The statistic shows the 30 largest countries in the world by area. Russia is the largest country by far, with a total area of about 17 million square kilometers.

Population of Russia

Despite its large area, Russia - nowadays the largest country in the world - has a relatively small total population. However, its population is still rather large in numbers in comparison to those of other countries. In mid-2014, it was ranked ninth on a list of countries with the largest population, a ranking led by China with a population of over 1.37 billion people. In 2015, the estimated total population of Russia amounted to around 146 million people. The aforementioned low population density in Russia is a result of its vast landmass; in 2014, there were only around 8.78 inhabitants per square kilometer living in the country. Most of the Russian population lives in the nation’s capital and largest city, Moscow: In 2015, over 12 million people lived in the metropolis.

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.

Russia was the largest country in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, with a total area of over 17 million square kilometers in 2024. Furthermore, Russia was the largest country in the world, followed by Canada, the United States, and China. Ranking second among the CIS countries was Kazakhstan, whose land area comprised about 2.7 million square kilometers.

In 2022, India overtook China as the world's most populous country and now has almost 1.46 billion people. China now has the second-largest population in the world, still with just over 1.4 billion inhabitants, however, its population went into decline in 2023. Global population As of 2025, the world's population stands at almost 8.2 billion people and is expected to reach around 10.3 billion people in the 2080s, when it will then go into decline. Due to improved healthcare, sanitation, and general living conditions, the global population continues to increase; mortality rates (particularly among infants and children) are decreasing and the median age of the world population has steadily increased for decades. As for the average life expectancy in industrial and developing countries, the gap has narrowed significantly since the mid-20th century. Asia is the most populous continent on Earth; 11 of the 20 largest countries are located there. It leads the ranking of the global population by continent by far, reporting four times as many inhabitants as Africa. The Demographic Transition The population explosion over the past two centuries is part of a phenomenon known as the demographic transition. Simply put, this transition results from a drastic reduction in mortality, which then leads to a reduction in fertility, and increase in life expectancy; this interim period where death rates are low and birth rates are high is where this population explosion occurs, and population growth can remain high as the population ages. In today's most-developed countries, the transition generally began with industrialization in the 1800s, and growth has now stabilized as birth and mortality rates have re-balanced. Across less-developed countries, the stage of this transition varies; for example, China is at a later stage than India, which accounts for the change in which country is more populous - understanding the demographic transition can help understand the reason why China's population is now going into decline. The least-developed region is Sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility rates remain close to pre-industrial levels in some countries. As these countries transition, they will undergo significant rates of population growth

This data collection consists of transcripts from 12 focus group discussions on themes related to social equality in Russia. The focus group discussions were conducted by the Institute of Applied Politics in Moscow, directed by Dr Kryshtanovskaya; using a discussion guide written by the Investigators. They were held in 12 cities chosen to represent different regions of the country, with an emphasis on provincial cities: Ufa, Kaliningrad, Ekaterinburg, Tiumen, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Volgograd, Ivanovo, Irkutsk, Obolensk, Vladivostok and Protvino. The respondents included a mix of ages, genders, blue and white collar workers. The focus groups in Protvino and Ulyanovsk were held only for respondents age 18-29.

The focus group discussions dealt with household and national economic change, perceptions of social fairness, and welfare values. Specifically, respondents were asked about the state of the national and local economies, their household economy, how they define rich and poor people and how they position themselves in relation to these categories. They were asked about whether they perceived differences in wealth between individuals, regions and between urban and rural areas as fair, and whether such differences are increasing or decreasing. Finally they were asked about whether the rich should take more responsibility for the welfare of the poor, about their own personal responsibility and that of the state and businesses, as well as about progressive income taxes and the degree to which the state should control the economy. The discussion guide is provided in Russian and English.

Basic information about the respondents, including gender, age, and occupation are provided at the top of each focus group transcript. Each participant is identified by their given name only.

The transcripts are provided in Russian. The Russian text was transcribed by the Institute of Applied Politics from audio files.

A parallel set of focus groups was conducted in China and are available as the collection Social equality forum China: Focus group transcripts (see Related Resources).

