Demographic Aspects of Sustainable Development of the Regions of the Steppe Zone of Russia

Abstract

Russia is characterized by uneven settlement and asymmetry of population reproduction processes. Stability in demographic processes is the most important property of the territory, forming the potential for its development. The problem of depopulation and asymmetry of regional development is relevant due to the possibility of increasing imbalance both in neighboring regions and in large interregional entities. The research region is the steppe zone of Russia, specializing in agricultural production and located in the main settlement zone, and the problem of forming sustainable development is relevant here. To identify the prerequisites for the demographic stability of the steppe regions, an analysis of data on the rates of dynamics of the regional population, fertility and mortality rates was carried out, depopulation territories were identified. The asymmetry of 17 regions of the steppe zone in terms of natural growth, total fertility rate and life expectancy has been determined. It was revealed that the best demographic situation relative to the average Russian one was in the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, the worst – in the Saratov region. The main problem for the transition to sustainable development in the steppe zone is high mortality from external causes and non–communicable diseases, to which the male population of working age is more susceptible. The most favorable situation for the formation of sustainable development in relation to demographic processes has developed in the western regions of the steppe zone. A dense settlement network facilitates this and the development of highly productive agriculture, including farming, which is more environmentally balanced due to the use of smaller amounts of natural resources and, in many cases, more technologically advanced. For other regions of the steppe zone, it is necessary to smooth out the causes and consequences of high depopulation, especially among the rural population, by improving the quality of human capital and an integrated ecological and economic approach that takes into account the specifics of the distribution of the population and its economic activities.