The demographic capacity of the Vologda oblast

The article is devoted to the study of the demographic capacity of the Vologda Oblast. The relevance of the topic is due to two circumstances: first, the entry of Russia as a whole and the vast majority of its entities into a new stage of depopulation, and second, the formation of regional demographic development programs based on priority national projects. The idea of the research is that each Russia’s entity is unique, characterized by specific demographic structural and dynamic parameters. This is due to their historical, geographical, cultural and other features that determine the current demographic state, as well as future trends in the development of the demographic capacity. The Vologda Oblast as a separate entity of Russia also has a specific demographic status, which contains both advantages and disadvantages to overcome the demographic crisis. The purpose of the research is to assess the existing advantages and disadvantages of the demographic situation in the Vologda Oblast and identify the most acute problems, as well as prospects for overcoming depopulation. This approach helps present the features of formation of the demographic capacity in the Vologda Oblast in more detail from a new perspective, which distinguishes this study from the works of other authors. The research object is the demographic situation in the region. An additional aspect that forms the research novelty is the method of comparative analysis in the context of national and regional trends. The use of forecast data for the medium-term period helps assess the state and prospects of the demographic potential in the Vologda Oblast through time. The main results of the study state that the demographic capacity of the Vologda Oblast has certain advantages in relation to the all-Russian and district demographic trends, which consist in a relatively high rate of total fertility. However, the risks of losing this advantage are high, which requires target regional population policies towards abortion prevention, reduction of infant mortality and overall mortality.