Taken together, Russia and China account for 41 per cent of the total territory of the BRICs and 63 per cent of their GDP/PPP. On Goldman Sachs projections China will be the world’s largest economy by 2050, and Russia its sixth largest. The project will seek to examine the following propositions: (1) that these two BRIC countries are becoming increasingly unequal; (2) that within them, political power and economic advantage are increasingly closely associated; (3) that their political systems have increasingly been employed to ensure that no effective challenge can be mounted to that combination of government position and economic advantage; (4) that set against a broader comparative perspective, an increasingly unequal society in which government is effectively immune from conventional challenge is likely to become increasingly regressive, or unstable, or both. Evidence will be drawn from official statistics, interviews with policy specialists and government officials, two dozen focus groups, and an analysis of the composition of the management boards of the largest companies in both countries. A final part of the analysis will employ crossnational evidence to test a series of hypotheses relating to the association between inequality and political instability on a more broadly comparative basis.

This page displays a table with Russia Exports By Country in U.S. dollars, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.

Judgement on current situation in life and political and economic development of the country in times of economic and social upheaval.

Topics: 1. Common part of the survey for all participating countries: most important problems of the country; intent to emigrate and country of choice; desired occupation for one´s own child; judgement on the work of the president of the country; fears and desires for the future; assessment of current standard of living and comparison with the situation five years ago and expected future development; judgement on the situation of the country in comparison over time; preference for freedom or social security; attitude to admission of undemocratic parties; attitude to freedom of the press; perceived discrimination against women; attitude to division of labor in raising children; judgement on conduct of parliamentary representatives and attitude to democracy in the country (scale); feeling of political effectiveness; internal or external control; achievement orientation; attitude to the national economy; demand for increased environmental protection; desire for foreign support for one´s country; the government as guarantor of equal opportunities and social security; welfare state; necessity of the willingness to compromise in politics; interest in politics at municipal level; diminishing interest in political events; self-assessment as patriot; attitude to securing of peace through military strength; readiness for national defense; necessity of participation of one´s country in world politics; claims to territory in neighboring countries; attitude to restriction on immigration; attitude to use of military for restoration of world order.

Religion and morals: importance of prayer and significance of God in one´s own life; doubt in the existence of God; attitude to prohibition of books critical of society and to sex magazines and films; attitude to freedom of speech even for fascists; assessment of the general trustworthiness of people; AIDS as punishment by God; representation of traditional values in the area of family and marriage; attitude to abortion; clear concepts of Good and Evil; perceived intensification of class differences; assessment of personal things in common with uneducated and with persons of another race or ethnic affiliation; satisfaction with one´s own financial situation.

Demography: party membership; union membership; residential status; city size; religiousness.

1. Additional questions in this survey: judgement on political and economic changes of the last few years; particularly positive and negative changes; attitude to introduction of a multi-party system and introduction of the free market economy; judgement on the speed of transition to the free market economy; assessment of the influence of the media and organizations as well as institutions on the country; assumed influence of foreign nations on one´s own country; attitude to selected ethnic groups (Russians, Georgians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Jews, Armenians, Azerbaijanis) and people from the asiatic republics; perceived threat to the nation from within and without; judgement on the effects of the social changes on the standard of living, moral concepts, public morals, dealing of the people with one another and on the relation of ethnic groups with each other; judgement on the influence of the church; most reliable alliance partner for one´s country; countries from which the greatest threat originates; attitude to Gorbachev, Bush, the Pope, the UN and selected personalities of public life; attitude to privatization of selected areas of the economy and civil service; attitude to free establishing of prices; acceptance of unemployment or preference for government guarantee of full-employment; attitude to a government-specified profit limitation; attitude to borrowing to finance durable economic goods; occupation within one´s own home; work satisfaction; satisfaction with employer; attitude to founding business with credit financing; judgement on the speed with which democracy is developing in the country; identification with one´s country or the Soviet Union; assessment of the ability of government, army, parties, church and KGB; attitude to a Republic independent of the USSR; most important reasons for desired independence; privileged or disadvantaged republics within the USSR; preferred development of society in the direction of socialism or capitalism; greatest fears of the future; attitude to private property and sale of land by farmers; preference for a democratic government or a strong leadership; attitude to a careful discussion of political controversies; career of the newly successful due to performance or through connections; attribution of failures to society or persons; egoism or social conditions as reasons for inadequate material provision; characterization of one´s own people by means of a list of characteristics; nationality.

