Demographics

According to the 2020 All-Russian Population Census, the total number of Udege people was 1,328 people (664 men and 664 women), which is 168 people less than in 2010 (1,496 people).

According to the All-Russian Population Census of 2010, the number of the Udege in the Russian Federation was 1496 people, 793 in the Primorsky Territory, and 620 in the Khabarovsk Territory.

The Udege live primarily in rural areas, the places of compact residence that have existed since collectivization. The data from the census of 2010 show that of the 1496 Udege residents of the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, 75% live in rural areas and only 25% in the city.

The number of women in the city is higher compared to the number of men. Yet, in rural areas, the number of men constantly exceeds the number of women. This indicator may vary from village to village and is directly related to the state of socio-economic development of the territories and their remoteness from administrative centers.

The village of Krasny Yar, Pozharsky district. The difference between the male and female population.

Note: Oksana Zvidennaya, Natalya Novikova. The Udege people: hunters and gatherers of the Bikin River (Ethnological assessment of 2010). Moscow, 2010

In 1992, the overall ratio of men to women in the villages of Krasny Yar and Olon was 53% to 47%. In the 17-61 age cohort, there were 66 more men than women. This difference has narrowed down recently, but the female population remains slightly smaller. The reasons for this difference are related to the overall national pattern with more boys being born than girls and to the hunting orientation of the economy, focused mainly on the male cohort of the population. Equally important is the level of development of infrastructure and the amenities present in the settlements. The number of women is negatively affected by the substandard living conditions and social instability in the settlements.

Young people after graduating from educational institutions remain in the city and try to adapt to urban life. Recently, there has been an increasing tendency among young men to enlist in the army under contract after completing the compulsory service, which provides financial and social guarantees. Young women are more likely than men to stay in the city where they often get married. Young men, having gained city education and experience, usually return to their home villages where they feel more confident, and the traditional skills (mastered by almost all the boys in the Udege families) help them become involved in the fishing and hunting process.

The average marrying age is 20-24 for women and after 30 for men. The percentage of interethnic marriages is steadily increasing. Among the Bikin and Iman groups of the Udege, the presence of the Chinese was recorded in family histories as early as the beginning of the 20th century. Subsequently, the prevalent intermarriages have been between the Udege and the Nanai, or the Udege and the Russians.