During a long period of time the demographics of the Baltic Sea Region was characterized by some common trends. During the twentieth century and first decade of the twenty-first century the average life expectancy of women in countries throughout the region remained higher than in men. In the mid-1990s, in Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Russia, compared with 1990, there was a reduction in the total population and the decline in life expectancy, both for men and women. This was due to the geopolitical changes in several regions of Europe, including the collapse of the Soviet Union, the difficulties of the transition period, the situation due to the economic crisis of 2007-2009, and the circumstances relating to the events in Ukraine. Refs 32.