The divorce rate in Russia may shock you. In January-May 2017 there were 829 divorces per 1000 marriages in the country, official statistics by Rosstat revealed. But these numbers show a strong improvement compared to the same period of 2016, when 895 marriages broke per 1000 registrations.
Divorce rate in Russia
The government data shows a significant improvement in marriage breakdown rates in Russia this year as compared to 2016: 7.4% fewer pairs called it quits in 2017.
But the absolute number of collapsing nuptials in the Russian Federation is still extremely high. Especially when compared with only 145 broken families per 1000 weddings in Chechnya, which is also a part of RF. Russian Federation consists of 85 regions.
Number of divorces per 1000 marriages
- 2017: 829
- 2016: 895
- % to the previous year: 92.6%
In 7 regions people file split-up papers faster than new couples are registered (2017 data).
- Leningrad (St. Petersburg) region: 1119
- Altai: 1063
- Republic Komi: 1033
- Kirov: 1031
- Bryansk: 1028
- Kalmykia: 1028
- Vladimir: 1006
The lowest family break up rates are in predominantly Muslim national republics of Northern Caucasus and other national autonomies. Large metropolises of Sevastopol (Crimea), Moscow and St. Petersburg have the lowest divorce rates among non-national regions.
- Chechnya: 158
- Ingushetia: 186
- Tuva: 282
- Dagestan: 324
- Kabardino-Balkar Republic: 632
- North Ossetia-Alania: 635
- Crimea: 648
- City of Sevastopol: 658
- City of St. Petersburg: 711
- City of Moscow: 716
The official data is included below (click to enlarge images).
Demographics of Russia: Deaths, births, marriages, and divorces—official statistics (January-May 2017)
More nuptials had been registered in Russia this year but fewer kids were born.
- The data shows a significant drop in the number of births (11%) as well as a slight decrease in deaths (1.6%).
- Natural growth of the population, once again, was negative (111,866 more deaths than births). It’s nearly 170% rise compared to 2016 numbers. Thus, the rate of natural decline in population of Russia sped up in 2017.
- At the same time, there were 23.5 thousand more marriages registered in 2017 as compared to the previous year—8.5% increase.
- The number of divorces remained virtually the same: only 0.4% more couples called it quits this year.
Births
- 2017: 679,182
- 2016: 762,505
- Decrease: 83,323
- % to the previous year: 89.1%
The number of newborns dropped in every region of the Russian Federation, except scarcely populated Chukotka, where 9 more newborns were registered in 2017 (293 in total).
Deaths
- 2017: 791,048
- 2016: 804,055
- Decrease: 13,007
- % to the previous year: 98.4%
Republic of Kalmykia recorded 13.7% more deaths than last year. Also a substantial rise was recorded in Nenets Autonomous Okrug (7.6%).
Deaths to births ratio
- 2017: 116.5%
- 2016: 105.4%
Population decline
- 2017: 111,866
- 2016: 41,550
- Absolute increase in trend: 70,316
- % to the previous year: 269.2%
Marriages
- 2017: 298,916
- 2016: 275,440
- Increase: 23,476
- % to the previous year: 108.5%
Certain areas recorded sizable increase in nuptials:
- Khakassia (34.2%)
- Chukotka (23.8%).
- Irkutsk (23.2%)
- Oryol (23.2%)
- Magadan (23%)
- Smolensk (21.6%)
- Belgorod (21.3%)
- Tuva (21.1%)
- Voronezh (20.4%)
Divorces
- 2017: 247,682
- 2016: 246,578
- Increase: 1104
- % to the previous year: 100.4%
Areas that recorded high increases in family breakdowns:
- Tver (7.6%).
- Komi Republic (7.5%)
- Crimea (7.1%)
- Penza (6.4%)
- Sakhalin (6.3%)
- Pskov (5.8%)
- Vladimir (5.8%)
Muslim republics of Dagestan and Ingushetia showed a substantial drop in marriage splits (8.5% and 21.1% accordingly). These autonomous republics have some of the lowest divorce rates per 1000 people already.
Data by regions
These charts include data by region. (Click to enlarge)
Data: Rosstat
Read also:
- What Russians Think of Marriage, Family, and Housekeeping (Research)
- Demographics of Russia: Official statistics on 1 January 2017
- Average salaries in Russia 1991-2016
- 2017 statistics: How Russians spend their wages?
