Demographics of the Soviet Union

thumb|right|514x514px|Demographic distribution of the population within the Soviet Union in 1974

Demographic features of the population of the Soviet Union include vital statistics, ethnicity, religious affiliations, education level, health of the populace, and other aspects of the population.

During its existence from 1922 until 1991, the Soviet Union had one of the largest populations in the world. When the last census was taken in 1989, the USSR had the third largest in the world with over 285 million citizens, behind China and India. The former nation was a federal union of national republics, home to hundreds of different ethnicities. By the time the Soviet Union dissolved, Russians were the largest ethnic group by making up nearly 51% of the country. The remaining 49% of Soviet citizens identified with a variety of groups, including Ukrainians, Belarusians, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Georgians, Jews, etc.

History

Revolution and Civil War, 1917–1923

During the Russian Revolution and Civil War period, Russia lost former territories of the Russian Empire with about 30 million inhabitants after the Russian Revolution of 1917 (Poland: 18 million; Finland: 3 million; Romania: 3 million; the Baltic states: 5 million, Kars: 400 thousand). At least 7 million citizens of the former Russian Empire died in the course of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1923, and a further 1 to 2 million emigrated.

Interwar period, 1924 to 1939

An estimated 800,000 to 1,200,000 people died during the purges of the 1930s.

World War Two, 1939–1945

According to the Russian Academy of Sciences the Soviet Union suffered 26.6 million deaths (1941–1945) during World War II, including an increase in infant mortality of 1.3 million. Total war-loss figures include territories annexed by the Soviet Union in 1939–1945. At this time, the population pyramid was starting to look more triangular.

To counter the population losses, the Soviet government started to push natalist policies, such as a tax on childlessness and an award for mothers called the Mother Heroine.

Rejuvenation of the population, 1946–1960s

After the Second World War, the population of the Soviet Union began to gradually recover to pre-war levels. By 1959 there were a registered 209,035,000 people, over the 1941 population count of 196,716,000. In 1958–59, Soviet fertility stood at around 2.8 children per woman.

Population dynamics in the 1970–1980s

The crude birth rate in the Soviet Union throughout its history had been decreasing – from 44.0 per thousand in 1926 to 18.0 in 1974, mostly due to urbanization and rising average age of marriages. The total fertility rate fell from 2.4 in 1969–70 to 2.3 in 1978–79. While death rates did not differ greatly across regions of the Soviet Union through much of Soviet history, birth rates in the southern republics of Transcaucasia and Central Asia were much higher than those in the northern parts of the Soviet Union, and in some cases even increased in the post-World War II period. This was partly due to slower rates of urbanization and traditionally early marriages in southern republics. This differential could not be offset by assimilation of non-Russians by Russians, in part because the nationalities of southern republics maintained a distinct ethnic consciousness and were not easily assimilated.

The late 1960s and the 1970s witnessed a dramatic reversal of the path of declining mortality in the Soviet Union, and was especially notable among men in working ages, and also especially in Russia and other predominantly Slavic areas of the country. While not unique to the Soviet Union (Hungary in particular showed a pattern that was similar to Russia), this male mortality increase, accompanied by a noticeable increase in infant mortality rates in the early 1970s, drew the attention of Western demographers and Sovietologists at the time.

An analysis of the official data from the late 1980s showed that after worsening in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the situation for adult mortality began to improve again. Referring to data for the two decades ending in 1989–1990, while noting some abatement in adult mortality rates in the Soviet republics in the 1980s, Ward Kingkade and Eduardo Arriaga characterized this situation as follows: "All the former Soviet countries have followed the universal tendency for mortality to decline as infectious diseases are brought under control while death rates from degenerative diseases rise. What is exceptional in the former Soviet countries and some of their East European neighbors is that a subsequent increase in mortality from causes other than infectious disease has brought about overall rises in mortality from all causes combined. Another distinctive characteristic of the former Soviet case is the presence of unusually high levels of mortality from accidents and other external causes, which are typically associated with alcoholism."

