According to the data provided by the Russian Statistics Committee, in 1999 men made up 46.9% of the population. It is expected that this year this correlation will not undergo much change and there will be an average of 1,136 women per thousand of men, like last year. More boys are born than girls every year, however, at the age of 40 this correlation dramatically changes:

• there are 25% fewer men than women at the age of 55-59 and
• there are 60% fewer men than women above 70.

According to the optimistic forecasts of the State Statistics Committee, by virtue of various factors, life expectancy for subsequent generations will be gradually growing, though: the boys born in 2010 will live an average of 61.7 years, while those born in 2015 - 62.7 years [Госкомстат несёт, раньше в ём было больше оптимизьму].

A total of 32,039,000 men were engaged in the Russian economy in 1999. They still dominate industry, agriculture, construction and transport. The share of men in managerial structures, trade and public catering is gradually growing [и это хорошо, надо быстрее]. The ratio of men and women engaged in health services and education has not practically changed in the past few years - approximately 1 to 5. The ratio in the arts, culture, finance and insurance is approximately 1 to 2. The only field where both sexes are equally represented is science [проф. рождаемость должна быть повыше?].

Men make up a mere 27.9% of civil servants. This picture is characteristic of almost all the levels of administration and structures but for the top ones. One example to illustrate the point is the State Duma of the 2000-2003 convocation: as of the beginning of 2000, of the 439 deputies, 405 were men.

As of January 1, 2000, there were 4,801,000 jobless per 32,039,000 working men. Qualified workers of major and small industrial enterprises, handicraft industries, construction, transport, communications, geology and geological prospecting make up 27% of the total number of jobless men, while operators, engine-drivers and fitters - 21.9%. Among jobless men, 45.6% have a secondary general education, 22.6% - a secondary vocational education and 9% - a higher professional education.

The greatest number of jobless men - 16.5% is among those who are from 20 to 24 years. The next critical age is 35-39 years (15.1%), then - 25-29 years (14.2%). On the whole, the average age of jobless Russian men is slightly above 35 years (in the past few years - slightly above 33-34 years). The average time men spent on finding a job in 1999 was nine months. It is harder to find a job for those who are above 40 and easier for those who are 20.

Yet another statistical touch to the overall picture is Russian crime, which is still of a clearly "male" nature. Of the 1,716,700 people who committed crimes in 1999, 1,456,000 were men. In the same year, they made up 89% of the convicts. This is fewer than in 1990-1994, but more than in 1995-1998.

The situation in the Russian armed forces cannot be ignored, either. According to the data provided by the defense ministry, the strength of the armed forces has been reduced from 3.3 to 1.2 million since 1992. In 2001-2003, this figure will be cut by another 365,000. Over 90% of officers have a higher military and a military special education. The average age of officers is 33.5 years, but young officers keep leaving the service, although not in such quantities as six or seven years ago.

[Всё хорошо, только непонятно: к чему заголовок -- может перепутали ?]