Russia is the largest country in the world by far, with a total area of just over 17 million square kilometers. After Antarctica, the next three countries are Canada, the U.S., and China; all between 9.5 and 10 million square kilometers. The figures given include internal water surface area (such as lakes or rivers) - if the figures were for land surface only then China would be the second largest country in the world, the U.S. third, and Canada (the country with more lakes than the rest of the world combined) fourth. Russia Russia has a population of around 145 million people, putting it in the top ten most populous countries in the world, and making it the most populous in Europe. However, it's vast size gives it a very low population density, ranked among the bottom 20 countries. Most of Russia's population is concentrated in the west, with around 75 percent of the population living in the European part, while around 75 percent of Russia's territory is in Asia; the Ural Mountains are considered the continental border. Elsewhere in the world Beyond Russia, the world's largest countries all have distinctive topographies and climates setting them apart. The United States, for example, has climates ranging from tundra in Alaska to tropical forests in Florida, with various mountain ranges, deserts, plains, and forests in between. Populations in these countries are often concentrated in urban areas, and are not evenly distributed across the country. For example, around 85 percent of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border; around 95 percent of China lives east of the Heihe–Tengchong Line that splits the country; and the majority of populations in large countries such as Australia or Brazil live near the coast.

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.

The average for 2021 based on 196 countries was 656013 sq. km. The highest value was in Russia: 16376870 sq. km and the lowest value was in Monaco: 2 sq. km. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

Russia's total Exports in 2021 were valued at US$492.31 Billion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Russia's main export partners were: China, the Netherlands and Germany. The top three export commodities were: Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products; Commodities not specified according to kind and Pearls, precious stones, metals, coins. Total Imports were valued at US$293.50 Billion. In 2021, Russia had a trade surplus of US$198.82 Billion.

Russia's total Imports in 2021 were valued at US$293.50 Billion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Russia's main import partners were: China, Germany and the United States. The top three import commodities were: Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers; Electrical, electronic equipment and Vehicles other than railway, tramway. Total Exports were valued at US$492.31 Billion. In 2021, Russia had a trade surplus of US$198.82 Billion.

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'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.

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.

Key information about Russia Employed Persons

• Russia Employed Persons was reported at 73,500,000.000 Person in Jan 2025
• It recorded a decrease from the previous number of 74,200,000.000 Person for Dec 2024
• Russia Employed Persons data is updated monthly, averaging 70,376,000.000 Person from Jan 1993 to Jan 2025, with 385 observations
• The data reached an all-time high of 74,800,000.000 Person in Nov 2024 and a record low of 60,400,000.000 Person in Jan 1999
• Russia Employed Persons data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Global Economic Monitor – Table: Employed Persons: Monthly

Federal State Statistics Service provides monthly Employed Persons. Employed Persons prior to Jan 2017 covers age range of 15 to 72.

Key information about Russia Natural Gas: Exports

• Russia Natural Gas: Exports was reported at 175,745.100 Cub m mn in Dec 2023
• This records an increase from the previous number of 169,940.000 Cub m mn for Dec 2022
• Russia Natural Gas: Exports data is updated yearly, averaging 92,358.238 Cub m mn from Dec 1960 to 2023, with 64 observations
• The data reached an all-time high of 258,240.000 Cub m mn in 2019 and a record low of 212.440 Cub m mn in 1960
• Russia Natural Gas: Exports data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Association: Energy Sector – Table RB.OPEC.NG: Natural Gas Exports

Abstract

The survey was conducted in Russia between January and July 2019 as joint project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the World Bank Group (WBG).

The objective of the Enterprise Survey is to gain an understanding of what firms experience in the private sector. As part of its strategic goal of building a climate for investment, job creation, and sustainable growth, the World Bank has promoted improving the business environment as a key strategy for development, which has led to a systematic effort in collecting enterprise data across countries. The Enterprise Surveys (ES) are an ongoing World Bank project in collecting both objective data based on firms' experiences and enterprises' perception of the environment in which they operate.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is the establishment. An establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The Russia ES was based on the following size stratification: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (100 or more employees).

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample for 2019 Russia ES was selected using stratified random sampling, following the methodology explained in the Sampling Note.

Three levels of stratification were used in this country: industry, establishment size, and region.

Industry stratification was designed in the way that follows: the universe was stratified into six manufacturing industries and two services industries- Food and Beverages (ISIC Rev. 3.1 code 15), Garments (ISIC code 18), Non- Metallic Mineral Products (ISIC code 26), Fabricated Metal Products (ISIC code 28), Machinery & Equipment (ISIC code 29), Other Manufacturing (ISIC codes 16-17, 19-25, 27, 30-37), Retail (ISIC code 52) and Other Services (ISIC codes 45, 50, 51, 55, 60-64, and 72).

For the Russia ES, size stratification was defined as follows: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (100 or more employees).

Regional stratification for the Russia ES was done across seven regions: Central Federal District, South (combining Southern Federal District and North-Caucasian Federal District), North-West Federal District, Far Eastern Federal District, Siberian Federal District, Ural Federal District and Volga Federal District.