The rising infant mortality rates in the Soviet Union in the 1970s became the subject of much discussion and debate among Western demographers. The infant mortality rate (IMR) had increased from 24.7 in 1970 to 27.9 in 1974. Some researchers regarded the rise in infant mortality as largely real, a consequence of worsening health conditions and services. Others regarded it as largely an artifact of improved reporting of infant deaths, and found the increases to be concentrated in the Central Asian republics where improvement in coverage and reporting of births and deaths might well have the greatest effect on increasing the published rates.

The rising reported adult mortality and infant mortality was not explained or defended by Soviet officials at the time. Instead, they simply stopped publishing all mortality statistics for ten years. Soviet demographers and health specialists remained silent about the mortality increases until the late 1980s, when the publication of mortality data resumed and researchers could delve into the real and artificial aspects of the reported mortality increases. When these researchers began to report their findings, they accepted the increases in adult male mortality as real and focused their research on explaining its causes and finding solutions. In contrast, investigations of the rise in reported infant mortality concluded that while the reported increases in the IMR were largely an artifact of improved reporting of infant deaths in the Central Asian republics, the actual levels in this region were much higher than had yet been reported officially. In this sense, the reported rise in infant mortality in the Soviet Union as a whole was an artifact of improved statistical reporting, but reflected the reality of a much higher actual infant mortality level than had previously been recognized in official statistics.

As the detailed data series that was ultimately published in the late 1980s showed, the reported IMR for the Soviet Union as a whole increased from 24.7 in 1970 to a peak of 31.4 in 1976. After that the IMR gradually decreased and by 1989 it had fallen to 22.7, which was lower than had been reported in any previous year (though close to the figure of 22.9 in 1971). In 1989, the IMR ranged from a low of 11.1 in the Latvian SSR to a high of 54.7 in the Turkmen SSR.

Research conducted after the dissolution of the Soviet Union revealed that the originally reported mortality rates vary substantially underestimated the actual rates, especially for infant mortality. This has been shown for Transcaucasian and Central Asian republics.

After two decades of declining and stagnating fertility rates, the Soviet TFR rose from 2.27 in 1978–79 to 2.51 in 1986–87. Most Muslim areas of the USSR continued to fall, while non-Muslim regions rose slightly.

Labor force

Labor force: 152,300,000 civilians; 80% industry and other nonagricultural fields, 20% agriculture; shortage of skilled labor (1989)

Organized labor: 98% of workers were union members; all trade unions were organized within the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions (AUCCTU) and conducted their work under the guidance of the Communist party. There was a market relationship between the people and the state as the employer; people were free to choose their job and leave if they wished, although members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union could be ordered to work in certain places, but seldom were.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Class composition of the USSR's population by percentage

! rowspan="2" |Year

! colspan="4" |Class

!Workers

!Individual Peasants

!Collective Peasants

!White Collar

!Bourgeoisie Landowner

|1913

|14.6

|66.7

|n/a

|2.4

|16.3

|1924

|10.4

|75.4

|4.4

|8.5

|1928

|12.4

|74.9

|2.9

|5.2

|4.6

|1939

|33.7

|2.6

|47.6

|16.5

|n/a

|1959

|50.2

|0.3

|31.4

|18.1

|n/a

|1970

|57.4

|n/a

|20.5

|22.1

|n/a

|1979

|60

|n/a

|14.9

|25.1

|n/a

|1987

|61.8

|n/a

|12

|26.2

|n/a

Life expectancy and infant mortality

A newborn Soviet child in 1926–27 had a life expectancy of 44.4 years, up from 32.3 years in the Russian Empire thirty years before. By 1958–59, the life expectancy for newborns had reached 68.6 years. Life expectancy in the Soviet Union remained fairly stable during most years, although in the 1970s it decreased slightly.

Vital statistics

thumb|520x520px|right|Soviet Union and [[Former Soviet Union Population from 1950 to 2100.]]

Soviet demographic table, 1950–1991

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"

! style="width:80pt;"|Average population (thousand)

! style="width:80pt;"|Live births (thousand)

! style="width:80pt;"|Deaths (thousand)

! style="width:80pt;"|Natural change (thousand)

! style="width:80pt;"|Crude birth rate (per 1,000)

! style="width:80pt;"|Crude death rate (per 1,000)

! style="width:80pt;"|Natural change (per 1,000)

! style="width:80pt;"|Crude migration change (per 1,000)

! style="width:80pt;"|Total fertility rate

| 1950

| style="text-align:right;" | 179,020

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,805

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,745

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,060

| style="text-align:right;" |26.7

| style="text-align:right;" |9.7

| style="text-align:right;" |17.0

|0.3

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |3.08

| 1951

| style="text-align:right;" | 181,582

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,953

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,779

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,174

| style="text-align:right;" |27.0

| style="text-align:right;" |9.7

| style="text-align:right;" |17.3

|–3.4

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |3.10

| 1952

| style="text-align:right;" | 185,966

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,028

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,749

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,279

| style="text-align:right;" |26.5

| style="text-align:right;" |9.4

| style="text-align:right;" |17.1

|5.9

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |3.03

| 1953

| style="text-align:right;" | 188,127

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,754

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,727

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,027

| style="text-align:right;" |25.1

| style="text-align:right;" |9.1

| style="text-align:right;" |16.0

|–4.6

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |2.85

| 1954

| style="text-align:right;" | 191,569

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,179

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,724

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,455

| style="text-align:right;" |26.6

| style="text-align:right;" |8.9

| style="text-align:right;" |17.7

|–0.1

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |3.04

| 1955

| style="text-align:right;" | 194,409

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,048

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,613

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,435

| style="text-align:right;" |25.7

| style="text-align:right;" |8.2

| style="text-align:right;" |17.5

|–3.1

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |2.93

| 1956

| style="text-align:right;" | 197,880

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,023

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,511

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,512

| style="text-align:right;" |25.2

| style="text-align:right;" |7.6

| style="text-align:right;" |17.6

|–0.2

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |2.91

| 1957

| style="text-align:right;" | 201,355

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,164

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,594

| style="text-align:right; color:blue" | 3,570

| style="text-align:right;" |25.4

| style="text-align:right;" |7.8

| style="text-align:right;" |17.6

|–0.5

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |2.94

| 1958

| style="text-align:right;" | 204,963

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,240

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,490

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,750

| style="text-align:right;" |25.3

| style="text-align:right;" |7.2

| style="text-align:right;" |18.1

|–0.7

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |2.92

| 1959

| style="text-align:right;" | 208,827

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,264

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,604

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,660

| style="text-align:right;" |25.0

| style="text-align:right;" |7.6

| style="text-align:right;" |17.4

|1.0

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1960

| style="text-align:right;" | 212,417

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,341

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,529

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,812

| style="text-align:right;" |24.9

| style="text-align:right;" |7.1

| style="text-align:right;" |17.8

|–1.0

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1961

| style="text-align:right;" | 216,307

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,192

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,563

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,629

| style="text-align:right;" |23.9

| style="text-align:right;" |7.2

| style="text-align:right;" |16.7

|1.2

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1962

| style="text-align:right;" | 220,017

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,959

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,667

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,292

| style="text-align:right;" |22.4

| style="text-align:right;" |7.5

| style="text-align:right;" |14.9

|1.9

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1963

| style="text-align:right;" | 223,457

