Russia's size and place in the world
Russia is the largest country by area, about 17 million km². That is roughly 11 out of every 100 parts of all the land on Earth. It stretches across 11 time zones and from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, so it borders both Europe and Asia. Most of the land is cold. Large areas of Siberia lie on permafrost (soil frozen all year), where building roads and pipelines is costly.
About 146 million people live in Russia: roughly 2 in every 100 people of the world. So the country has a very low population density.
How big is the economy?
The size of an economy is measured by GDP, the value of everything produced in a year. Counted at market exchange rates, Russia is around the 10th largest economy; counted by purchasing power (what money can really buy at home), it is within the top six or so. In both cases its share of world income is small, about 2 to 3 parts in 100, much smaller than its share of land.
So Russia is large in size and resources but medium in income. Income per person is higher than in many developing countries but lower than in Western Europe or North America.
Resources and exports: what Russia sells
Russia has some of the world's biggest stocks of oil, natural gas and coal, along with metals such as nickel, aluminium, steel and palladium, and also timber, diamonds and fertilisers. It is also a leading exporter of wheat. Oil and gas bring in the largest part of export income. Roughly, about one in nine of the world's barrels of oil, about one in eight cubic metres of gas, and about one in five tonnes of traded wheat come from Russia. Palladium (used in car exhaust cleaners) is the standout: Russia mines about two out of five parts of the world supply.
It imports machinery, vehicles, electronics and medicines. This pattern, selling raw or semi-processed goods and buying finished products, is called a resource-based economy.
Trade routes and partners
Goods leave Russia by pipeline (oil and gas), by rail (the Trans-Siberian railway links Moscow with the Pacific port region), and by sea from the Baltic, Black Sea, Arctic and Pacific ports. The Northern Sea Route along the Arctic coast shortens the sea path between Europe and East Asia in the ice-free months.
For decades the biggest buyers were countries of Europe, along with China. From 2014, and much more after 2022, sanctions and other restrictions by many countries changed who buys and how. More trade turned toward Asian buyers such as China, India and Turkey, often at changed prices and by new routes. The pattern keeps shifting, so always check recent data.
People: population, cities and migration
Russia's population has been flat or slowly falling since the 1990s because few children are born and many people are old; this is called an ageing population. Immigration, mainly from nearby Central Asian countries, partly fills the gap in workers. About three out of four people live in cities. Roughly three out of four also live in the western part, west of the Ural Mountains, while the huge east (Siberia and the Far East) is very thinly settled. The largest cities are Moscow and St Petersburg.
Strengths, risks and what to watch
- Strengths: huge energy and mineral resources, large farmland, strong science tradition, a land bridge between Europe and Asia.
- Risks: income swings with world oil and gas prices, sanctions, long distances and cold climate, an ageing workforce, and a smaller share of high-technology goods.
- Possible changes: processing more resources at home, developing the Arctic and the Far East, trading more with Asia, and new technology.
A cause-and-effect chain to remember: oil price falls → export income falls → government budget shrinks → less spending or more borrowing.
Try it: predict, then count
Before you open the 3D steps, write down your guess (out of 100) for Russia's share of: land, people, income, oil, wheat exports. Then count the orange cubes for each. Which guess was furthest off? In which items is Russia ahead of its share of people (2)? Check your kitchen: does any packaged food or fertiliser list its country of origin?
Key formulas and definitions
- Share of the world (%) = (Russia's amount ÷ world amount) × 100
- Population density = people ÷ area (people per km²)
- 11-2-3 rule: land 11, people 2, income 3 (parts per 100, rounded)
- Cause-effect chain: price falls → export income falls → budget shrinks
- Resource-based economy: sells raw materials, buys finished goods
Worked examples
1. Russia has about 11% of the world's land and about 2% of its people. What does this tell you about where people live?
11 ÷ 2 = 5.5, so the land share is about 5 to 6 times the people share. Few people live on each square kilometre, and most people live in a few regions, mainly in the west.
2. Why is Russia often called a resource-based economy?
Most of its export income comes from raw materials like oil, gas, coal, metals, fertiliser and wheat, while it buys many finished goods such as machines and electronics.
3. Explain how a fall in world oil prices can hurt Russia's government budget.
Oil and gas are a large part of exports and tax income. If prices fall, export income and tax income fall. The government then has less to spend, so it may cut spending or borrow.
4. Why are pipelines, railways and ports so important for Russia's trade?
The country is huge and the resources are far from buyers. Pipelines move oil and gas, rail and ports move coal, metals and grain. Without these routes the goods cannot reach the market.
Common mistakes
- Thinking that the biggest country has the biggest economy. Russia's share of land (11) is far larger than its share of income (3).
- Treating the rounded numbers as fixed. Shares change each year with prices, output and new data.
- Saying Russia exports mainly manufactured goods. Most export value is raw materials and fuels.
- Forgetting that most people live in the western part, not spread evenly over the whole area.