Russia's capital, Moscow, was the largest city in the country with over **** million residents as of January 1, 2024. Less than a half of Moscow's population resided in Saint Petersburg, the second-most populous city in the country. The third-largest city, Novosibirsk, was located in the Siberian Federal District, being the highest-populated city in the Asian part of Russia. Why is Moscow so populated? The Russian capital is the center of political, industrial, business, and cultural life in Russia. Despite being one of the most expensive cities worldwide, it continues to attract people from Russia and abroad, with its resident population following a generally upward trend over the past decade. Wages in Moscow are higher than in Russia on average, and more opportunities for employment and investment are available in the capital. Furthermore, the number of people living in Moscow was forecast to continue rising, exceeding **** million by 2035. Urbanization in Russia In 2024, around *** million Russian residents lived in cities. That was approximately three-quarters of the country’s population. The urbanization rate increased steadily over the 20th century, leading to a decline in the rural population. Among the country’s regions, the Northwestern Federal District had the highest share of residents in urban areas, measured at ** percent. In the Central Federal District, the tendency was that more people moved to Moscow and cities in the Moscow Oblast.

Despite that Moscow accounted for the largest sporting goods online sales share, the highest consumption index of sporting goods in Russia was measured in Krasnodar. To compare, Moscow listed in the ****** place.

1117 Russian cities with city name, region, geographic coordinates and 2020 population estimate.

How to use

from pathlib import Path
import requests
import pandas as pd

url = ("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/"
   "epogrebnyak/ru-cities/main/assets/towns.csv")

# save file locally
p = Path("towns.csv")
if not p.exists():
  content = requests.get(url).text
  p.write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")

# read as dataframe
df = pd.read_csv("towns.csv")
print(df.sample(5))

Files:

• towns.csv - city information
• regions.csv - list of Russian Federation regions
• alt_city_names.json - alternative city names

Сolumns (towns.csv):

Basic info:

• city - city name (several cities have alternative names marked in alt_city_names.json)
• population - city population, thousand people, Rosstat estimate as of 1.1.2020
• lat,lon - city geographic coordinates

Region:

• region_name - subnational region (oblast, republic, krai or AO)
• region_iso_code - ISO 3166 code, eg RU-VLD
• federal_district, eg Центральный

City codes:

• okato
• oktmo
• fias_id
• kladr_id

Data sources

• City list and city population collected from Rosstat publication Регионы России. Основные социально-экономические показатели городов and parsed from publication Microsoft Word files.
• City list corresponds to this Wikipedia article.
• Alternative dataset is wiki-based Dadata city dataset (no population data).

Comments

City groups

• Ханты-Мансийский and Ямало-Ненецкий autonomous regions excluded to avoid duplication as parts of Тюменская область.

• Several notable towns are classified as administrative part of larger cities (Сестрорецк is a municpality at Saint-Petersburg, Щербинка part of Moscow). They are not and not reported in this dataset.

By individual city

• Белоозерский not found in Rosstat publication, but should be considered a city as of 1.1.2020

Alternative city names

• We suppressed letter "ё" city columns in towns.csv - we have Орел, but not Орёл. This affected:

  • Белоозёрский
  • Королёв
  • Ликино-Дулёво
  • Озёры
  • Щёлково
  • Орёл

• Дмитриев and Дмитриев-Льговский are the same city.

assets/alt_city_names.json contains these names.

Tests

poetry install
poetry run python -m pytest

How to replicate dataset

1. Base dataset

Run:

• download data stro rar/get.sh
• convert Саратовская область.doc to docx
• run make.py

Creates:

• _towns.csv
• assets/regions.csv

2. API calls

Note: do not attempt if you do not have to - this runs a while and loads third-party API access.

You have the resulting files in repo, so probably does not need to these scripts.

Run:

• cd geocoding
• run coord_dadata.py (needs token)
• run coord_osm.py

Creates:

• coord_dadata.csv
• coord_osm.csv

3. Merge data

Run:

• run merge.py

Creates:

• assets/towns.csv

Kyiv is the largest city of Ukraine, with approximately 2.95 million inhabitants as of January 1, 2022. Kharkiv had the second-largest population of around 1.42 million, followed by Odesa and Dnipro. Economic situation in Ukraine Ukraine has a population of around 42 million inhabitants - close to 70 percent of which live in urban areas, with almost three million living in Ukraine’s largest city and capital, Kyiv. The city is located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River and is one of the largest in Europe. The country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, is about half of Kyiv's size and located in the northeast. Kharkiv was the first city to be occupied by the Soviet Union in 1917 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since the collapse, Ukraine has been largely divided between east and west. Many inhabitants speak Ukrainian to the west, whereas Russian is dominant in parts of the east and south. Like Kharkiv, many of Ukraine’s other biggest cities which have fewer than one million inhabitants are located to the east of the country – a region which has uprooted and displaced many of its inhabitants because of the military actions that started in 2014. In 2015, Ukrainians across the country were affected by a huge spike in inflation, which reached near 49 percent. In the following years, it marked a decrease, measuring below three percent in 2020. The country’s GDP has also been significantly impacted by the crisis, which has left approximately 1.5 million Ukrainians internally displaced since 2014, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The unemployment rate was above nine percent in 2020.

As of January 1, 2025, ***** million inhabitants lived in Russian cities, opposed to **** million people living in the countryside. The rural population of Russia saw a gradual decrease over the observed time period.

In 2025, Moscow was the largest city in Europe with an estimated urban agglomeration of 12.74 million people. The French capital, Paris, was the second largest city in 2025 at 11.35 million, followed by the capitals of the United Kingdom and Spain, with London at 9.84 million and Madrid at 6.81 million people. Istanbul, which would otherwise be the largest city in Europe in 2025, is excluded as it is only partially in Europe, with a sizeable part of its population living in Asia. Europe’s population is almost 750 million Since 1950, the population of Europe has increased by approximately 200 million people, increasing from 550 million to 750 million in these seventy years. Before the turn of the millennium, Europe was the second-most populated continent, before it was overtaken by Africa, which saw its population increase from 228 million in 1950 to 817 million by 2000. Asia has consistently had the largest population of the world’s continents and was estimated to have a population of 4.6 billion. Europe’s largest countries Including its territory in Asia, Russia is by far the largest country in the world, with a territory of around 17 million square kilometers, almost double that of the next largest country, Canada. Within Europe, Russia also has the continent's largest population at 145 million, followed by Germany at 83 million and the United Kingdom at almost 68 million. By contrast, Europe is also home to various micro-states such as San Marino, which has a population of just 30 thousand.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents the median household incomes over the past decade across various racial categories identified by the U.S. Census Bureau in Russia town. It portrays the median household income of the head of household across racial categories (excluding ethnicity) as identified by the Census Bureau. It also showcases the annual income trends, between 2011 and 2021, providing insights into the economic shifts within diverse racial communities.The dataset can be utilized to gain insights into income disparities and variations across racial categories, aiding in data analysis and decision-making..

Key observations

• White: In Russia town, the median household income for the households where the householder is White increased by $26,007(44.35%), between 2011 and 2021. The median household income, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars, was $58,642 in 2011 and $84,649 in 2021.
• Black or African American: Even though there is a population where the householder is Black or African American, there was no median household income reported by the U.S. Census Bureau for both 2011 and 2021.
• Refer to the research insights for more key observations on American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, Some other race and Two or more races (multiracial) households

https://i.neilsberg.com/ch/russia-ny-median-household-income-by-race-trends.jpeg" alt="Russia, New York median household income trends across races (2011-2021, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars)">

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Racial categories include:

• White
• Black or African American
• American Indian and Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
• Some other race
• Two or more races (multiracial)

Variables / Data Columns

• Race of the head of household: This column presents the self-identified race of the household head, encompassing all relevant racial categories (excluding ethnicity) applicable in Russia town.
• 2010: 2010 median household income
• 2011: 2011 median household income
• 2012: 2012 median household income
• 2013: 2013 median household income
• 2014: 2014 median household income
• 2015: 2015 median household income
• 2016: 2016 median household income
• 2017: 2017 median household income
• 2018: 2018 median household income
• 2019: 2019 median household income
• 2020: 2020 median household income
• 2021: 2021 median household income
• 2022: 2022 median household income
• Please note: 2020 1-Year ACS estimates data was not reported by Census Bureau due to impact on survey collection and analysis during COVID-19, thus for large cities (population 65,000 and above) median household income data is not available.
• Please note: All incomes have been adjusted for inflation and are presented in 2022-inflation-adjusted dollars.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Russia town median household income by race. You can refer the same here