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,758

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,627

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,131

| style="text-align:right;" |21.1

| style="text-align:right;" |7.2

| style="text-align:right;" |13.9

|1.4

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1964

| style="text-align:right;" | 226,665

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,457

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,581

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,876

| style="text-align:right;" |19.5

| style="text-align:right;" |6.9

| style="text-align:right;" |12.6

|1.5

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1965

| style="text-align:right;" | 229,616

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,253

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,690

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,563

| style="text-align:right;" |18.4

| style="text-align:right;" |7.3

| style="text-align:right;" |11.1

|1.7

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1966

| style="text-align:right;" | 232,220

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,242

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,711

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,531

| style="text-align:right;" |18.2

| style="text-align:right;" |7.3

| style="text-align:right;" |10.9

|0.3

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1967

| style="text-align:right;" | 234,800

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,093

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,799

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,294

| style="text-align:right;" |17.3

| style="text-align:right;" |7.6

| style="text-align:right;" |9.7

|1.2

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1968

| style="text-align:right;" | 237,209

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,088

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,833

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,255

| style="text-align:right;" |17.2

| style="text-align:right;" |7.7

| style="text-align:right;" |9.5

|0.6

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1969

| style="text-align:right;" | 239,507

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,087

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,957

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,130

| style="text-align:right;" |17.0

| style="text-align:right;" |8.1

| style="text-align:right;" |8.9

|0.7

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1970

| style="text-align:right;" | 241,720

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,226

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,996

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,230

| style="text-align:right;" |17.4

| style="text-align:right;" |8.2

| style="text-align:right;" |9.2

|–0.1

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1971

| style="text-align:right;" | 243,950

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,372

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,015

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,357

| style="text-align:right;" |17.8

| style="text-align:right;" |8.2

| style="text-align:right;" |9.6

|–0.5

| style="text-align:right; color:blue;" |

| 1972

| style="text-align:right;" | 246,254

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,404

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,105

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,299

| style="text-align:right;" |17.8

| style="text-align:right;" |8.5

| style="text-align:right;" |9.3

|0.0

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1973

| style="text-align:right;" | 248,613

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,386

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,164

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,222

| style="text-align:right;" |17.6

| style="text-align:right;" |8.7

| style="text-align:right;" |8.9

|0.6

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1974

| style="text-align:right;" | 250,865

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,546

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,191

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,355

| style="text-align:right;" |18.0

| style="text-align:right;" |8.7

| style="text-align:right;" |9.3

|–0.4

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1975

| style="text-align:right;" | 253,279

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,611

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,363

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,248

| style="text-align:right;" |18.1

| style="text-align:right;" |9.3

| style="text-align:right;" |8.8

|0.7

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1976

| style="text-align:right;" | 255,463

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,720

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,426

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,294

| style="text-align:right;" |18.4

| style="text-align:right;" |9.5

| style="text-align:right;" |8.9

|–0.4

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1977

| style="text-align:right;" | 257,892

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,693

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,495

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,198

| style="text-align:right;" |18.1

| style="text-align:right;" |9.6

| style="text-align:right;" |8.5

|0.9

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1978

