Introduction A study of the demographic situation among indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North in the last 10-15 years indicates negative trends in this area, characterized by high mortality rates of people of working age and children, a decrease in the birth rate and life expectancy [Karlov, 1991, p. 6; Klokov and Koryukhina, 1994, p. 65; Ivanov, 1999; et al.]. On the general background, reindeer herding peoples who preserve the traditional way of life, including the Nenets, look more prosperous [Sokolova, 2003, p. 49; 2004, p. 24-25; Averin, 2005, p. 77; Artyukhova and Pirig, 2004, p.64]. According to the place of primary residence and dialect, the Nenets people are divided into two groups: tundra and forest. The available official statistics characterize demographic processes primarily among the Tundra Nenets as the most numerous and administratively organized. The main territory of their settlement is four autonomous circles:Nenets of the Arkhangelsk Region, Yamalo-Nenets of the Tyumen Region, Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) of the Krasnoyarsk Territory*. The forest Nenets represent a small ethnic group, whose main economic activity, in contrast to the tundra group, is hunting and fishing; reindeer husbandry is of transport importance [Golovnev, 1993, p. 125; Kozmin, 2003, p. 27]. The territories inhabited by forest Nenets were among the first to fall into the sphere of development of oil and gas fields. As a result of industrial development, significant areas of yagel pastures were removed from traditional nature management, which led to a reduction in the number of reindeer, a change in nomadic routes, and an increase in the number of salt-free and low-salt families [Gardamshina et al., 2006, p. 58]**. At present, fishing is practically their only source of livelihood***. Differences in the economy and living conditions (climatic, socio-economic, etc.) of forest and tundra Nenets make it relevant to study demographic processes in each group separately. This ar ... Read more