Map of Russia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The defeat of the Russian Empire in World War I led to the seizure of power by the Communists and the formation of the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1924-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social political and economic controls of the Communist period. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.


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Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe) bordering the Arctic Ocean between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N 100 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 17,075,200 km²
Water: 79,400 km²
Land: 16,995,800 km²
Comparative: slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US

Land boundaries
Total: 19,990 km
Border countries: (14) Azerbaijan 284 km; , Belarus 959 km; , China (southeast) 3,605 km; , China (south) 40 km; , Estonia 294 km; , Finland 1,313 km; , Georgia 723 km; , Kazakhstan 6,846 km; , North Korea 19 km; , Latvia 217 km; , Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km; , Mongolia 3,485 km; , Norway 196 km; , Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km; , Ukraine 1,576 km

Coastline: 37,653 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
Extremes highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m

Natural resources
Note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources

Land use
Arable land: 7.46%
Permanent crops: 0.11%
Other: 92.43% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 46,630 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia

Geography
Note: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount Elbrus is Europe's tallest peak


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Population: 144,978,573 (July 2002 est.)
Growth rate: -0.33% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: 40% (1999 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Russian
Adjective: Russian

Ethnic groups: Russian 81.5% Tatar 3.8% Ukrainian 3% Chuvash 1.2% Bashkir 0.9% Belarusian 0.8% Moldavian 0.7% other 8.1%

Languages: Russian other

Religions: Russian Orthodox Muslim other

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 12,334,659; female 11,840,058)
15-64 years: 70.2% (male 49,330,660; female 52,402,610)
65 years and over: 13.1% (male 6,150,775; female 12,919,811) (2002 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: -0.33% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 9.71 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 13.91 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.94 migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from heavy industry emissions of coal-fired electric plants and transportation in major cities; industrial municipal and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Persistent Organic Pollutants

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male/female
Total population: 0.88 male/female (2002 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 19.78 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 67.5 years
Female: 72.97 years (2002 est.)
Male: 62.29 years

Total fertility rate: 1.3 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.18% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 130,000 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 850 (1999 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98%
Male: 100%
Female: 97% (1989 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Russian Federation
Conventional short form: Russia
Local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
Former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Local short form: Rossiya

Government type: federation

Capital: Moscow

Administrative divisions
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Dependent areas

Independence: 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Russia Day 12 June (1990)

Constitution: adopted 12 December 1993

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)
Head of government: Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV (since 7 May 2000); Deputy Premiers Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999)
Cabinet: Ministries of the Government or 'Government' composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and other agency heads; all are appointed by the president
Note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president
Election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8%
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma

Legislative branch
Election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - KPRF 24.29%, Unity 23.32%, OVR 13.33%, Union of Right Forces 8.52%, LDPR 5.98%, Yabloko 5.93%; seats by party - KPRF 113, Unity 72, OVR 67, Union of Rightist Forces 29, LDPR 17, Yabloko 21, other 16, independents 106, repeat election required 8, vacant 1
Elections: State Duma - last held 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2003)

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president

Political parties and leaders
Note: some 150 political parties, blocs, and movements registered with the Justice Ministry as of the 19 December 1998 deadline to be eligible to participate in the 19 December 1999 Duma elections; of these, 36 political organizations actually qualified to run slates of candidates on the Duma party list ballot, 6 parties cleared the 5% threshold to win a proportional share of the 225 party seats in the Duma, 9 other organizations hold seats in the Duma: Bloc of Nikolayev and Academician Fedorov, Congress of Russian Communities, Movement in Support of the Army, Our Home Is Russia, Party of Pensioners, Power to the People, Russian All-People's Union, Russian Socialist Party, and Spiritual Heritage; primary political blocs include pro-market democrats - (Yabloko Bloc and Union of Right Forces), anti-market and/or ultranationalist (Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia)

International organization participation: APEC ARF (dialogue partner) ASEAN (dialogue partner) BIS BSEC CBSS CCC CE CERN (observer) CIS EAPC EBRD ECE ESCAP G- 8 GEF IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO ITU LAIA (observer) MINURSO MONUC NAM (guest) NSG OAS (observer) OPCW OSCE PCA PFP UN UN Security Council UNAMSIL UNCTAD UNDP UNHCR UNIDO UNIKOM UNITAR UNMEE UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOP UNMOVIC UNOMIG UNTAET UNTSO UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO (observer) ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV
In the us fax: [1] (202) 298-5,735
In the us consulates general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 298-5,700, 5,701, 5,704, 5,708
In the us chancery: 2,650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,007
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW
From the us embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121,099 Moscow
From the us mailing address: APO AE 9,721
From the us telephone: [7] (095) 728-5,000
From the us fax: [7] (095) 728-5,203
From the us consulates general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top) blue and red