| style="text-align:right;" | 260,125

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,763

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,546

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,217

| style="text-align:right;" |18.2

| style="text-align:right;" |9.7

| style="text-align:right;" |8.5

|0.1

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1979

| style="text-align:right;" | 262,436

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,807

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,666

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,141

| style="text-align:right;" |18.2

| style="text-align:right;" |10.1

| style="text-align:right;" |8.1

|0.6

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1980

| style="text-align:right;" | 264,530

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,851

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,744

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,107

| style="text-align:right;" |18.3

| style="text-align:right;" |10.3

| style="text-align:right;" |8.0

|0.0

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1981

| style="text-align:right;" | 266,629

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,961

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,742

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,219

| style="text-align:right;" |18.5

| style="text-align:right;" |10.2

| style="text-align:right;" |8.3

|–0.5

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1982

| style="text-align:right;" | 268,841

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,100

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,724

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,376

| style="text-align:right;" |19.0

| style="text-align:right;" |10.1

| style="text-align:right;" |8.9

|–0.6

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1983

| style="text-align:right;" | 271,227

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,392

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,823

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,569

| style="text-align:right;" |19.8

| style="text-align:right;" |10.4

| style="text-align:right;" |9.4

|–0.7

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1984

| style="text-align:right;" | 273,769

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,387

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,965

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,422

| style="text-align:right;" |19.6

| style="text-align:right;" |10.8

| style="text-align:right;" |8.8

|0.4

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1985

| style="text-align:right;" | 276,310

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,374

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,947

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,427

| style="text-align:right;" |19.4

| style="text-align:right;" |10.6

| style="text-align:right;" |8.8

|0.4

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1986

| style="text-align:right;" | 278,845

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,611

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,737

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,874

| style="text-align:right;" |20.0

| style="text-align:right;" |9.8

| style="text-align:right;" |10.2

|–1.2

| style="text-align:right;" |

| 1987

| style="text-align:right;" | 281,537

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,599

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,805

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,794

| style="text-align:right;" |19.8

| style="text-align:right;" |9.9

|–0.4

| style="text-align:right;" |2.53

| 1988

| style="text-align:right;" | 284,049

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,381

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,889

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,492

| style="text-align:right;" |18.9

| style="text-align:right;" |10.1

| style="text-align:right;" |8.8

|0.1

| style="text-align:right;" |2.45

| 1989

| style="text-align:right;" | 286,731

| style="text-align:right;" | 5,062

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,875

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,187

| style="text-align:right;" |17.6

| style="text-align:right;" |10.0

| style="text-align:right;" |7.6

|1.7

| style="text-align:right;" |2.33

| 1990

| style="text-align:right;" | 288,624

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,853

| style="text-align:right;" | 2,985

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,868

| style="text-align:right;" |16.8

| style="text-align:right;" |10.3

| style="text-align:right;" |6.5

|0.1

| style="text-align:right;" |2.26

| 1991

| style="text-align:right;" | 290,034

| style="text-align:right;" | 4,756

| style="text-align:right;" | 3,206

| style="text-align:right;" | 1,550

| style="text-align:right;" |16.4

| style="text-align:right;" |11.1

| style="text-align:right;" |5.3

|–0.5

| style="text-align:right;" |

Abortion

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! rowspan="4" |Year

! colspan="9" |Abortions in the USSR from 1954 – 1990

! colspan="3" |All abortions

! colspan="3" |Legal induced abortions ('complete')

! rowspan="3" |Spontaneous or criminal abortions ('incomplete')

! colspan="2" |Legal abortion rate

! rowspan="2" |Total figures

! rowspan="2" |By Ministry of Health

! rowspan="2" |By Ministry of Transport

! rowspan="2" |All methods

(Total legal)

! rowspan="2" |Curettage

! rowspan="2" |Aspiration

('mini')

