How Big is Russia?

The size of Russia is 17,075,200 sq km (total). By land area, it is the biggest in the world. The land area is 16,995,800 sq km while the water area is 79,400 sq km. Its geographical coordinates are 60 00 N, 100 00 E.

General Characteristics

The country is situated in the midst of Europe and the Pacific Ocean. There is still some debate as to which continent it belongs. Some state it is a part of Europe but other maps say it is a part of Asia.

To get an idea of the size, it is nearly double that of the US in land area. The land boundaries comprise 20,096.5 km. The size of Russia and its location puts several countries on its borders.

Among them are Azerbaijan, China, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania and Mongolia among others. Several of these countries used to be part of the old USSR.

Coastline and Maritime Claims

The Russian coastline is 37,653 km and its territorial sea is 12 nm. The contiguous zone is set at 24 nm and the continental shelf at 200 nm.

Climate and Terrain

In the region nearest Europe, the temperature is mostly humid. The area near and at Siberia is subarctic. The winter season along the Black Sea is cool, but it is freezing in the Siberian area. The sheer size of Russia also means that summer temperatures vary also.

The terrains along the western sections are filled with low hills.Coniferous forests permeate around the Siberian region. At the southern region are numerous mountain ranges. Uplands are also prevalent there. The lowest point is -28 (Caspian Sea). The highest is Gora El’brus at 5,633 m.

Scientists estimate there are 260 mammal species in Russia. There are also 780 bird species as well. The country is also home to grasslands and the Arctic tundra.

Natural Resources and Land

Among the natural resources are oil, natural gas, minerals and assorted metals. The arable land has been estimated at 7.17%; the irrigated land has been put at 46,000 sq km and for permanent crops, 0.11%.

Size of Russia’s Population

Its total population has been estimated at 142,008,838. They are divided among the Russians at 79.8%, the Tatars, 3.8%, the Ukrainians at 2%, the Bashkirs at 1.2%. The rest of the population is made up of the Chechen, the Armenians, Chuvash and others. The number of ethnic groups in the country has been put at over 150.

Most Populated Cities

The most populated city is Moscow with 10,126,424. Next is Saint Petersburg with a population of 4,661,219. The third most populated city is Novosibirsk with 1,425,508 and at fourth is Nizhny Novgorod (1,311,252). Yekaterinburg is the fifth most
populated with 1,293,537.

Samara is the sixth with a population of 1,157,880. At seventh is Omsk (1,134,016); at eight is Kazan (1,105,289) and ninth is Chelyabinsk (1,077,174. The tenth most populated is Rostov-on-Don (1,068,267).

The size of Russia’s population is the ninth highest in the world. The country also has the biggest forest reserves on the planet. It also possesses the greatest number of nuclear weapons.