The Far North is a harsh land where special people live. Thus, the Komi Republic, whose population has bright distinctive features, is of interest from the point of view of demography, sociology, population psychology and economy. How do harsh living conditions affect demographics? Let's talk about the population of the republic and its characteristics.
Geographic location of Komi
The Autonomous Republic of Komi, whose population we are considering, is located in the far north of the European part of Russia. The relief of the region is determined by its location: part of the territory is covered by lowlands and a flat relief prevails here, and part of the region lies on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains, and here the relief is hilly, elevated. The region borders on two autonomous republics: Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamal-Nenets, as well as on the Arkhangelsk, Sverdlovsk and Kirov regions and the Perm Territory. The region is very rich in minerals: oil, gas, bauxite, titanium, manganese andother ores. 72% of the territory of the republic is occupied by forests, several rather large rivers flow here: Pechora, Vychegda, Mezen. In addition, there are about 78 thousand lakes of various sizes. About 7% of the Komi land is occupied by swamps, in which there are huge deposits of peat. Komi is a land of virgin nature, there are several places that rightfully claim to be the natural wonders of Russia.
Climate and living conditions
Despite the fact that Komi is geographically part of Europe, the climate here is very different from the conditions of European countries. All regions of the Far North are characterized by rather harsh living conditions, and Komi is no exception. The population has long been fighting for survival here, overcoming many difficulties associated with nature. The temperate continental cold climate is characterized by long cold winters and short cool summers. The south and north of the republic have pronounced weather differences. So the northern parts are covered by a winter period of up to 250 days a year, in the south this period is no more than 180 days. Also, this difference is clearly visible in average temperatures. In winter, in the south, on average, the thermometer shows minus 15, and in the north - minus 22. With air intrusions from the Arctic in the south, the thermometer can drop to minus 45 degrees, and in the north - to minus 55 and below. Summer in the region is very short, in the North the land thaws by no more than a meter. The average summer temperature in the south is +15, in the north - +11 degrees. There is a lot of precipitation in the republic, up to 700 mm per year. Because of the highalmost constant cloudiness in the region there are few sunny days. The peculiarities of life faced by the local population are quite strong winds, about 120 days a year the wind blows about 15 m/s. Also, the region is in the zone of polar day and night. Starting from December, for 44 days the Sun does not rise, and from May the polar day begins, when it does not set. Such difficult living conditions make living conditions very difficult for the population. There is no opportunity to engage in agriculture, the polar night and the low solarity of the region have a bad effect on the psyche of people.
Administrative divisions
The Komi Republic, whose population mainly lives in cities, is divided into 12 districts and 8 cities, directly subordinate to the republican center. Each subject has its own administration, which is directly subordinate to the head of the republic.
Population of Komi: dynamics and current state
Systematic observations of the number of inhabitants in Komi began in 1926, when the gradual development of the North began. Then the population of Komi was 207 thousand people. Since 1928, the number of inhabitants has been steadily growing, by 1959 815 thousand people lived here, and by 1989 - 1.2 million people. However, with the beginning of perestroika, an outflow of the population and a demographic decline began. This is due to the fact that the state has reduced the amount of social and financial support for the region, which is sensitivedemographics reacted. Every year, the number of inhabitants of the region is reduced by several tens of thousands of people. And today 856 thousand people live here.
Population density and distribution
Komi is a desert region, the population density here is 2.06 people per sq. km. km. The Komi Employment Service, which monitors the situation in the republic, shows that 78% of the inhabitants prefer to settle in cities. The largest cities are: Syktyvkar (243 thousand people), Ukhta (98 thousand people), Vorkuta (58 thousand people), Pechora (40 thousand people), Usinsk (39 thousand people). a small town is Ust-Kul (5 thousand people). Statistics show that the capital is the only settlement with positive population growth. People prefer to live in a large city, and there is a flow of residents from villages and small towns to Syktyvkar.
Characteristics of the population
By nationality, the population of Komi is quite diverse. About 65% of the inhabitants consider themselves Russians, 24% - Komi, 4% - Ukrainians, Tatars - 1.2%. The remaining ethnic groups make up less than 1% of the population. The number of women in the region is significantly higher than that of men, with 1,106 women for every 1,000 men. The average age of a Komi resident is 34.5 years. The average life expectancy is 69 years, which is slightly lower than the national average. Demographic indicators in the region are not bad: the birth rate is small, but growing, the death rate is steadily falling. But despite the fact that a natural increase in the number ofof the population (1.3%), yet the number of inhabitants is declining due to external migration. The population is slowly leaving Komi, and this leads to economic problems in the region.
Economy of the region
The specifics of the Komi economy is that the leading industries are mining companies. The largest taxpayers and employers are gas, coal and oil production and transportation companies. Also, the stability of the republic is ensured by such enterprises as a pulp and paper mill, timber processing enterprises. In addition, the employment of the Komi population is provided by social and cultural and service enterprises. GDP per capita is 490 thousand rubles a year, which is quite a high level for Russia.
Employment of the population
The Komi Employment Center has been recording since 2009 a drop in the number of people involved in production activities. The unemployment rate is kept at 9%, which is a lot even by Russian standards. The problem of female unemployment is acute, since the branches of the region's economy mainly offer employment to men in working professions. Therefore, people with higher education are more likely to be unemployed in the region.
The problem of employment is especially acute for women aged 25 to 50, there are no vacancies for them, even in working speci alties. All this leads to the migration outflow of residents. Mostly young people leave who have received an education, as they cannot find a job.