As of 2021, Russia held natural resources amounting to an estimated total value of 75 trillion U.S. dollars. This figure includes the value of Russia’s many valuable natural resources, which includes coal, oil, natural gas, gold, timber, and rare earth metals, among others.

Natural Resources

Natural resources can be defined as resources that occur naturally and exist independently from the actions of humans. They are commonly categorized in biotic and abiotic resources, where biotic refers to living and organic materials (such as plants), and abiotic resources to refers to non-living materials (such as minerals). Furthermore, natural resources can be divided into the categories of renewable and non-renewable. Renewable resources such as wind, sunlight, and forests are not permanently depleted when we consume or utilize them. Conversely, non-renewable resources are available in finite quantities and can be permanently depleted because of this. Among the most prominently known non-renewable resources on Earth are fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum, usually exploited by humankind to generate energy.

Natural resources and sustainability

The value of natural resources is often determined by their scarcity and by their value for our modern economies. In the consumption-oriented, globalized world, industries need to balance meeting consumer demands and guaranteeing business growth while not over-exploiting and consequently depleting the natural resources of our planet. With natural resources having such high economic value and demand, in addition to the fact that many countries in the world have heavily resource-based economies, the socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable management of these resources is often an afterthought, if its considered at all. This issue is increasingly causing environmental issues, however, and more attention is now being paid by national governments and international environmental watch groups, as a result.

Natural resources in the United States

With a total natural resource value of 45 trillion U.S. dollars, the U.S. is the second leading country worldwide based on natural resource value after Russia. Among the main contributors to the United States’ natural resource value are coal, timber, natural gas, gold, and copper. These industries have strong historic significance for the United States. The U.S. lumber industry, for example, originated during the colonial era, when importing timber from the United States saved people in the U.K. from cold winters. Nowadays, U.S. timber is mostly used for the production of pulp and paper, as well as furniture. The U.S. also has the largest proven coal reserves worldwide as of 2019. In 2020, the U.S. also accounted for 6.7 percent of global coal production, which made the country the fifth-largest coal producer in the world.

Learn about the top 5 aluminium producing countries in the world, including China, India, Russia, UAE, and Australia. Discover the reasons for their dominance in the global market and their investments in the industry.

Crude oil is one of the most valuable and widely traded commodities in the world, with several countries being major producers and exporters of this natural resource. Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United States, and Canada are among the largest crude oil producing countries, each with unique challenges and opportunities in the global oil market.

In 2024, Russia had the largest population among European countries at 144.8 million people. The next largest countries in terms of their population size were Turkey at 87.5 million, Germany at 84.5 million, the United Kingdom at 69.1 million, and France at 66.5 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 39,870 and 33,581 respectively. Europe’s largest economies Germany was Europe’s largest economy in 2023, with a Gross Domestic Product of around 4.2 trillion Euros, while the UK and France are the second and third largest economies, at 3.2 trillion and 2.8 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 two thousand years. Paris was the third largest European city with a population of 11 million, with London being the fourth largest at 9.6 million.

As of January 1, 2025, more than 146 million people were estimated to be residing on the Russian territory, down approximately 30,000 from the previous year. From the second half of the 20th century, the population steadily grew until 1995. Furthermore, the population size saw an increase from 2009, getting closer to the 1995 figures. In which regions do most Russians live? With some parts of Russia known for their harsh climate, most people choose regions which offer more comfortable conditions. The largest share of the Russian population, or 40 million, reside in the Central Federal District. Moscow, the capital, is particularly populated, counting nearly 13 million residents. Russia’s population projections Despite having the largest country area worldwide, Russia’s population was predicted to follow a negative trend under both low and medium expectation forecasts. Under the low expectation forecast, the country’s population was expected to drop from 146 million in 2022 to 134 million in 2036. The medium expectation scenario projected a milder drop to 143 million in 2036. The issues of low birth rates and high death rates in Russia are aggravated by the increasing desire to emigrate among young people. In 2023, more than 20 percent of the residents aged 18 to 24 years expressed their willingness to leave Russia.

