Demographic problems of the Ryazan region

The article considers the issues of population dynamics and structure in the Ryazan region. The decline in the number of rural population is going at a faster rate. Since 1995, the urban population has decreased by 10%, and for this period the rural population has decreased by 26%. At the same time, there is observed aging of the population, more than 30% of the population are over 55 years old. Aging of the population leads to an increase in the demographic burden on the working population, while in 2006 the load factor was 668 people per 1000 working population, in 2016 it was 806, and in 2031 it will be 945 people, among them 309 children and 636 elderly persons. The process of reduction in population and consequently in labor force is associated with a decline in the birth rate in the region, that is due not to only to a decrease in the number of women of the basic childbearing age (up to 30 years) from 92.9 thousand in 2016 to 84.9 thousand in 2030 (by 8.6%), but also due to a decrease in the number of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) from 251.8 thousand to 218.3 thousand (by 13.3%). One of the main causes of the reduction in the birth rate is low living standards of the population, particularly in rural areas. Compensation for the loss of population by attracting migrants can lead to undesirable consequences. Hence, together with measures of social support and improvement of the living standards of the population, it is necessary to actively introduce high-tech information technologies in all spheres of life, raising labor productivity and quality of labor resources.