But at the same time, production should be as clean as possible from an environmental point of view.
What affects the life expectancy of citizens
The methods for calculating life expectancy are quite complex. For example, they do not take into account infant mortality. When people talk about life expectancy, they mean exactly the adult and elderly people.
According to statistics, the most significant factor affecting how many people will live is lifestyle. The health of the nation depends on it by about 50%. It is well known that smoking and alcoholism shorten life and damage health. According to the World Health Organization, 60% of smokers in Western Europe are citizens of our country. In some regions of Russia drunkenness is widespread. Moreover, the quality of alcohol in our country is much lower than in Western countries. Most people in middle and older age do not show the necessary physical activity. Also traditionally we have a bad attitude to the environment. Food products are produced without taking into account medical standards. Thus, our compatriots' attitude to their health leaves much to be desired, which is one of the main reasons for the low life expectancy of Russians.
In second place is healthcare. It is also not well developed in our country. In some areas there are no medical care centers at all. The situation with healthcare is the most painful place in modern Russia. In the USSR, she was only slightly better. The level of medical care, especially in provincial cities and towns, occupies a very shameful place in the list of countries of the world. And while a positive trend in this area is not observed.
In third place is the environmental situation. Due to the low population density, the state of the ecology is better than in such densely populated countries as India and China. However, the attitude towards nature conservation leaves much to be desired, and the ecological situation varies greatly depending on the region - from almost ideal to critical. As well as medicine, ecology, we do not receive due attention.
The level of material well-being also has a direct impact. A person with a good income can afford high-quality treatment, rest in a sanatorium, the best food and quality alcohol, as well as good environmentally friendly housing. The one who barely makes ends meet is practically devoid of all this. In their case, it is not about caring for health, but about survival. The likelihood of death in a heavy low-paying job is often also higher, plus professional harm. An additional negative factor for people with low incomes is depression and loss of morale, which also has a strong impact.
Factors of Russian reality
Some researchers have found that even corruption affects health. The lack of stability and the low level of social support that have plagued Russians since the collapse of the USSR also affect the health of citizens. Now a person may lose his job at any time, and employers began to make higher demands on employees. Often people recycle. However, these negative factors are more likely to concern representatives of the younger generation of Russians than pensioners. While in the 1990s, absolutely everyone was a hostage to the situation. Naturally, this situation had a stronger effect on the life expectancy of Russians.
Life expectancy of men and women in Russia
Life expectancy depends on the gender of the person. The average life expectancy of women in Russia is much longer than that of men. Moreover, their dynamics coincide in many respects. However, in men, jumps are sharper than in women. In Russia, the gap in performance is greater than in most other countries of the world. All this means that men often do not live up to their due age due to socio-economic reasons. In 2015, the average life expectancy of women was 76.7 years, and that of men was 65.9. Despite the fact that in rural areas, chronic diseases are not as prevalent as in cities, people live there for 2 years less. Obviously, this is due to the high level of alcoholism and smoking among the rural population.
In developed countries, the difference in the life expectancy of men and women is very small. For example, in Japan, women live on average 85.1 years, and men 82.4 years. The situation is similar in other developed countries. The average life expectancy of men in Russia is one of the smallest in the world.
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is often considered synonymous with average life expectancy. A very important indicator of demography. It is traditionally understood as the life expectancy expected at birth (at the age of 0 years). In developed countries, this indicator is currently 78 years and 82 years for men and women, respectively. With regard to life expectancy in Russia, the opinions of the Russian authorities are not the same, due to the complexity of its forecast. On average, it is 10-15 years less.
Life expectancy by regions of Russia
Russia is a multinational country and each region has its own way of life and its traditions. Although all nations are roughly equivalent in genetic terms, lifestyles and perceptions of the environment can vary greatly.
The most long-lived are the non-drinking regions of the country - the North Caucasus Republics, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Tatarstan, as well as the most prosperous cities and regions: Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area. Moreover, Moscow is on this indicator in second place - more than 76 years. In the first place, Ingushetia is almost 79 years old. In these regions, the gap between the lengths of life of men and women is also significantly lower.
Outsiders are many regions of the middle zone, the north of the European territory of Russia, Siberia and the Far East. Obviously, this is due to the high share of the drinking population and low living standards. In last place is the Republic of Tuva. Here, the highest rate barely reaches 62 years.
How to improve the life expectancy of the population
Many states are involved in increasing life expectancy. To obtain the maximum result, you must act immediately in all directions:
- Advocating a healthy lifestyle, playing sports, quitting smoking and drinking, providing the population with high-quality reliable information on the prevention of diseases, etc.
- Improving the quality of life of pensioners: the creation of sanatoriums, rest houses, interest clubs, raising pensions and improving the quality of medical services, etc.
- Improving the environmental situation, improving the quality of food and medicine, etc.
All these measures are being implemented in developed countries, but have not yet become widespread in our country.
