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.

This dataset is about cities in Russia. It has 4,324 rows. It features 3 columns: country, and population.

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.

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

In 2024, the total population of Russia was around 146.1 million people. Only a fraction of them live in the major Russian cities. With almost 12.5 million inhabitants, Moscow is the largest of them. In the upcoming years until 2030, the population was forecast to decline.Russia's economy Russia is one of the major economies in the world and is one of the wealthiest nations. Following the 1998 Russian financial crisis, Russia introduced several structural reforms that allowed for a fast economic recovery. Following these reforms, Russia experienced significant economic growth from the early 2000s and improved living standards in general for the country. A reason for the momentous economical boost was the rise in commodity prices as well as a boom in the total amount of consumer credit. Additionally, Russia is highly dependent on the mining and production of natural resources, primarily in the energy department, in order to promote economic growth in the country. Due to large energy reserves throughout the country, Russia has developed a stable economy capable of sustaining itself for many years into the future. The majority of Russian oil and energy reserves are located in the Western Siberian areas. These natural gas liquids, along with oil reserves that consist of crude oil, shale oil and oil sands are constantly used for the production of consumable oil, which is an annually growing industry in Russia. Oil products are one of Russia’s primary exports and the country is able to profit entirely off of sales due to high prices as well as high demand for such goods.

Dataset

This dataset was created by bluetrain

Released under CC0: Public Domain

Contents

Population: Female: NW: City of St Petersburg data was reported at 3,074,658.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 3,074,589.000 Person for 2022. Population: Female: NW: City of St Petersburg data is updated yearly, averaging 2,701,170.000 Person from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2023, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,078,359.000 Person in 2021 and a record low of 2,563,704.000 Person in 2002. Population: Female: NW: City of St Petersburg data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Demographic and Labour Market – Table RU.GA010: Population: Female: by Region.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Russia was reported at 11.72 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Russia - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Population: SB: Omsk City: Non Working Age: Age 0 to 15 data was reported at 207.600 Person th in 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 208.900 Person th for 2018. Population: SB: Omsk City: Non Working Age: Age 0 to 15 data is updated yearly, averaging 173.700 Person th from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2019, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 208.900 Person th in 2018 and a record low of 160.500 Person th in 2007. Population: SB: Omsk City: Non Working Age: Age 0 to 15 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Demographic and Labour Market – Table RU.GA022: Population: by City: Siberian Federal District.

Population in largest city in Russia was reported at 12712305 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Russia - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

As of January 1, 2023, over 13.1 million persons resided in Moscow, the largest city in Russia and Europe. The population of the Russian capital increased slightly from the previous year. The number of Moscow residents crossed the 13-million mark in 2021. Starting from 2012, the city’s population grew by roughly 1.5 million. Moscow is one of the world’s megacities with the largest land area, which exceeds 6,600 square kilometers. Cost of living in Moscow While prices in Moscow are higher than in most other cities of Russia, they are lower than in many other megacities around the world, such as Singapore, New York, and Paris. In 2023, Moscow recorded the largest drop in the rank in the list of the most expensive cities worldwide, at 105 positions. Moscow residents earned an average net salary of 128,300 Russian rubles per month in 2022. Immigration to Moscow Due to the presence of various companies, job opportunities, higher salaries than in most other regions of the country, acclaimed universities, and highly developed infrastructure, Moscow is an attractive destination for both internal and international immigrants. In 2022, more than 940,000 Russian residents migrated to the Central Federal District of the country, where Moscow is located. From the international immigrants, the largest share comes from Central Asian countries.

Population: Female: VR: Republic of Chuvashia data was reported at 628,058.000 Person in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 630,553.000 Person for 2022. Population: Female: VR: Republic of Chuvashia data is updated yearly, averaging 679,174.000 Person from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2023, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 727,230.000 Person in 1992 and a record low of 628,058.000 Person in 2023. Population: Female: VR: Republic of Chuvashia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Demographic and Labour Market – Table RU.GA010: Population: Female: by Region.

Due to the devastating impact of the Second World War on the Soviet population, the total population in 1950 was almost 15.5 million fewer than in 1940, which is a decrease of eight percent. In Russia (RSFSR), the largest of the Soviet states, the population difference was almost nine million people; also eight percent. It would take until 1955 for the populations of either the USSR or Russia to reach their pre-war levels, which was a decade after the conflict had ended. Urbanization Despite this drop in total population, industrialization and urbanization saw a significant change in the USSR's population distribution between the given years. The Soviet urban population increased by 6.3 million, or ten percent, between 1940 and 1950; 5.8 million of this was in Russia, which was a 15 percent increase. In contrast, the Soviet Union's rural population dropped by 21.8 million (a 17 percent change), 14.5 million of which in Russia (a decrease of 20 percent). In terms of overall population, the urban population of the USSR rose from 33 to 39 percent between 1940 and 1950, and from 34 to 43 percent in Russia. By 1955, 44 percent of the Soviet population, and 49 percent of the Russian population, lived in an urban setting.

Population: NW: City of St Petersburg data was reported at 5,645,943.000 Person in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,597,763.000 Person for 2023. Population: NW: City of St Petersburg data is updated yearly, averaging 4,921,117.500 Person from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2024, with 36 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,645,943.000 Person in 2024 and a record low of 4,656,474.000 Person in 2002. Population: NW: City of St Petersburg data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.GA002: Population: by Region.

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.

The share of urban population in Russia stood at 75.33 percent in 2023. Between 1960 and 2023, the share rose by 21.6 percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

Population: Female: Central Federal District (CF) data was reported at 21,580,066.000 Person in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 21,594,652.000 Person for 2022. Population: Female: Central Federal District (CF) data is updated yearly, averaging 20,745,625.000 Person from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2023, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21,730,007.000 Person in 2019 and a record low of 20,427,657.000 Person in 2002. Population: Female: Central Federal District (CF) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Demographic and Labour Market – Table RU.GA010: Population: Female: by Region.

Population: SB: Kemerovo Region: Novokuznetsk: Above Working Age data was reported at 130.300 Person th in 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 136.000 Person th for 2018. Population: SB: Kemerovo Region: Novokuznetsk: Above Working Age data is updated yearly, averaging 121.400 Person th from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2019, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 136.000 Person th in 2018 and a record low of 105.900 Person th in 2003. Population: SB: Kemerovo Region: Novokuznetsk: Above Working Age data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Demographic and Labour Market – Table RU.GA022: Population: by City: Siberian Federal District.

Population: CF: City of Moscow data was reported at 13,258,262.000 Person in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 13,149,803.000 Person for 2023. Population: CF: City of Moscow data is updated yearly, averaging 11,139,139.500 Person from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2024, with 36 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13,258,262.000 Person in 2024 and a record low of 8,880,124.000 Person in 1989. Population: CF: City of Moscow data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.GA002: Population: by Region.

Population: SF: City of Sevastopol data was reported at 558,163.000 Person in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 561,374.000 Person for 2023. Population: SF: City of Sevastopol data is updated yearly, averaging 522,366.000 Person from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2024, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 561,374.000 Person in 2023 and a record low of 398,973.000 Person in 2014. Population: SF: City of Sevastopol data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.GA002: Population: by Region.