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: A decade after the implosion of the centrally planned Soviet Union in December 1991 Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy modernize its industrial base and maintain strong economic growth. The period 1992-98 was marked by a poor business climate a deterioration in already threadbare living standards and failure to institute modern market reforms. Conditions improved markedly in 1999-2002 with annual output growing by an average 6% and with progress in structural reforms. Yet serious problems persist. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities particularly oil natural gas metals and timber which account for over 80% of exports leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to maintain strong economic growth. Other problems include widespread corruption lack of a strong legal system capital flight and brain drain.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 4% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7%
Industry: 39%
Services: 53% (2001 est.)

Agriculture products: grain sugar beets sunflower seed vegetables fruits; beef milk

Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal oil gas chemicals and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery tractors and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables textiles foodstuffs handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 71.3 million (2001 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 11%
By occupation industry: 28%
By occupation services: 61% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 8% (2001 est.) plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 40% (1999 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2%
Highest 10: 34% (2001 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index: 40 (2000)

Budget
Revenues: $45 billion
Expenditures: $43 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 16.2% (2002 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $104.6 billion (2002 est.)
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products natural gas wood and wood products metals chemicals and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Partners: Germany 9.3% US 8.3% Italy 7.5% China 5.6% Belarus 5.2% Ukraine 5.2% (2001)

Imports: $60.7 billion (2001 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment consumer goods medicines meat grain sugar semifinished metal products
Partners: Germany 13.2% Belarus 9.6% Ukraine 9.3% US 7.6% Kazakhstan 4.8% Italy 4.1% (2001)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $149 billion (2001 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates
Note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles


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Electricity
Production: 835.57 billion kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 66%
Production by source hydro: 19%
Production by source other: 0% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 15%
Consumption: 767.08 billion kWh (2000)
Exports: 18 billion kWh (2000)
Imports: 8 billion kWh (2000)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 30 million (1998)
Mobile cellular: 2.5 million (October 2000)

Telephone system
General assessment: the telephone system has undergone significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied
Domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density
International: Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .ru
Service providers isps: 35 (2000)
Users: 18 million (2002)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA
Percent of gdp: NA%

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 2,743 (2001)
With paved runways total: 471
With paved runways over 3047 m: 56
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 178
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 76
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 69
With paved runways under 914 m: 92 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 2,272
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 28
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 118
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 204
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 324
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1,598 (2002)

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (June 1993 est.)

Railways
Total: 87,157 km
Broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km are electrified)
Narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (installed on Sakhalin Island)
Note: an additional 63,000 km of broad gauge routes serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use (2002)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet - 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids - 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes - 16,900 km (Jan 1994)

Merchant marine
Total: 888 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,390,745 GRT/5,357,436 DWT
Ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 21, cargo 556, chemical tanker 7, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 6, container 29, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 41, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 153, refrigerated cargo 22, roll on/roll off 20, short-sea passenger 7
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 9, Denmark 1, Estonia 4, Greece 3, Honduras 1, Latvia 4, Lithuania 3, Moldova 3, Netherlands 1, South Korea 1, Turkey 18, Turkmenistan 2, Ukraine 10, United Kingdom 5, United States 1 (2002 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness Friendship and Cooperation commits Russia and China to seek peaceable unanimity over disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun; Russia hastens to delimit and demarcate boundary with Kazakhstan to limit illegal border activities; in 2002 Russia is the first state to submit data to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to extend its continental shelf by claiming two undersea ridges in the Arctic; Russia signed bilateral agreements with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan delimiting the Caspian seabed but littoral states are far from multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Russia and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; despite recent discussions Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint December 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia; the Russian Duma refuses to ratify boundary treaties signed with Latvia and Lithuania; Russia and Ukraine have successfully delimited land boundary in 2001 but disagree on delimitation of maritime boundary in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea; boundary with Georgia has been largely delimited but not demarcated; several small strategic segments remain in dispute; islands of Etorofu Kunashiri and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945 now administered by Russia claimed by Japan

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates cannabis and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; heroin increasingly popular in domestic market