''See also:'' [[Russia's fertility rate]]
[[Russia's fertility rate]] of 1.58 births per woman is one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.<ref name="IntelliNews">[https://intellinews.com/russian-fertility-rates-fall-to-record-lows-on-the-back-of-a-deteriorating-economy-and-sanctions-pressure-243191/ Russian fertility rates fall to record lows on the back of a deteriorating economy and sanctions pressure], bne IntelliNews, 2022</ref> It's fertility rate is below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman.
Russian demography has long been an existential issue to Vladimir Putin. In 2021, he declared “saving the people of Russia is our top national priority".<ref>[https://fortune.com/2022/10/18/russia-population-historic-decline-emigration-war-plunging-birth-rate-form-perfect-storm/ Russia’s population is in a historic decline as emigration, war and a plunging birth rate form a ‘perfect storm’], Fortune magazine, 2022</ref>