Demographic situation in the Russian Far East: the key trends and challenges

The article deals with the issues of migration and population movement in the Russian Far East. The population growth rate for the period between censuses and average rates are presented for the 1926-1991 period in comparison with similar data for Russia as a whole. It was noted the negative dynamics of region’s population size since 1991, due to the migration outflow and natural population decline. The article analyzes the migration interaction between the Far East and other Russian regions. It was found that the Far East population is on the constant loss arising from the socio-economic disparities with other regions of Russia. It was demonstrate the positive role of migration from the CIS in the Far East, but also showed a trend of reducing the impact of the migration exchange with these countries. It was appear the positive trends in population movement of some Far eastern regions that have occurred since 2012. The estimation showed that fertility rates in the Far East are higher than in Russia as a whole, but the gap is shrinking; mortality rates below than in Russia. Compare 2014/1993 by mortality rates showed reduction for Russia as a whole and increase for the Far East. Life expectancy in the Far East is lower than in Russia as a whole. In the final part of the article stresses that the demographic potential of the Far East remains the negative factor of its development in comparison with other federal districts of Russia. It is necessary for understanding the possibility of socio-economic development of the region, and probably it is required to include this information in a special Federal Law «On special status of development of the Far East».