MOSCOW, June 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has seen both the number of young people in the country and their share in the total population decline steadily in recent years, an Education Ministry official said on Tuesday.
“According to the Federal State Statistics Service, in 2012 there were 31.6 million people in the 15-29 age group – making up 22 percent of the country’s total population,” Alexander Stradze, who heads the department for further studies, training and youth policy, said at an Education Ministry board meeting.
Stradze noted that there were 32.4 million people in this age bracket in 2011, and 33.7 million in 2009: 23 percent and 24 percent respectively, describing this trend as steady decline, but not detailing potential causes.
He also expressed concern over the lack of civic engagement among Russia's youth demographic.
Sergei Belokonev, head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, added that the number of young people in the country is expected to fall further, to 25 million, in the coming decade.
“Given these circumstances, we must develop our country’s economy, and this, in turn, underlines the need for an active and energetic youth policy,” Belokonev added.
