Russia

Geography

Russia is a country in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The territorial state has a size of over 17 million km² and a total coastal length of 37,653 km. This land mass is almost 1.8 times the size of the USA. Russia is thus the largest country in the world in terms of area, ahead of Canada, China and the USA. With 8.4 inhabitants per km², it is also one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. A considerable proportion of the population (75%) is urban.

Russia is divided into numerous geographical zones over its exceptionally large area. On average, it lies at an altitude of 600 m above sea level. The highest mountain peak (Elbrus) is 5,642 meters above sea level. The country has direct borders with 14 neighboring countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Norway, Poland and Ukraine.

Russia is generally counted as part of Europe, although about three quarters of the country is located in the geographical area of Asia. However, this part is hardly inhabited. 85% of the population lives west of the Ural Mountains, which run from north to south and form the border between Europe and Asia. Especially the vast Siberia in the northwest is to a large extent uninhabited.

Climate in Russia

With an extension of over 9,000 kilometers from west to east and about 4,000 km from north to south, there are numerous climate regions in Russia. High in the north, arctic cold prevails at up to minus 60 °C. Southwards it becomes increasingly warmer. While the far east has a humid monsoon climate, it is much drier, especially near the Black Sea coast, with temperatures up to 30°C. Apart from the steppe regions, it is also warmest here all year round. A special feature is the Ural Mountains, which run from north to south. Due to this course, there is no protection against arctic influences, so cold air can penetrate far into the country.

• Detailed climate data for Russia and 8 individual federal districts
• Volcanoes
• Tsunamis
• Typhoons

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
Russian	81.0 %
Dolgang	5.3 %
Tatar	3.0 %
German	1.5 %
Ukrainian	1.3 %
Armenian	1.2 %
Chechen	1.0 %
Chuvash	0.9 %
Bashkir	0.7 %
Mordva	0.5 %
Mari	0.4 %
Kazakh	0.4 %
Avarianian	0.4 %
Belarusian	0.3 %
Udmur	0.3 %
other	1.8 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Buddhists	0.6%
Russian Orthodoxes	79.0%
Roman Catholics	0.3%
Protestants	0.3%
Muslims	4.0%
nondenominational	7.0%
other	8.8%

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Economy

GDP:	2,240.42 bn $
Exportations:	640.69 bn $
Importations:	347.38 bn $
› Tourism receipts:	6.31 bn $
› Debt rate:	19.60 %
› Unemployment rate:	3.16 %
› Inflation rate:	6.69 %
› Corruption index:	26 (very bad)
› Energy consumption:	942.9 bn kWh

According to the definition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Russia is a developing country because of its lower economic performance. Russia is regarded as a so-called pariah state because of its politics and unwillingness to cooperate with the UN. With a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.821, it counts as one of the high developed economies by UN definition.

With an average annual income of 12,750 USD it is one of the upper middle-income countries.

Russia is considered one of the most dangerous countries worldwide.

Land use

1% Urban areas:	187,538 km²
13% Agricultural areas:	2,272,357 km²
50% Forest:	8,511,509 km²
4% Water areas:	721,380 km²
36% Others:	6,126,846 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	1,538,875 km
Railways:	85,600 km
Waterways:	317,505 km
Reg. vehicles:	58,116,046
› Airports: