The size and pace of life of megacities are amazing. Huge areas, crowds of people, eternal haste and life that does not subside even for a second. And how not to think about it: how many people live in megacities? The largest cities in Russia are Moscow and St. Petersburg. The population of these cities has long exceeded several million. Let us consider in more detail how many people live in two Russian capitals, and how they populate individual regions.
Moscow population: characteristic
As in any metropolis, huge flows of people always flock to the capital. Today, Moscow holds the first place in terms of the number of inhabitants, not only in Russia, but throughout Europe.
The main groups of people living in Moscow:
- residents of the capital (these are people who have a residence permit, or people with temporary registration for a period of more than one year);
- students who flock to the capital from all over Russia;
- tourists, the number of which is constantly changing;
- business travelers who come to Moscow for a short time for business purposes.
According to unofficial statistics, the number of people living in Moscow in 2016 amounted to more than 20 million people. Visitors add volume to the city, but since it is impossible to calculate them with accuracy, a huge error arises in the statistical data.
Moscow population: statistics
Official data takes into account only confirmed information. Therefore, only those groups of people who have permanent registration in the city are taken for counting.
By the number of inhabitants, the capital is much ahead of St. Petersburg. The number of Moscow today is about twelve million people. The general trend indicates an increase in the population of the metropolis: for example, according to Rosstat for the period from 2003 to 2016, the city increased by two million people. Decline in numbers is a rare occurrence in the capital, but was noted in 1986, 1989, 1993.
According to official figures, in the last twenty years, the number of residents of a metropolis living in Moscow has been steadily growing. Statistics say that in 2010, eleven and a half million officially registered citizens lived in Moscow. And for six years, by the first day of 2016, the year their number increased to twelve million three hundred thousand people.
Newcomers populate the city unevenly: expensive central areas are not accessible to everyone, moreover, the frantic rhythm of work is concentrated in the center. But the sleeping areas are much more willing to receive both guests and all officially registered in the metropolis.
Distribution of population by Moscow
To date, the composition of Moscow includes 21 settlements and 125 districts, which are combined in 12 districts. Most of them are named according to their location on the map (Northern, Western, Central), they stand out separately: Zelenogradsky, Troitsky and Novomoskovsky districts.
According to statistics from the Federal State Statistics Service, in 2014, the South became the most populated district (1754613 people). At the end of the list is the Trinity District (103,365 people).
The most densely populated area was Maryino, which is located in the Southeast District. At the same time, the district itself occupies only the fifth line in the number of inhabitants in the metropolis.
The Vnukovo settlement turned out to be the smallest ; it numbers only 3988 citizens.
Thanks to the expansion project adopted in 2012, the nearest settlements were included in the capital, which increase the population of the city and the urban agglomeration as a whole.
St. Petersburg is the second largest in size and population in Russia, and we will discuss it further.
St. Petersburg population: statistics
The northern capital currently ranks second in terms of the "population of the city." St. Petersburg is the fourth most populous in Europe. The result is considerable. It is not surprising, because St. Petersburg is a huge cultural and tourist center of the country and the world, huge flows of people flock here, just like to Moscow: tourists, students, business travelers and those who came to visit relatives.
For 2016, according to Rosstat, a little more than five million people lived in this metropolis. Between 2003 and 2016, the population of St. Petersburg has increased significantly: per million citizens. Unofficial statistics has more than 7 million inhabitants in the city, and up to 10 million in the summer. The recession was noted between 1990 and 2009, but in 2010 the number of people living in the northern capital has risen sharply and is still growing.
As in the case of any other settlement, Rosstat takes for analysis only those residents who are officially registered in the city of St. Petersburg. The population of the city today is more than five million. There is a tendency to increase the resident population of the city.
Distribution of residents by districts of St. Petersburg
The population of St. Petersburg is amazing, but the territory of the agglomeration can accommodate even more people. As in any other large metropolis, the inhabitants of Northern Palmyra unequally populate the city, which means that there are both overpopulated and sparsely populated areas.
Today, the cultural capital includes eighteen districts.
- Admiralty.
- Pushkinsky.
- Vasileostrovsky.
- Frunze
- Vyborg.
- Kalininsky.
- Central.
- Kirovsky.
- Kolpinsky.
- Seaside.
- Krasnogvardeisky.
- Krasnoselsky.
- Petrodvorets.
- Kronstadt.
- Resort.
- Moscow.
- Nevsky.
- Petrogradsky.
On the whole, Petersburg united nine cities, eighty-one municipal districts, and twenty-one settlements.
Rosstat has calculated the population of the districts of St. Petersburg. The number of Kalininsky district broke all records: 530,163 residents in 2016. The smallest in the number of citizens turned out to be the Kurortny District: 75,121 inhabitants.
The general tendency of population distribution in the northern capital is such that residents prefer to move from the center to the sleeping areas.
Megacities: advantages and disadvantages
A large number of people, considerable distances, constant traffic jams and the high cost of megacities repel even the thought of visiting any of the capitals.
But the advantages and the mass of opportunities attract crowds of new people to Moscow and St. Petersburg. The number of two capitals today is growing at a tremendous speed.
People are attracted by high salaries and a great chance to find a worthy position and work to their liking. The problem of traffic jams today is very acute in every city in Russia. And the metro, at least a little, but smoothes out transport problems. Cities develop and provide an opportunity to develop with them: a large number of universities attract students in them, and vibrant events, historical and cultural places and the ability to get to anywhere in Russia are attractive for any tourist.
Today, the population of Moscow and St. Petersburg is growing rapidly, when moving, it is necessary to evaluate all the pros and cons of densely populated cities, and only after that it will be possible to make the right decision.