In 2024, Russia had the largest population among European countries at ***** million people. The next largest countries in terms of their population size were Turkey at **** million, Germany at **** million, the United Kingdom at **** million, and France at **** million. Europe is also home to some of the world’s smallest countries, such as the microstates of Liechtenstein and San Marino, with populations of ****** and ****** respectively. Europe’s largest economies Germany was Europe’s largest economy in 2023, with a Gross Domestic Product of around *** trillion Euros, while the UK and France are the second and third largest economies, at *** trillion and *** trillion euros respectively. Prior to the mid-2000s, Europe’s fourth-largest economy, Italy, had an economy that was of a similar sized to France and the UK, before diverging growth patterns saw the UK and France become far larger economies than Italy. Moscow and Istanbul the megacities of Europe Two cities on the eastern borders of Europe were Europe’s largest in 2023. The Turkish city of Istanbul, with a population of 15.8 million, and the Russian capital, Moscow, with a population of 12.7 million. Istanbul is arguably the world’s most famous transcontinental city with territory in both Europe and Asia and has been an important center for commerce and culture for over 2,000 years. Paris was the third largest European city with a population of ** million, with London being the fourth largest at *** million.

The largest share of Russian population resided in cities with a low index of atmospheric pollution (API) under five points. Russians living in areas that were categorized as highly and very highly exposed to air pollution, or those with an API of over seven points, occupied nearly 10 percent of the country's urban population.

Russia is the largest country in Europe, and also the largest in the world, its total size amounting to 17 million square kilometers (km2). It should be noted, however, that over three quarters of Russia is located in Asia, and the Ural mountains are often viewed as the meeting point of the two continents in Russia; nonetheless, European Russia is still significantly larger than any other European country. Ukraine, the second largest country on the continent, is only 603,000 km2, making it about 28 times smaller than its eastern neighbor, or seven times smaller than the European part of Russia. France is the third largest country in Europe, but the largest in the European Union. The Vatican City, often referred to as the Holy Sea, is both the smallest country in Europe and in the world, at just one km2. Population Russia is also the most populous country in Europe. It has around 144 million inhabitants across the country; in this case, around three quarters of the population live in the European part, which still gives it the largest population in Europe. Despite having the largest population, Russia is a very sparsely populated country due to its size and the harsh winters. Germany is the second most populous country in Europe, with 83 million inhabitants, while the Vatican has the smallest population. Worldwide, India and China are the most populous countries, with approximately 1.4 billion inhabitants each. Cities Moscow in Russia is ranked as the most populous city in Europe with around 13 million inhabitants, although figures vary, due to differences in the methodologies used by countries and sources. Some statistics include Istanbul in Turkey* as the largest city in Europe with its 15 million inhabitants, bit it has been excluded here as most of the country and parts of the city is located in Asia. Worldwide, Tokyo is the most populous city, with Jakarta the second largest and Delhi the third.

In 2023, Washington, D.C. had the highest population density in the United States, with 11,130.69 people per square mile. As a whole, there were about 94.83 residents per square mile in the U.S., and Alaska was the state with the lowest population density, with 1.29 residents per square mile. The problem of population density Simply put, population density is the population of a country divided by the area of the country. While this can be an interesting measure of how many people live in a country and how large the country is, it does not account for the degree of urbanization, or the share of people who live in urban centers. For example, Russia is the largest country in the world and has a comparatively low population, so its population density is very low. However, much of the country is uninhabited, so cities in Russia are much more densely populated than the rest of the country. Urbanization in the United States While the United States is not very densely populated compared to other countries, its population density has increased significantly over the past few decades. The degree of urbanization has also increased, and well over half of the population lives in urban centers.

Over the course of the Second World War, approximately 44.5 percent of the Soviet population and 8.7 of Soviet territory was occupied by the Axis forces at some point. Despite being allied in the war's early stages, with both countries invading Poland in 1939 via the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Germany would launch Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR, in 1941, which would become the largest military invasion in history. Movement of the Eastern Front The surprise invasion began on June 22, and Axis forces caught the Soviets off-guard, quickly pushing their way eastward along a frontline that stretched from the Baltic to Black seas. The length of the front-line allowed Axis forces to execute pincer movements around cities and strongholds, which cut off large numbers of Soviet soldiers from their supply lines, as well as preventing reinforcements; in this process millions of Soviet troops were taken as prisoner. Within three weeks, the Germans had taken much of present-day Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic states, before taking Moldova and Ukraine in September, and pushing into western Russia between September and December. The front lines had reached the outskirts of Moscow by November, before exhaustion and cold weather helped Soviet forces hold the line and stall the German offensive. The Red Army was then able to regroup and turning the Germans' own tactics against them, using two-pronged attacks to encircle large numbers of troops, although harsh weather made this stage of the conflict much slower.