! rowspan="2" |per 100 live birthes

! rowspan="2" |per 1,000 women aged 15 – 49

!1954

|1,985,302

|1,895,964

|89,339

|399,046

| –

|1,586,257

|7.84

|6.84

!1955

|2,598,761

|2,481,816

|116,944

|600,314

| –

|1,998,447

|11.92

|10.15

!1956

|4,724,547

|4,511,942

|212,605

|3,316,632

| –

|1,407,915

|65.10

|55.40

!1957

|5,338,738

|5,108,970

|229,768

|3,996,159

| –

|1,342,579

|76.81

|66.26

!1958

|6,128,871

|5,892,260

|236,611

|4,844,567

| –

|1,284,304

|92.24

|80.62

!1959

|6,398,541

|6,211,160

|187,381

|5,102,306

| –

|1,296,235

|96.21

|85.79

!1960

|7,038,395

|6,504,677

|533,718

|5,642,210

| –

|1,396,185

|107.17

|96.06

!1961

|7,425,507

|7,073,785

|351,722

|6,006,038

| –

|1,419,469

|118.39

|103.57

!1962

|7,774,506

|7,344,506

|430,000

|6,414,217

| –

|1,360,289

|132.08

|110.19

!1963

|8,023,290

|7,662,242

|361,048

|6,667,354

| –

|1,355,936

|144.82

|114.64

!1964

|8,408,408

|8,030,030

|378,378

|7,021,021

| –

|1,387,387

|161.30

|120.23

!1965

|8,551,351

|8,166,540

|384,811

|7,191,686

| –

|1,359,665

|169.33

|122.46

!1966

|8,337,567

|7,962,377

|375,191

|7,020,232

| –

|1,317,336

|168.52

|118.15

!1967

|7,846,354

|7,493,268

|353,086

|6,624,990

| –

|1,222,364

|161.94

|109.72

!1968

|7,654,441

|7,301,396

|344,045

|6,471,055

| –

|1,174,386

|158.32

|105.25

!1969

|7,460,316

|7,124,602

|335,714

|6,330,413

| –

|1,129,903

|152.26

|101.84

!1970

|7,531,270

|7,192,363

|338,907

|6,406,594

| –

|1,124,676

|148.99

|101.44

!1971

|7,610,001

|7,267,551

|342,450

|6,489,481

| –

|1,120,520

|147.89

|101.07

!1972

|7,497,264

|7,159,887

|337,377

|6,408,802

| –

|1,088,462

|144.45

|98.27

!1973

|7,514,765

|7,176,601

|338,164

|6,439,040

| –

|1,075,725

|145.48

|97.50

!1974

|7,449,129

|7,113,918

|335,211

|6,397,731

| –

|1,051,398

|139.71

|95.89

!1975

|7,471,572

|7,135,351

|336,221

|6,431,773

| –

|1,039,798

|137.65

|95.68

!1976

|7,636,191

|7,292,562

|343,629

|6,588,364

| –

|1,047,827

|140.09

|97.22

!1977

|7,579,105

|7,238,045

|341,060

|6,553,674

| –

|1,025,430

|138.70

|96.22

!1978

|7,497,397

|7,160,014

|337,383

|6,497,226

| –

|1,000,171

|136.12

|94.98

!1979

|7,339,566

|7,009,286

|330,380

|6,374,161

| –

|965,406

|131.63

|93.21

!1980

|7,333,073

|7,003,085

|329,988

|6,382,028

| –

|951,045

|130.49

|93.18

!1981

|7,155,594

|6,833,592

|322,002

|6,240,562

| –

|915,032

|124.57

|91.17

!1982

|7,250,355

|6,924,089

|326,266

|6,336,188

| –

|914,167

|120.29

|92.13

!1983

|7,085,370

|6,766,528

|318,842

|6,204,515

| –

|880,855

|115.07

|90.05

!1984

|7,115,825

|6,795,613

|320,212

|6,243,572

| –

|872,253

|115.70

|89.98

!1985

|7,365,852

|7,034,389

|331,463

|6,475,595

| –

|890,258

|118.64

|92.77

!1986

|7,116,000

|6,790,141

|325,859

|6,267,984

| –

|848,016

|110.62

|89.47

!1987

|6,818,000

|6,496,499

|321,501

|6,009,655

| –

|808,345

|109.33

|85.71

!1988

|7,229,000

|6,965,221

|263,779

|6,469,096

|5,271,096

|1,198,000

|759,904

|124.16

|92.42

!1989

|6,974,431

|6,672,041

|302,390

|6,286,035

|4,828,267

|1,457,768

|688,396

|126.89

|90.03

!1990

|6,459,000

|6,226,821

|232,179

|5,836,823

|4,150,448

|1,686,375

|622,177

|123.57

|84.77

!1991

| –

|6,014,000

| –

!1992

| –

|5,442,900

| –

!Total number from time period

|258,723,655(1954–1990)

|258,476,032

(1954–92)

|11,695,624

(1954–90)

|216,987,139(1954–90)

|212,644,996

(1954–1990)

|4,342,143

(1988–90)

|41,728,518

(1954–90)

| –

thumb|516x516px|Ethnic makeup of the Soviet Union visualised

Ethnic groups

The Soviet Union was one of the world's most ethnically diverse countries, with more than 100 distinct national ethnicities living within its borders.

thumb|350px|U.S.S.R. - Ethnic Composition by the [[Central Intelligence Agency 1949.]]

Statistics (1926–1989)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! rowspan="3" |Ethnic group

