In 2025, the Russian authorities continued to restrict access to demographic statistics. As the outlet Vet writes, publicly available data on mortality, births, marriages, divorces, migration and total population have largely disappeared. Rosstat last published a major update in March 2025, then revised only a few 2024 indicators and later removed the “Demography” section from its monthly socio-economic reports.
Demographer Aleksei Raksha said that even academic specialists and institute heads no longer have access to new data. According to him, Rosstat rejects requests and cites amendments to the law on official statistical accounting adopted in February 2023. At the same time, the project “If To Be Precise” notes that there is no direct legal ban on publishing demographic statistics, and such data are not covered by state secrecy rules.
One researcher interviewed by Vet said scientists may now receive statistics only after signing non-disclosure commitments. Against that backdrop, only a limited set of indicators remains public, including the fertility rate. Speaking on December 19, Vladimir Putin said it had fallen to about 1.4 children per woman. Replacement level requires at least 2.1.
Experts also dispute official claims of improving birth trends in dozens of regions. Raksha says the total fertility rate increased compared with 2024 in only 23 of Russia’s 85 regions. Researcher Salavat Abylkalikov argues that even regions with still relatively high fertility are likely to see declines in the foreseeable future. In his view, Russia may break the 1999 anti-record for births as early as 2026.
Raksha says the likely reason for the secrecy is rising mortality, including losses linked to the war against Ukraine. Data on deaths from cancer, HIV, cardiovascular disease and external causes have also vanished from public access. According to the latest available figures for 2023, 284,000 people in Russia died from malignant tumors and about 30,000 from HIV. Experts warn that without reliable statistics, both the state and the medical community have fewer tools to assess problems and make informed decisions.