The Southern Federal District is one of the components of the Russian Federation, if I may say so. It is interesting that for some time (to be more precise, from 05/13/2000 to 06/21/2000) it was called the North Caucasian Federal District. But, as you can see, this did not last long - a little more than a month. Then, however, on January 19, 2010, the North Caucasian Federal District was separated from the Southern Federal District. But this is a slightly different topic.
general information
The Southern Federal District is the smallest in all of Russia. Its area is 447 821 sq.m. - this is only 2.61% of the total area of Russia! Less is the notorious North Caucasian Federal District (170,439 km²). For comparison, the Siberian Federal District has an area of 5,145,000 km². Although it includes only 12 entities. But Krasnoyarsk Territory alone occupies 2,366,797 km².
So, the Southern Federal District includes 8 entities. And its population is 16 367 949 people, according to the latest statistics. This is about 11.17%. The average density is low - 36.5 people per square kilometer. The center of the Federal District, by the way, is the city of Rostov-on-Don.
Structure
Which cities includes the Southern Federal District should be noted with special attention. The southern federal district has a small composition. As mentioned above, only 8 subjects.
The smallest in size is the hero city of Sevastopol. Only 864 km². About 420,000 people live in it. This city is good for many, but the most important thing is that it is in it that the main naval base of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy is located.
The Republic of Adygea, which is supposedly located inside the Krasnodar Territory, has an area of 7,800 km². A feature of this region is its forest resources. They occupy more than 1/3 of the entire republic. And here is concentrated a lot of minerals.
Crimea is not very large either - about 27,000 km². But the Astrakhan region is more than two times superior to it. Its area is 49,024 km². The Astrakhan region is rich in deserts used as pastures. The Volga Delta serves as a breeding ground for beluga, stellate sturgeon and sturgeon.
The next largest area is the Republic of Kalmykia, whose capital is Elista. Interestingly, in this region, the official language is not only Russian. But also Kalmyk (at the legislative level).
And the largest three regions are Krasnodar Territory, Rostov Region and Volgograd.
Economy
The southern federal district annually attracts tens of thousands of tourists. Because it includes Krasnodar Territory and Crimea. And these are regions rich in resorts. Sochi, Tuapse, Gelendzhik, Anapa, Sevastopol, Yalta - for the economy of these cities (and, accordingly, the entire district), the most profitable time is the end of spring, summer and the beginning of autumn. Such is the specificity of the climate, precisely at this time in the resort areas of the Southern Federal District there is no end to visitors.
But, in addition to the tourism industry, agro-industrial and transport complexes, as well as trade, are still well developed here. True, this is not the whole district. Transport complexes of interregional and international significance, for example, are concentrated in the Astrakhan region and the notorious Krasnodar Territory.
Production interest
But this is not all the industries that the Southern Federal District can boast of. The cities of this federal district are good facilities for the development of light industry. It really is here, and they orient it towards the supply of products to other federal districts of Russia. It is on the territory of this district that 1/10 of all knitted products of our country and about 28% of shoes are produced.
But that is not all. Also, the Southern Federal District, the map of which is presented above, is the region of the country in which about 21% of the total Russian volume of steel pipes is produced, 13% of metal cutting machines, about 19% of tractors, 7% of cars and 9% of excavators.
In addition, approximately 18% of cement, 10% of prefabricated reinforced concrete structures and 15% of building bricks are produced in the Southern Federal District.
Addition
If you look at the Southern Federal District (the map is provided above), you can see that it also includes the Republic of Crimea and the hero city of Sevastopol. Back in March 2014, these entities returned to the Russian Federation. But their territorial status was approved recently - in the middle of the summer of the current 2016.
After the inclusion of Crimea in the Southern Federal District, the district increased by 27,000 km². The population also increased - approximately 2,300,000 people. By the way, precisely because of the situation that occurred in November 2015 related to the demolition of power line towers in Kherson, the Southern Federal District is called an energy-deficient region. Since this incident deprived the whole of Crimea (a considerable part of the district) of electricity completely. But, as you know, if everything is bad in one place and good in another, then all the same indicators are summed up. That is why the SFD is now in short supply and is considered.
Agro-industrial complex
The center of the Southern Federal District, like all its other regions, boasts favorable climatic conditions. In other FDs, they are different, and not so conducive to the development of agricultural industry. And this is the main significance of the South for our entire vast country. It is the Southern Federal District, whose composition is not very large, that provides Russia with food security. It is here that almost 1/6 of the sown area of the whole country is concentrated. And they grow more than a quarter (!) Of the total Russian volume of grain crops, 50% - sunflower seeds, and about 1/5 of vegetables.
On average, 1/7 of all agricultural products are produced in the Southern Federal District. And this is a lot. This also includes 33% sugar, 46% vegetable oil, about 11% dairy products and eggs, and about 12.5% meat products. In general, you can list for a long time, but the fact that the Southern Federal District is very important for Russia is unambiguous and undeniable.