MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russia's position in the Bloomberg's rating of states with the most effective health service systems has been Russia's most significant achievement in the social sector in a recent period, Vice-premier of the Russian government Olga Golodets, who supervises the social sector, told journalists on Tuesday.
The Bloomberg rating incorporates countries with a population over five million, GDP exceeding $5,000 per capita and the average life expectancy beyond 70 years.
Earlier, Russia had not been mentioned in the rating because its average life expectancy had been below the established minimum. In 2014 Russia broke through to the Bloomberg list of countries with proper health service systems for the first time. Russia, placed in the 51st position, closes the Bloomberg list now.
“The average life expectancy having been raised in Russia to 70.8 years is a real accomplishment," the vice-premier said.
Russia is planning more efforts to raise the average life expectancy to 74 years by 2018, Golodets said. To achieve that the country has to carry out serious programs for lowering death rates caused by cardio-vascular and oncologic diseases, traffic accidents, and take more preventive measures, Golodets said.
She also praised a positive demographic tendency in Russia. The 2006 UN survey said that by 2014 the population of Russia should have numbered 136 million, while by January 1, 2014 the Russian population had reached 143.7 million, which considerably differs from the predicted number, she added.