The population decline in the Russian North, combined with the need to stimulate non-resource sectors of the economy and entrepreneurship, make it relevant to study the indicators of human development in the Northern territories. The article is devoted to identifying spatial patterns in indicators of human development in the North of Russia at the municipal level. The author proposes a set of indicators that allows assessing human development based on the municipal statistics data: the standardized mortality rate, the wages ratio to the cost of a fixed set of consumer goods and services, and the number of university students per 10.000 inhabitants. The indicators were used for the first time to estimate the human development of 287 urban districts and municipal areas of the Russian North and Arctic. The researcher reveals the main spatial patterns and limitations of human potential development in the Northern territories. The author establishes that more than half of urban districts and areas do not reach the national average level for any of the three indicators. Only Khanty-Mansiysk, Surgut and Yakutsk exceed the national average in all three indicators of human development. In 2015–2018 in most of the Russian North territory, indicators of lifetime and income grew more slowly than in the country as a whole. The exception became the North of Western Siberia which separation from the rest of the Northern regions has increased. The share of students in the population of the North is declining at a faster pace, provoking further migration outflow. The results presented in the article can be used in the measures creation in the field of spatial pattern of the North and Arctic. Further research should be aimed at finding successful practices to overcome the lag of the Northern territories in the human capital development
Keywords
population, migration, education, arctic, income, russian north, human development, lifetime, Russian North, Arctic