Quality of Life Rankings in Russian Regions: Leaders, Laggards, and Methodology
Updated: October 12, 2026. Which Russian regions lead in quality of life and well-being rankings, which ones rank among the worst, and how these rankings are compiled. This page collects materials from "Govorit NeMoskva" about ASI and RIA Rating and is updated as new data is released.
What does the ASI rating show?
The Agency for Strategic Initiatives has published the National Quality of Life Ranking for Russian Regions for 2025. It is based on 186 indicators, grouped into 12 categories: data from sociological surveys, official statistics, and geoanalytics. The final index is calculated on a 100-point scale. More about the report.
- Leaders: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tyumen Oblast, Tatarstan, and Sakhalin Oblast. A total of 20 regions are in the top of the ASI rating (material from February 19, 2026).
- Strengths: social protection (69,5 points), sports, culture and leisure (59,9).
- Weak spots: material well-being (44,3 points; 57% of respondents rated their income as low), living conditions in housing (47,1), ease of doing business (2,68 points out of 5).
- The main sources of dissatisfaction: high cost of living, unaffordable housing, labor shortage.
RIA Novosti's Well-Being Rating
The 2025 regional well-being ranking was calculated based on data from the agency on quality of life, socioeconomic indicators, the labor market, the material well-being of the population, the number of healthy lifestyle adherents, and scientific and technological development. More.
- Leaders: Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Moscow region, then Tatarstan and the Sverdlovsk region.
- Border regions: Krasnodar Krai is in 7th place, Rostov Oblast is in 10th; the shelled Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk Oblasts are in 17th, 35th, and 50th place.
- The ranking is completed by: Kabardino-Balkaria, Transbaikalia, Chechnya, North Ossetia, Khakassia, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, the Altai Republic, the Jewish Autonomous Region, Tuva and Ingushetia.
Chronology of materials
| date | What's new | Material |
|---|---|---|
| November 27, 2024 | Grozny ranked second in Russia for quality of life. | Grozny is the second |
| December 24 2025 | RIA Novosti's 2025 Regional Welfare Rating | RIA rating |
| February 19 2026 | ASI's National Quality of Life Rating Presented: Top Five and Top 20 | Who lives well in Russia |
| 23 2026 June | RIA Rating: In 17 regions, more than 10% of the population lives below the poverty line. | 17 regions below the poverty line |
| October 12 2026 | ASI 2025 Report: Average Index of 53,3 Points, Weaknesses in Income and Housing | ASI report |
How are ratings compiled?
The ASI rating is based on 186 indicators and 12 areas, combining surveys, official statistics, and geoanalytics to produce a final index on a 100-point scale. The RIA Novosti rating assesses well-being based on a set of socioeconomic indicators, the labor market, household income, health, and scientific and technological development. Due to different methodologies, the rankings of regions in these ratings do not coincide.
Sources of
Agency for Strategic Initiatives (National Quality of Life Rating in Russian Regions), RIA Novosti, and RIA Rating. The figures on this page are taken from Govorit NeMoskva (NonMoscow Speaking) materials; links to each are provided in the table.