Fathers and Children: Male Fertility in Russia in the First Quarter of the XXI century

Population and Economics. 2026. Vol. 10. No. 1. P. 141–163.

Denisenko M. B., Angelina I. Zinina

Gender is a mandatory attribute in the study of all demographic processes, except for fertility, which is traditionally measured relative to the female population. In recent decades, interest in research on male fertility has increased significantly, due to a reassessment of their role in the formation and development of the family. The purpose of our article is to draw attention to the study of male fertility in Russia. For this purpose, male fertility was calculated for the period from 2000 to 2023 based on government statistics. It was found that the ratio of total fertility rates for men and women in Russia has changed ambiguously: until 2011, the total fertility rate was higher for men, but then the situation changed in favour of women. This phenomenon, as shown in the article, is explained by the peculiarities of changes in the age composition of the population. The analysis of the dynamics of calculated fertility rates and mean age at birth for men is carried out in an international context. Fathers in Russia are younger than in other countries with low fertility, but this difference is smaller for fathers than for mothers. Moreover, the difference in the average age of parents in Russia is one of the largest in Europe. The study demonstrates that studying male fertility using Russian data is feasible and adds new analytical information to the picture of demographic development.

Keywords: Russia, Rosstat, total fertility rate, male fertility, age-specific fertility rates, average age at birth