! colspan="14" |Year

! colspan="2" |1926

! colspan="2" |1937

! colspan="2" |1939

! colspan="2" |1959

! colspan="2" |1970

! colspan="2" |1979

! colspan="2" |1989

!Number

!East Slavs

!113,725,023

!77.3%

!125,228,338

!77.4%

!132,977,920

!78%

!159,279,997

!76.2%

!178,820,141

!74%

!189,207,191

!72.2%

!199,377,746

!69.8%

|Russians 20x20px

|77,791,124

|52.9%

|93,933,065

|58.1%

|99,591,520

|58.4%

|114,113,579

|54.6%

|129,015,140

|53.4%

|137,397,089

|52.4%

|145,155,489

|50.8%

|Ukrainians 20x20px

|31,194,976

|21.2%

|26,421,212

|16.3%

|28,111,007

|16.5%

|37,252,930

|17.8%

|40,753,246

|16.9%

|42,347,387

|16.2%

|44,186,006

|15.5%

|Belarusians 20x20px

|4,738,923

|3.2%

|4,874,061

|3.0%

|5,275,393

|3.1%

|7,913,488

|3.8%

|9,051,755

|3.7%

|9,462,715

|3.6%

|10,036,251

|3.5%

!Baltic

!337,832

!0.2%

!290,689

!0.2%

!4,714,249

!2.3%

!5,102,144

!2.1%

!5,309,793

!2%

!5,553,025

!2%

|Lithuanians 20x20px

|41,463

|–

|32,624

|–

|2,326,094

|1.1%

|2,664,944

|1.1%

|2,850,905

|1.1%

|3,067,390

|1.1%

|Latvians 20x20px

|141,703

|0.1%

|114,476

|0.1%

|1,399,539

|0.7%

|1,429,844

|0.6%

|1,439,037

|0.5%

|1,458,986

|0.5%

|Estonians 20x20px

|154,666

|0.1%

|143,589

|0.1%

|988,616

|0.5%

|1,007,356

|0.4%

|1,019,851

|0.4%

|1,026,649

|0.4%

!Central Asia

!10,378,267

!7.1%

!10,145,211

!6.3%

!10,872,278

!6.3%

!13,004,209

!6.3%

!19,607,300

!8.1%

!25,844,301

!9.9%

!34,306,926

!12%

|Uzbeks 20x20px

|3,904,622

|2.7%

|4,550,532

|2.8%

|4,845,140

|2.8%

|6,015,416

|2.9%

|9,195,093

|3.8%

|12,455,978

|4.8%

|16,697,825

|5.8%

|Kazakhs 20x20px

|3,968,289

|2.7%

|2,862,458

|1.8%

|3,100,949

|1.8%

|3,621,610

|1.7%

|5,298,818

|2.2%

|6,556,442

|2.5%

|8,135,818

|2.8%

|Kyrgyz 20x20px

|762,736

|0.5%

|846,503

|0.5%

|884,615

|0.5%

|968,659

|0.5%

|1,452,222

|0.6%

|1,906,271

|0.7%

|2,528,946

|0.9%

|Tajiks 20x20px

|978,680

|0.7%

|1,137,995

|0.7%

|1,229,170

|0.7%

|1,396,939

|0.7%

|2,135,883

|0.9%

|2,897,697

|1.1%

|4,215,372

|1.5%

|Turkmens 20x20px

|763,940

|0.5%

|747,723

|0.5%

|812,404

|0.5%

|1,001,585

|0.5%

|1,525,284

|0.6%

|2,027,913

|0.8%

|2,728,965

|1%

!Caucasus

!5,095,357

!3.5%

!6,111,801

!3.7%

!6,678,174

!3.9%

!8,418,590

!4%

!11,184,388

!4.6%

!13,199,075

!5.1%

!15,374,680

!5.4%

|Azerbaijanis 20x20px

|1,706,605

|1.2%

|2,134,250

|1.3%

|2,275,678

|1.3%

|2,939,728

|1.4%

|4,379,937

|1.8%

|5,477,330

|2.1%

|6,770,403

|2.4%

|Georgians 20x20px

|1,821,184

|1.2%

|2,008,830

|1.2%

|2,249,636

|1.3%

|2,691,950

|1.3%

|3,245,300

|1.3%

|3,570,504

|1.4%

|3,981,045

|1.4%

|Armenians 20x20px

|1,567,568

|1.1%

|1,968,721

|1.2%

|2,152,860

|1.3%

|2,786,912

|1.3%

|3,559,151

|1.5%

|4,151,241

|1.6%

|4,623,232

|1.6%

!Other prominent ethnic groups

!11,060,350

!7.5%

!13,329,325

!7.8%

!16,143,803

!7.7%

!17,791,480

!7.4%

!18,316,932

!7%