Russia had the largest forest area in the world in 2021, amounting to around 815 million hectares, more than twice that of Canada, whose forest area amounted to 347 million hectares. The forestry industry in Canada With the third largest forest area in the world, Canada’s forestry industry is a significant contributor to the country’s gross domestic product. In 2021, the nominal GDP of Canada’s forest industry reached more than 34 billion Canadian dollars, with the wood product manufacturing sector alone contributing around 19.8 billion Canadian dollars in nominal GDP. A comparison of Canadian provinces shows that British Colombia has the largest forestry and logging industry in the country, followed by Quebec and Ontario. The Amazon rainforest in Brazil Brazil has the second largest forest area in the world after Russia, with total forest areas in the South American country amounting to approximately 494 million hectares in 2022. This is largely because around 62 percent of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil. The Amazon rainforest is the world’s largest rainforest, what some call “the lungs of the planet”. However, in recent years, deforestation has been a salient issue in the Amazon, with illegal logging and wildfires raging across the rainforest have contributed to very high deforestation rates. Indeed, around 8,000 square kilometers were destroyed in the Brazilian Amazon in 2023. Deforestation and its impact on climate change has spurred opposition to the logging industry, which was the sector responsible for the most killings of environmental activists in 2021.

This statistic displays which countries spent the most during the 2018 world cup in Russia. Despite not even qualifying for the 2018 world cup, fans from the United States still had the largest expenditure of any country during the games with over 5.6 billion Russian rubles. Foreign citizens in Russia from China then spent the second highest amount despite also not qualifying for the world cup. The country with the highest overall expenditure who actually qualified was Mexico with spending that amounted to over 2.2 billion Russian rubles.

This graph shows the growth in the U.S. export volume of trade goods to Russia from 1992 to 2023. In 2023, U.S. exports to Russia amounted to about 600 million U.S. dollars. RussiaRussia is the largest country in the world, with a combined land and water area of about 17 million square kilometers between their borders. It covers more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. It is larger than Antarctica (14 million square kilometers) and larger than all of Europe (10.5 million square kilometers). In comparison to the country’s huge land mass, the population of Russia is rather minute; with a population of only about 144 million, which comes down to a population density of 8.4 inhabitants per square kilometer. Population density in the United States, which is the fourth largest country in the world, has about 33 inhabitants per sqkm. The Russian population is relatively concentrated around the big metropolitan areas of the country. About 75 percent of Russians live in an urban area. Moscow, the capital of Russia, has about 12 million inhabitants. The greater Moscow metropolitan area has about 16 million inhabitants and is the fifteenth largest metro area in the world. Most of the Russian population lives in the part of the country that is part of the European continent. About 74 percent of all Russians live west of the Ural on an area that encompasses only 23 percent of Russia's total land area.

In 2023, it is estimated that the BRICS countries have a combined population of 3.25 billion people, which is over 40 percent of the world population. The majority of these people live in either China or India, which have a population of more than 1.4 billion people each, while the other three countries have a combined population of just under 420 million. Comparisons Although the BRICS countries are considered the five foremost emerging economies, they are all at various stages of the demographic transition and have different levels of population development. For all of modern history, China has had the world's largest population, but rapidly dropping fertility and birth rates in recent decades mean that its population growth has slowed. In contrast, India's population growth remains much higher, and it is expected to overtake China in the next few years to become the world's most populous country. The fastest growing population in the BRICS bloc, however, is that of South Africa, which is at the earliest stage of demographic development. Russia, is the only BRICS country whose population is currently in decline, and it has been experiencing a consistent natural decline for most of the past three decades. Growing populations = growing opportunities Between 2000 and 2026, the populations of the BRICS countries is expected to grow by 625 million people, and the majority of this will be in India and China. As the economies of these two countries grow, so too do living standards and disposable income; this has resulted in the world's two most populous countries emerging as two of the most profitable markets in the world. China, sometimes called the "world's factory" has seen a rapid growth in its middle class, increased potential of its low-tier market, and its manufacturing sector is now transitioning to the production of more technologically advanced and high-end goods to meet its domestic demand.