Those are some very sad statistics.
Why are so many marriages failing?
Neo Griffin, In Russia people usually marry very early, before the age of 23-24. When young people in your country have relationships and live together, young Russians get married straight away. There is a lot of pressure from the society to get married (for instance, girls are made to feel wrong is they are intimate with a partner out of wedlock). Next thing, it’s very easy to get divorced: It only takes 1 month, and you are 100% free from the marriage. Another issue is men’s cheating. In Russia men are basically “allowed” to cheat. The biggest fear of Russian… Read more »
I agree, these are sad statistics. Not just the divorce rates, but the birth and death rates as well. Why do Russian women have so few children? Why do Muslim families have more children? The majority of women I have talked to from both Russian and Ukraine have no siblings. Here in the US having only one child is much less common.
Chris,
Different ratings set the number of children in Russian families at 1.7-1.9, so most families have 2 kids. The biggest fear of Russian women is that the husband will divorce her and leave her for a younger woman, this may affect how many kids women have. I talked to several women from Elena’s Models who want 2-3 kids.
Quite the opposite, there are also many women on Elena’s Models deliberately opting out of having future children even with husband. But now it makes more sense that fear is playing a role in female’s mentality. … Personally I would prefer in my future family having first child after say 2 or 3 years just with wife, so we can enjoy life together 1+1, before having babies. … On the other hand, marrying a women which would never wants child at all, would feel for me like in prison and I would, perhaps after many years, so desperate, that ask… Read more »
Fahid,
Most women on Elena’s Models want to have children. There is a field in the profile: “Want to have children” (options: “yes”, “no”, “undecided”, “open to have a child, if my partner wants to have children”). There are some Russian women who don’t want to have kids in a marriage but it’s a small percentage. In fact, the Russian government encourages women to have 3 or more kids, but the high divorce rate makes it a problem.
Elena, please write a honest article survey on the topic of those women which explicitly says NO to children. We want to understand why. …… And my other concern worth of article is if women are open to such strategy I described above (having children later in marriage, not immediately 9 months after wedding). What EM’s female users generally want or expect?
Fahid,
It’s up to you to find out what a woman wants and thinks, what she is comfortable with. Ask and you shall get answers! And if you see in the profile that a woman doesn’t want children (and you do), simply move on. What’s the difference, why? 🙂 No one has to explain to you their reasons.
I guess it might also be due to the fact that it’s difficult to raise many children, financially as well. A lot of people in Russia have a higher education and want their children to get one, and supporting a student is pretty expensive. You have to pay for food, possibly rent, and if the education itself is not free, well, for most people that means they can’t support more than one child at once. If they think about these things in advance, they don’t have a lot of children, obviously.
Dear Elena, i am a member since 26 june, i am also looking east now, not that i cannot find a partner in my home country, but i got to learn Polish, Chech, Ukrainian, Belarus and Russian women true my work as planner. The one thing i have learned the most that they are very feminine, good educated and mostly very strong. I see many women between 30 and 40 years old searching for a foreign partner. Most of them are beautiful or doing there best to be beautiful, almost all female members are well educated. It strikes me that… Read more »
Dimitry, Russia has a high divorce rate due to many factors, one of them is the fact that it’s very easy for a man to find a new woman, with so many unattached single females. The ratio of women to men in Russia is 86 males to 100 females. So, it’s easy for a man to find a new partner but not for a woman, especially if she has a child. It’s the reason why some Russian women seek partners abroad. It may seem like there are many Russian women seeking men abroad, but if you think about it, there… Read more »
I was shocked when I learned about such statistics. It is very unfortunate that there are so many divorces. Men and women need to reconsider their motives for marriage. For marriage, you must be ready and strive to develop and maintain the relationship.
Unfortunately this information is really true. But do you ask yourself why it is like this? Why do people divorce? It is simply, some of them can be married at early age, and then they discover that totally not for each other. Some people can not bring children. Some husbands just find another love partner. Anyway all married should take care about their relationship. Because it is hard work which brings happiness and love. And I can not believe that there is woman who doesn’t want to have a baby. Early or lately all of us would have such a… Read more »
It seems to me that many marriages split up because of men. There are many causes. For example, they are not faithful or they are lazy, do not want to work and help or even they are tyrant and of course great Russian problem is drinking alcohol.