Life expectancy in Russia is 70.06 years, according to official data for 2021. Russia's historical maximum life expectancy was 73.3 years, achieved in 2019. Life expectancy decreased by 1.8 years in 2020 and a further 1.48 years in 2021, due largely to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Russia's aging society. There have been significant regional differences in COVID-19's impact on life expectancy, with this indicator decreasing by 2.42 years in Voronezh Oblast while simultaneously increasing by 0.89 years in Chechnya during this period.[citation needed]
Duration of life in Russia varies greatly between regions. Russians in the predominantly Muslim, abstinent North Caucasus and in cities of federal importance have relatively high life expectancies, and Ingushetia is considered a "blue zone" due to its especially promising statistics.[citation needed] Life expectancy is relatively low in many regions of the Russian Far East, and as of 2022 Chukotka has the lowest life expectancy in Russia.[1][2]
On average, Russians in towns live slightly longer than those in rural areas. However, in some regions the opposite pattern is observed, or scales in different years leans on different sides.[2]
Annual estimates of life expectancy are provided by the World Health Organization.[3] According to the WHO, healthy life expectancy (HALE) in Russia in 2019 was 64.2 years: 60.7 for men and 67.5 for women.[4] Also according to the WHO, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus exhibit the world's highest difference in life expectancy between women and men.[3]