As of January 2024, China had the largest armed forces in the world by active duty military personnel, with about 2 million active soldiers. India, the United States, North Korea, and Russia rounded out the top five largest armies. Difference between active and reserve personnel Active personnel, also known as active duty in the United States and active service in the United Kingdom, are those individuals whose full-time occupation is being part of a military force. Active duty is in contrast to a military’s reserve force, which are individuals who have both a military role and a civilian career. The number of active duty forces in the U.S. is much larger than its reserve membership. What is the strongest army? The strength of a country’s armed forces is not only determined by how many personnel they maintain, but also the number and quality of their military equipment. For example, looking only at personnel does not factor in the overwhelmingly higher number of nuclear warheads owned by Russia and the United States compared to other countries. One way to answer this question is to look at the total amount of money each country spends on their military, as spending includes both personnel and technology. In terms of countries with the highest military spending, the United States leads the world with an annual budget almost three times larger than second-placed China.

As of 2024, Russia's natural industrial diamond reserves were estimated at approximately 990 million carats. Thus, the Russia had the largest industrial diamond reserves worldwide. Almost half of the world’s mined diamonds are used for industrial purposes as rough diamonds. Industrial diamonds can be used in cutting, drilling, grinding, and polishing. Diamond industry worldwide Following Russia, Botswana held the world’s second-largest diamond reserves, totaling 250 million carats as of 2024. Based on production volume, Russia and Botswana are the world’s largest diamond producers. Russia mined 16 million carats of industrial diamonds in 2024 and Botswana produced eight million carats during that year. Demand for rough diamonds is increasing worldwide, and is expected to reach some 292 million carats by 2050. Diamond companies and the breakdown between industrial and gem-quality diamonds Alrosa and De Beers' diamond production volume combined accounted for over half of the world’s diamond production in 2023. That year, Alrosa comprised 31 percent of the world’s production and De Beers totaled 29 percent. Almost half of the world’s mined diamonds are used for industrial purposes as rough diamonds. Industrial diamonds can be used in cutting, drilling, grinding, and polishing. Its value is apparent in the industrial sector due to its hardness, heat conductive material, and resistance to many acids and alkalis. Only about 20 percent of all diamonds are considered to be gem-quality polished.

In 2024, the United States had the largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product of just under 29 trillion U.S. dollars. China had the second largest economy, at around 18.5 trillion U.S. dollars. Recent adjustments in the list have seen Germany's economy overtake Japan's to become the third-largest in the world in 2023, while Brazil's economy moved ahead of Italy's in 2024. Global gross domestic product Global gross domestic product amounts to almost 110 trillion U.S. dollars, with the United States making up more than one-quarter of this figure alone. The 12 largest economies in the world include all Group of Seven (G7) economies, as well as the four largest BRICS economies. The U.S. has consistently had the world's largest economy since the interwar period, and while previous reports estimated it would be overtaken by China in the 2020s, more recent projections estimate the U.S. economy will remain the largest by a considerable margin going into the 2030s.The gross domestic product of a country is calculated by taking spending and trade into account, to show how much the country can produce in a certain amount of time, usually per year. It represents the value of all goods and services produced during that year. Those countries considered to have emerging or developing economies account for almost 60 percent of global gross domestic product, while advanced economies make up over 40 percent.

Russia has the largest proved natural gas reserves in the world. As of 2023, it held reserves worth 44.2 trillion standard cubic meters worth of the fossil fuel. Iran and Qatar followed, with more than 30 and 20 trillion cubic meters, respectively. Notable new discoveries have been made since 1960, when known reserves were only a fraction of what they are today. Determining proved reserves Used as a source of energy generation and a feedstock in the chemicals industry, natural gas serves a variety of purposes. It is mainly transported in gaseous form via pipelines, but may be shipped via tanker vessels once liquefied. Proved reserves is a measure used to establish recoverable resource volumes. These are linked to known reservoirs and estimated through exploratory drilling. Since 1960, global proved natural gas reserves increased more than ten-fold, reaching a new peak at 206 trillion cubic meters in 2023. Of these, the majority are located in the Middle East. U.S. is world's largest natural gas producer The United States is the world’s largest natural gas producer, despite proved reserves being only a third of Russia's. In 2023, the U.S. was responsible for nearly one trillion cubic meters of natural gas being extracted. This compared to a production volume of some 580 billion cubic meters by Russia.