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Average lifespan in Russia may reach 70 years in 36 months - ministry

The national project Health also aimed to reduce the mortality rate

MOSCOW, April 24 (Itar-Tass) —— An average lifespan in Russia may reach 70 years in 36 months and 75 years in 13 years, the Health and Social Development Ministry told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

“Russia’s demographic policy for the period until 2025 aims to stabilize the population at 142-143 million people by 2015 and to create conditions for the population growth to 145 million by 2025; as well as to enlarge the average lifespan to 70 years by 2015 and 75 years by 2025,” the ministry said.

By 2006 “Russia had a general trend of an excessively high death rate amongst able-bodies citizens, 80% of them male,” the ministry said. Russia started taking energetic measures to fight the demographic crisis, and a concept of the national demographic policy for the period until 2025 was adopted.

The national project Health also aimed to reduce the mortality rate. Programs were adopted to cut the rate of deaths from cardiovascular diseases, cancer and traffic accidents. “A concept of the implementation of the state policy on preventing and lessening alcohol abuse in the period until 2020, a concept of the implementation of the state policy on combating smoking in 2010-2015 and fundamentals of the state policy on healthy eating in the period until 2020 were adopted,” the ministry said.

As a result, mortality rates by all the death causes but cancer declined from 2007 to 2011, including by 13.4% from cardiovascular diseases, 33.8% from external causes, 24.6% from transport injuries, and 2.8 times from alcohol poisoning.

The lifespan grew by 3.7 years on the average in 2007-2011, including by 3.93 years for men and 2.87 years for women. The average lifespan enlarged by 1.47 years last year alone. The average lifespan was 70.3 years in 2011 (66.6 years in 2007), including 64.3 years for men (60.3 years in 2006) and 76.1 years for women (73.2 years for women).

“The indicators met the goals of the second phase (until 2015) of the fulfillment of the Russian demographic policy concept in the period until 2025,” the ministry said.