Note: Refer to Sampling Structure section in "The Russia 2019 Enterprise Surveys Data Set" document for further details on sampling.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

The structure of the data base reflects the fact that 2 different versions of the survey instrument were used for all registered establishments. Questionnaires have common questions (core module) and respectfully additional manufacturing- and services-specific questions. The eligible manufacturing industries have been surveyed using the Manufacturing questionnaire (includes the core module, plus manufacturing specific questions). Retail firms have been interviewed using the Services questionnaire (includes the core module plus retail specific questions) and the residual eligible services have been covered using the Services questionnaire (includes the core module). Each variation of the questionnaire is identified by the index variable, a0.

Response rate

Survey non-response must be differentiated from item non-response. The former refers to refusals to participate in the survey altogether whereas the latter refers to the refusals to answer some specific questions. Enterprise Surveys suffer from both problems and different strategies were used to address these issues.

Item non-response was addressed by two strategies: a- For sensitive questions that may generate negative reactions from the respondent, such as corruption or tax evasion, enumerators were instructed to collect the refusal to respond (-8) as a different option from don't know (-9).

b- Establishments with incomplete information were re-contacted in order to complete this information, whenever necessary.

The number of interviews per contacted establishments was 26.0%.

Key information about Russia Real GDP Growth

• The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Russia contracted 2.6 % YoY in Mar 2023, following a negative growth of 3.2 % in the previous quarter.
• Real GDP Growth YoY data in Russia is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1996 to Mar 2023, with an average rate of 2.7 %.
• The data reached an all-time high of 12.3 % in Dec 1999 and a record low of -9.4 % in Jun 2009.

CEIC calculates quarterly Real GDP Growth from quarterly Real GDP. The Federal State Statistics Service provides Real GDP in local currency at 2021 prices, based on SNA 2008. Real GDP Growth prior to Q1 2012 is calculated from Real GDP at 2008 prices and prior to Q1 2004 from Real GDP at 2003 prices, both based on SNA 1993.


Related information about Russia Real GDP Growth

• In the latest reports, Nominal GDP of Russia reached 494.7 USD bn in Mar 2023.
• Its GDP deflator (implicit price deflator) increased 0.7 % in Mar 2023.
• GDP Per Capita in Russia reached 15,074.8 USD in Dec 2022.
• Its Gross Savings Rate was measured at 35.2 % in Dec 2022.
• For Nominal GDP contributions, Investment accounted for 28.9 % in Dec 2022.
• Public Consumption accounted for 17.5 % in Dec 2022.
• Private Consumption accounted for 47.3 % in Dec 2022.

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.

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 Central Federal District was the most-populated in Russia with around **** million residents as of January 1, 2025. The Volga Federal District followed, with a population of roughly **** million. The lowest population was recorded in the Far Eastern Federal District at less than *** million inhabitants. In total, over ***** million people were estimated to be living in Russia as of the beginning of 2025. The country ranked ninth worldwide by population size.

In 2024, Tajikistan was leading as the country of origin of immigrants in Russia, with nearly ******* people changing their residence to Russia. The leading five origins were former republics of the Soviet Union.

After occupying the leading position by FDI investment projects in Russia in 2018, the United States listed second with ** FDI projects in 2020, tied with China. Germany led the ranking in the last observed period with ** FDI projects in Russia.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) market overview  

Net balance of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in Russia recovered from a negative *** billion U.S. dollars in 2020, to nearly ** billion U.S. dollars in 2021. As for the number of FDI projects in the country, the figures have been in decline over the past years, shrinking twofold between 2017 and 2020. The agri-food sector was the most attractive industry for foreign direct investments in Russia. In 2020, only ** FDI projects were signed in this sector.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in Russia 

The highest mark in the Russian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market was observed in 2012, at ** billion euros. Ever since, the market dynamics have been rather fluctuant, measuring at over ** billion euros in 2021. The largest deal in that year was the acquisition of TAIF Group by SIbur holding – the leading petrochemicals company in Russia and one of the major ones worldwide – for over six billion euros.

The number of people with Russian citizenship living in European countries as of January 1, 2023, was by far the highest in Germany. The country's population includes around 260,000 Russian citizens. That was more than double the number of Russian citizens living in Spain. To compare, over 35,400 Russian nationals resided in Czechia.

Russia demonstrated the largest gross domestic product (GDP) in Eurasia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2024, at approximately *** trillion U.S. dollars. To compare, Kazakhstan's GDP was measured at around *** billion U.S. dollars in the same year. Tajikistan had the lowest GDP in Eurasia, at ** billion U.S. dollars. Commonwealth of Independent States The CIS is an organization of post-Soviet states founded after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. Its official members are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Energy in the CIS Several countries in the CIS are among the leading energy producers and exporters, such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. In 2023, the CIS countries exported around *** million barrels of oil daily. The region's overall primary energy consumption exceeded ** exajoules in 2023, which was close to the figure recorded for the Middle East.