The lines remained fairly static until mid-1942, when the Germans focused their offensive on the south, concentrating on the Caucasian oil fields and the Volga River. By November 1942, Axis forces had pushed into these regions, establishing what would ultimately be the largest amount of occupied Soviet territory during the war. Once again, winter halted the Axis advance, and allowed the Red Army to regroup. Learning from the previous year, the Axis command strengthened their forces near Moscow in anticipation of the Soviet counter-offensive, but were caught off-guard by a second counter-offensive in the south, most famously at Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad would come to epitomize the extreme loss, destruction, and brutality of war on the eastern front, with conflict continuing in the city months after the rest of the Axis forces had been pushed west. As 1943 progressed, the Red Army gained momentum by targeting inferiorly-trained and equipped non-German regiments. The spring then became something of a balancing act for the Axis powers, as the Soviets consistently attacked weak points, and German regiments were transferred to reinforce these areas. In the summer of 1943, the front line was static once more, however the momentum was with the Soviets, who were able to capitalize on victories such as Kursk and gradually force the Axis powers back. By 1944, the Red Army had re-captured much of Ukraine, and had re-taken the south by the summer. When the Western Allies arrived in France in June, the Soviets were already pushing through Ukraine and Belarus, towards Berlin. In August 1944, the last Axis forces were pushed out of Soviet territory, and Soviet forces continued their push towards the German capital, which fell in May 1945. Soviet death toll In addition to the near-five million Soviet troops who died during Operation Barbarossa, millions of civilians died through starvation, areal bombardment, forced labor, and systematic murder campaigns. Due to the nature and severity of Soviet losses, total figures are difficult to estimate; totals of 15-20 million civilians and 7-9 million military deaths are most common. Further estimates suggest that the disruption to fertility, in addition to the high death toll, meant that the USSR's population in 1946 was 40 million lower than it would have been had there been no war.

Russia had the highest population count among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, at an estimated 146.1 million in 2024, while the lowest figure was recorded in Moldova, at around 2.5 million. Between 2024 and 2029, the number of inhabitants was forecast to decrease in Russia, Belarus, and Moldova. The other members of the organization were expected to see their population grow. In total, roughly 251.8 million people resided in the CIS countries in 2024, and the population would expand by almost five million in the following five years. Demographic trends across the CIS countries The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is set to experience population shifts in the coming years until 2029, with Russia maintaining its position as the most populous member. Uzbekistan is expected to see significant growth, with its number of residents increasing from 36.9 million in 2024 to 41 million in 2029. Furthermore, Uzbekistan had the fastest-growing population in the CIS in 2023, at 2.1 percent compared to the previous year, closely followed by Tajikistan. In contrast, Russia and Azerbaijan recorded population declines of about 0.3 percent. This is reflected in fertility rates, with Tajikistan boasting the highest number of births per woman in the region, at 3.6 in 2024. Urbanization in the CIS and worldwide Urbanization levels differ significantly across the CIS. Belarus leads with over 80 percent of its population living in urban areas in 2023, followed by Russia. To compare, on a global level, the urbanization rate stood at 57 percent in 2023, up 4.4 percentage points from a decade back. The highest rates were recorded in Northern America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Across Europe, three-quarters of the population resided in cities.

The largest share of Russian tourists traveled to the Krasnodar Krai in the summer of 2020. The largest cities of the country, Moscow and Saint Petersburg, together with the Moscow and Leningrad Oblasts, attracted approximately six percent and five percent of tourists in that season, respectively. Furthermore, nearly 31 percent of Russian travelers visited other domestic regions during the period. Less than eight percent travelled abroad, as borders with most countries were closed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In 2023, over 8.8 million tourists visited Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city. Of them, over 90 percent came from within the country. Over the past five years, the number of foreign tourists in the city, which is referred to as the country's cultural capital, peaked in 2019 at almost five million. It sharply decreased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions.

The statistic shows the total population in Canada from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, the total population in Canada amounted to about 41.14 million inhabitants. Population of Canada Canada ranks second among the largest countries in the world in terms of area size, right behind Russia, despite having a relatively low total population. The reason for this is that most of Canada remains uninhabited due to inhospitable conditions. Approximately 90 percent of all Canadians live within about 160 km of the U.S. border because of better living conditions and larger cities. On a year to year basis, Canada’s total population has continued to increase, although not dramatically. Population growth as of 2012 has amounted to its highest values in the past decade, reaching a peak in 2009, but was unstable and constantly fluctuating. Simultaneously, Canada’s fertility rate dropped slightly between 2009 and 2011, after experiencing a decade high birth rate in 2008. Standard of living in Canada has remained stable and has kept the country as one of the top 20 countries with the highest Human Development Index rating. The Human Development Index (HDI) measures quality of life based on several indicators, such as life expectancy at birth, literacy rate, education levels and gross national income per capita. Canada has a relatively high life expectancy compared to many other international countries, earning a spot in the top 20 countries and beating out countries such as the United States and the UK. From an economic standpoint, Canada has been slowly recovering from the 2008 financial crisis. Unemployment has gradually decreased, after reaching a decade high in 2009. Additionally, GDP has dramatically increased since 2009 and is expected to continue to increase for the next several years.

