The inhabitants of the planet have always been characterized by migration. People are looking for the most pleasant living conditions and move around the country. To manage the state, plan social and economic activities, it is necessary to study the distribution of the Russian population. We will tell you about how the population is distributed across the country, what is the historical dynamics and the current state of the territorial structure of the population in our state.
Geography of Russia
The largest state in the world in area is the Russian Federation. It is located in Europe and Asia and occupies more than 17 million square meters. km The borders of Russia are washed by the waters of three oceans. The state borders on 18 countries of the world. On the territory of Russia there are mountains and plains, about 2.5 million rivers flow here. The size of the state is huge, so in different regions there are completely different living conditions. Since the country is located in the northern hemisphere, the continental climate dominates in most of its subjects with the prevalence of cold options. Most of Russia is in the risky farming zone. The country has 9 natural zones: Arctic ice deserts, the ever-cold tundra, forest tundra, impenetrable taiga, forests, forest-steppes, uncomfortable steppes, hot semi-deserts and deserts, humid subtropics. These conditions are associated with the distribution of the population of Russia, it is very heterogeneous.
Administrative division of Russia
Geographically, Russia is divided into three main parts: Europe, Siberia and the Far East. According to the Constitution, Russia is a federation, i.e. brings together equal entities. Such territorial units of different status are distinguished in the country, including: autonomous okrugs and republics, regions, territories and cities of federal significance. In total, the Russian Federation includes 85 different entities. The largest of them by area are the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (this is the largest administrative and territorial unit in the world, its area is more than 3 million square kilometers) and the Krasnoyarsk Territory, whose area is 2.3 million square meters. km
Some megacities, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Vladivostok and others, are headed not only by their subjects, but also by federal districts. In total, 8 units are allocated in the country. Also, many million-plus cities, for example Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Kazan, have huge agglomerations and in the future may become separate subjects of the Federation. The territorial-administrative structure of the state is mobile and periodically undergoes changes.
Population density
For effective management of the territory, it is necessary to understand how many people live on it and what are the trends. For this, the concept of population density is introduced in demography. It shows how many people live on one square kilometer. The higher this indicator, the more difficult it is to provide people with the necessary resources and create comfortable living conditions for them. The highest population density in Russia falls on megacities - this is Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar. Based on the density, scientists draw up maps and patterns of population distribution throughout the country. This allows you to predict the number of inhabitants of the region and plan economic and economic activities.
Population Distribution: Historical Dynamics
Several factors influence the distribution of the Russian population. First of all, climate. Historically, people have preferred living in warmer regions with more food resources. Therefore, the population of Russia has always been concentrated in more comfortable parts of the country. The historical settlement pattern is a large wedge. Its widest part runs along the western border of the country, from Rostov to St. Petersburg. The northern part of the wedge connects St. Petersburg, Vologda, Perm, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk. And the southern border passes through Rostov, Saratov, Samara, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk. Then the wedge turns into a narrow strip along the railway to Vladivostok. Despite the development of transport and the economy, this population distribution varies little with time. Although the eastern part of the wedge has expanded significantly over time. You can see that at the end of the 19th century, 94% of the population lived in the European part of the country, today this figure is 20%. If you look at the climate map of the country and combine it with population density, you can see that 72% of people live in areas where winter temperatures do not fall below 16 degrees below zero on average.
Modern features of the distribution of the population of Russia
Residents of any country are constantly migrating, this process is unstoppable and due to various factors. In the 20th century, the characteristics of the distribution of the population of Russia (the scheme is attached) are changing. The development of technology, transport and infrastructure contributes to the fact that the northern and eastern outskirts are quite actively settling in. Especially significantly increased in the 20th century, the number of people in the Far Eastern District and in the north of the European part. However, the end of the twentieth - the beginning of the twenty-first century again showed the outflow of the population from these regions. During this period, the country's urbanization increased significantly. The average population density in Russia is 8.3 people per square meter. km, which is more than 5 times lower than the global average.
Urban and rural residents
Of great importance when placing residents of the country is the economic factor. People tend to where there are more opportunities to meet different needs, and this is more a city than a village. The urbanization of Russia is becoming almost threatening. If at the end of the 19th century 15% of the country's population lived in cities, today this figure confidently approaches the figure of 74%. Most of all, people come to big cities, which are growing rapidly due to the massive outflow of population from villages.
Most populated regions
The largest population density, of course, is observed in large cities - this is Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar. In Russia, there is a very strong bias in the number of inhabitants between the European and Asian parts. On the map you can see that the Central, Southern and Volga federal districts are overpopulated, while the Siberian and Far Eastern are populated sporadically.
Least populated regions
The distribution of the population of Russia is associated with climatic and economic conditions. The most uncomfortable and least populated subjects of the country are the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (0.07 people per sq. Km), the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (0.25 people per sq. Km) and Yakutia (0.31 people per sq. Km).