Russia’s Far East Ranks Low in Quality of Life Index

VLADIVOSTOK. October 20. VOSTOK-MEDIA – The study conducted by the Institute of Regional Information shows that the quality of life across Russia differs considerably, with 23 regions, including Khabarovsky Krai, being in the risk group. Only 17 regions can boast a high quality of life.

“The slowdown that Russian economy has seen in the past two years is likely to be caused by the global financial crisis. It may take years for the economy to rebound due to the considerable inertness of vast majority of the quality of life indicators,” the report says.

According to the study report, the quality of life factors have been changing differently. There has been a considerable increase in per capita income, volume of market services and life expectancy. Child mortality rate and poverty have been reducing at a less rapid rate. At the same time, the report said, social stratification has increasingly taken place on a national scale, while the crime rate has slightly dropped.

In a living standards breakdown by regions, Moscow and St. Petersburg showed the best results with 79.08% and 74.6% respectively. There have been only slight changes in the list of the top ten regions with highest quality of life – quality of life indicators are inherently resistant to sudden change, the report said.

The rest of the top living standards regions are: Belgorodskaya Oblast (70.61%), Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Oblast (70.49), Krasnodarsky Krai (69.41), Tumenskaya Oblast (68.78), Tatarstan (68.73), Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Oblast (68.55) and Lipetskaya Oblast (67.14).

Accrding to the report, the worst regions in terms of living are: the Republic of Tuva (47.55), Altai Krai (53.83), the Republic of Kalmykia (55.52), Buryatia (55.63), the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (56.67), Amur Oblast (57.7), Zabaikalsky Krai (57.25), Ingushetia (57.37), Irkutskaa Oblast and Kurganskaya Oblast (57.7).

“We are concerned about the fact that seven out of ten regions with the worst quality of life are located in Siberia and Russia’s Far East,” an analyst at the Institute of Regional Information said. “In addition, there is a persistent variance among the regions in terms of quality of life.”

In some regions quality if life is growing quicker than in others. Among such regions are: Sakhalin Oblast, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kaliningrad Oblast, Nenetsky Autonomous Oblast, the Tyva Republic, Khakasia, Tyumen Oblast, Kabardino-Balkaria and Kurganskaya Oblast.

Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Yakutia, Samara Oblast, the Republic of Kalmykia, North Ossetia, the Kemerovo Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai, Magadan Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Novgorod Oblast showed the slowest growth rate.

To assess the quality of life the survey used a number of factors such as the quality of housing, size and distribution of incomes, appeal for immigrants, survival rates for children aged under 1, security, life expectancy, unemployment rate, and a number of other factors.