This statistic shows the age structure in Brazil from 2013 to 2023. In 2023 about 19.94 percent of Brazil's total population were aged 0 to 14 years. Population of Brazil Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world by area and population and the largest in both South America and the Latin American region. With a total population of more than 200 million inhabitants in 2013, Brazil also ranks fifth in terms of population numbers. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, CPLP, and a member of the BRIC countries. BRIC is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the four major emerging market countries. The largest cities in Brazil are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. São Paulo alone reports over 11.1 million inhabitants. Due to a steady increase in the life expectancy in Brazil, the average age of the population has also rapidly increased. From 1950 until 2015, the average age of the population increased by an impressive 12 years; in 2015, the average age of the population in Brazil was reported to be around 31 years. As a result of the increasing average age, the percentage of people aged between 15 and 64 years has also increased: In 2013, about 68.4 percent of the population in Brazil was aged between 15 and 64 years.

This statistic depicts the age distribution of India from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, about 25.06 percent of the Indian population fell into the 0-14 year category, 68.02 percent into the 15-64 age group and 6.92 percent were over 65 years of age. Age distribution in India India is one of the largest countries in the world and its population is constantly increasing. India’s society is categorized into a hierarchically organized caste system, encompassing certain rights and values for each caste. Indians are born into a caste, and those belonging to a lower echelon often face discrimination and hardship. The median age (which means that one half of the population is younger and the other one is older) of India’s population has been increasing constantly after a slump in the 1970s, and is expected to increase further over the next few years. However, in international comparison, it is fairly low; in other countries the average inhabitant is about 20 years older. But India seems to be on the rise, not only is it a member of the BRIC states – an association of emerging economies, the other members being Brazil, Russia and China –, life expectancy of Indians has also increased significantly over the past decade, which is an indicator of access to better health care and nutrition. Gender equality is still non-existant in India, even though most Indians believe that the quality of life is about equal for men and women in their country. India is patriarchal and women still often face forced marriages, domestic violence, dowry killings or rape. As of late, India has come to be considered one of the least safe places for women worldwide. Additionally, infanticide and selective abortion of female fetuses attribute to the inequality of women in India. It is believed that this has led to the fact that the vast majority of Indian children aged 0 to 6 years are male.

This statistic shows the total population of the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from 1950 to 2020. Although the populations are quite different, all three countries followed a relatively similar trend throughout the last seventy years. Each country's population was devastated during the Second World War, Lithuania losing over 14 percent of the population, and Latvia and Estonia losing 12.5 percent and 7.3 percent respectively. In 1950 the populations were at around one, two and 2.5 million people respectively, and all three populations grew steadily until 1990 (although Estonia's grew at a slower rate than the other two countries). Independence movements After the Second World War the three Baltic states were incorporated into the Soviet Union, but when the Soviet economy began failing in the 1980s these states became increasingly dissatisfied with Soviet policies in the region. With growing nationalism in the area, the countries coordinated peaceful protests aimed at restoring independence to the region, in what would become known as the Singing Revolution, which involved a human chain that involved approximately 2 million people and stretched for over 675 kilometers connecting the three capital cities. Large declines following independence Within two years of the revolution all three countries became independent from the Soviet Union, and this change coincides with the drops in population of all three countries. By 1995 the populations of each country had dropped, and at a faster rate in Estonia and Latvia than in Lithuania. This decline has continued for the past 30 years, with the numbers falling at every five year interval for each country. By 2020, Estonia's population will have dropped by almost 240 thousand people, Latvia's by over 770 thousand, and Lithuania's by almost one million. The fall of the Soviet Union, combined with the Baltic nations joining the EU in 2004, meant that emigration was much easier and many from the Baltics went to Western Europe in search of work. Along with a declining natural birth rate, the populations of each country have been in steady decline and this trend is expected to continue into the next few decades, although new figures do suggest some growth for Estonia.