!18,989,883

!6.6%

|Moldovans 20x20px

|278,905

|0.2%

|223,850

|0.1%

|260,418

|0.2%

|2,214,139

|1.1%

|2,697,994

|1.1%

|2,968,224

|1.1%

|3,352,352

|1.2%

|Jews

|2,672,499

|1.8%

|2,669,147

|1.7%

|3,028,538

|1.8%

|2,267,814

|1.1%

|2,099,833

|0.9%

|1,761,724

|0.7%

|1,378,344

|0.5%

|Germans

|1,238,549

|0.8%

|1,151,60

|0.7%

|1,427,232

|0.8%

|1,619,655

|0.8%

|1,846,317

|0.8%

|1,936,214

|0.7%

|2,038,603

|0.7%

|Tatars

|2,916,536

|2%

|3,793,413

|2.4%

|4,313,488

|2.5%

|4,917,991

|2.4%

|5,783,111

|2.4%

|6,185,196

|2.4%

|6,648,760

|2.3%

|Poles

|782,334

|0.5%

|636,220

|0.4%

|630,097

|0.4%

|1,380,282

|0.7%

|1,167,523

|0.5%

|1,150,991

|0.4%

|1,126,334

|0.4%

|Chuvash

|1,117,419

|0.8%

|1,167,817

|0.7%

|1,369,574

|0.8%

|1,469,766

|0.7%

|1,694,351

|0.7%

|1,751,366

|0.7%

|1,842,346

|0.6%

|Mordvinian

|1,340,415

|0.9%

|1,248,867

|0.8%

|1,456,330

|0.9%

|1,285,116

|0.6%

|1,262,670

|0.5%

|1,191,765

|0.5%

|1,153,987

|0.4%

|Bashkir

|713,693

|0.5%

|757,935

|0.5%

|843,648

|0.5%

|989,040

|0.5%

|1,239,681

|0.5%

|1,371,452

|0.5%

|1,449,157

|0.5%

!Others

!6,431,086

!4.4%

!6,408,707

!3.8%

!7,216,092

!3.5%

!9,214,681

!3.8%

!10,207,362

!3.9%

!12,140,251

!4.2%

!Total:

!147,027,915

!100%

!162,039,470

!100%

!170,557,093

!100%

!208,826,650

!100%

!241,720,134

!100%

!262,084,654

!100%

!285,742,511

!100%

|}Other ethnic groups included Abkhaz, Adyghes, Aleuts, Assyrians, Avars, Bulgarians, Buryats, Chechens, Chinese, Crimean Tatars, Evenks, Finns, Gagauz, Greeks, Hungarians, Ingushes, Inuit, Kalmyks, Karakalpaks, Karelians, Kets, Koreans, Lezgins, Maris, Mongols, Nenetses, Ossetians, Roma, Romanians, Tats, Tuvans, Udmurts, and Yakuts. Dozens of these other ethnic groups were the titular nations of different Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics or Autonomous Oblasts within the union-level republics (ex. Tatars in Tatar ASSR within the RSFSR, Abkhaz ASSR within Georgia) or had been previously (Volga German ASSR, Crimean ASSR).

History

Throughout its entire history, ethnic Russians made up a majority of Soviet citizens. According to the 1939 census, Russians reached a peak of 58.4% of the population. Some indigenous pagan belief systems existed in the Siberian and Russian Far Eastern lands in the local populations.

In 1939, 86.9% of Soviet Jews were living in urban areas and over half in the 11 largest cities in the country.

Language

Russian became the official language of the Soviet Union in 1990. Until that time it was still necessary to have a language of common communication. The de facto result inevitably favored Russian, the native language of half of Soviet citizens.

Overall Soviet citizens spoke more than 200 languages and dialects (at least 18 with more than 1 million speakers); Slavic group: 75%, other Indo-European: 8%, Altaic: 12%, Uralic: 3%, Caucasian: 2% (1990 est.)