Relevance: conducting a comparative analysis of demographic processes in two Arctic regions of the European North of Russia makes it possible to determine the main directions for improving the demographic policy of the territories. The aim of the study is to analyze mortality rates in the Komi Republic and the Arkhangelsk Region to assess demographic prospects in these regions. Materials and methods: the main demographic indicators that form the population decline in the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic over the past 20 years were analyzed. A comparative study was conducted between them, as well as with the average statistical values in the Russian Federation. The main source of information was the website of the database of the Federal State Statistics Service. Results and discussion. Fluctuations in demographic indices in the Komi Republic and the Arkhangelsk Region as a whole have a similar trend and a common nature. Population losses in the Arctic territories of the country – the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic as a whole are higher than the average for the Russian Federation. The greatest losses in these regions are formed due to high mortality from cardiovascular diseases in people of working age. Among the external causes of mortality, attention is drawn to the high suicide rate, which exceeds the national average in the Arkhangelsk region by 2.36 times, in the Komi Republic by 2.2 times. The deterioration in the level and structure of mortality in one region compared to another can be interpreted as a change in the quality of medical care during the period of negative changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis of the main demographic indicators in dynamics and in specific territorial entities makes it possible to identify possible predictors, causes of fluctuations in different time periods, the duration of responses to specific challenges and incentives.