3rd city in terms of population. Rural and urban population of Russia: census data

In the section on the question at what population size is the status of a city assigned? given by the author stand apart the best answer is
Source:

Answer from Jadomir Piglycine[master]
In Russia, a settlement can acquire the status of a city if it has at least 12 thousand inhabitants and at least 85% of the population employed outside of agriculture.

Answer from pregnant[newbie]
In Russia, a settlement can acquire the status of a city if it has at least 12 thousand inhabitants and at least 85% of the population employed outside of agriculture. Nevertheless, in Russia there are quite a few (208 out of 1092) cities with a population of less than 12 thousand people. Their city status is associated with historical factors, as well as with changes in the population of settlements that already had city status. On the other hand, some settlements that meet these requirements do not seek to obtain the status of a city, so as not to lose certain benefits.
Source: wikipedia

Answer from Oleg Abarnikov[guru]
It's different in different countries. In Russia, the approximate threshold is 12 thousand, but the functional and sectoral structure of the city must correspond to this status, i.e., the majority of the population should not be involved in agriculture, but in industry, services, tertiary, quaternary sectors of the economy.
In other countries, the criteria generally differ dramatically. So, in Australia, the status of a city can also be obtained by a settlement with 250 inhabitants (in addition, we remember that in English a "city" can be expressed in several words - city - a large city, town - a town, etc.), in the USA there are states with approximately the same requirements, and there are states such as Wyoming, where the status of a town will be given to a city with a population of at least 4 thousand inhabitants. On the other hand, in India, if a settlement has not reached 20 thousand inhabitants, then it is considered a village 🙂 In Japan, the threshold is generally 30 thousand.

Answer from chevron[guru]
In Ukraine, at least 10,000 people.

Answer from Antonov Konstantin[active]
In Russia, with a population >12000

Answer from Katia[active]
In Russia, a settlement can acquire the status of a city if it has at least 12 thousand inhabitants and at least 85% of the population employed outside of agriculture. Nevertheless, in Russia there are quite a few (208 out of 1092) cities with a population of less than 12 thousand people. Their city status is associated with historical factors, as well as with changes in the population of settlements that already had city status. On the other hand, some settlements that meet these requirements do not seek to obtain the status of a city, so as not to lose certain benefits.

Scattered across different parts of a large country. Million-plus cities are the center of attraction for millions of tourists from all over the world, migrants, students and workers. Population statistics are compiled from the annual census of the population by the bodies of RosStat. It should be noted that only citizens who permanently reside in the territory of a particular city are indicated in the population. The following are the most populated cities in Russia.

1. Moscow

Moscow is the largest city in Russia both in terms of population and area. A population of 12,330,126 inhabits both sides of the city's waterway, the Moscow River. The capital of the state - Moscow - is the most multinational city in Russia: migrants, students, workers and tourists come here from all over the country.

Ten facts about Moscow:

a major international center of economy and trade;
a major industrial hub of the country;
one of the best and largest educational centers for Russian and foreign students;
a large number of research institutes are located in Moscow;
more than 50 directions in religion;
a major cultural and historical center of the European part of Russia;
the country's largest transport interchange: 3 river ports (in Soviet times Moscow was called the "port of 5 seas"), 9 railway stations, 5 airports with directions to all corners of the planet;
Moscow is “kilometer zero”, all roads lead here;
tourist center of the country;
the capital is one of the "five" cities in the world in terms of the number of dollar billionaires living in it.

Petrograd, aka Leningrad or Peter in short, is located along the sovereign course of the Neva River and its coastal granite. Many poems have been composed about the beautiful city located between Ladoga and the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland, which is near the Baltic Sea. This big city is shrouded in secrets and legends. Walking along its streets, you walk along the streets of Dostoevsky, Gogol or Tsvetaeva. Populationis 5,225,690 people with a population density of 3631 people. per square kilometer with a total city area of 1439 km².

Ten facts about St. Petersburg:

northern Venice - the second name of the northern capital because of the huge number of large and small rivers, tributaries and canals and the similarity with the Venetian streets;
Petersburg is listed in the Red Book according to the total length of tram lines in the city - it is 600 kilometers;
the deepest subway in the world, the depth of some stations reaches 80 meters;
"White Nights" is one of the main attractions that attract tourists to the cultural capital;
in St. Petersburg there is the highest cathedral in Russia - the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the height of the spire of which is 122.5 meters;
The Hermitage is a world famous museum that attracts tourists from all over the world, has a length of its corridors of 20 kilometers, and a tourist who wants to get acquainted with all the exhibits of the museum will need several years to complete this mission;
the question that every tourist in the city asks is what is the total number of bridges in St. Petersburg? 447, this is the number in the register of the Mostotrest company, which maintains the bridges of the city;
Peterhof is a marvel of engineering. Fountain park, which was laid out in the time of Peter the Great, but to this day none of the fountains has a pumping unit, but only a carefully thought-out pipeline;
Peter himself "chooses" the inhabitants, and not the resident chooses him. The damp and humid climate of the city, which at times is very gray and foggy, not every person can withstand;
The architecture of St. Petersburg is similar to the architecture of the neighboring countries of the European Union - Tallinn on the Estonian side and Helsinki on the Finnish side.

3. Novosibirsk

The city was awarded the last place in the top three most populated cities in Russia. It is the center of Siberian industry and trade, research and educational activities, cultural, business and tourism areas of the district. The Siberian capital is home to 1,584,138 people, while the area of the city is only 505 km².

Novosibirsk is a city with a very developed infrastructure and economy, and it is a point of attraction for those migrating from nearby cities, regions, republics, and even neighboring states.

Five interesting facts about Novosibirsk:

The longest metro bridge is located in the capital of the Siberian Federal District;
the opera and ballet theater in Novosibirsk is the theatrical building, which is the first largest in Russia and the second largest in the world;
Planirovochnaya Street is both parallel and perpendicular to itself, forming 2 intersections;
the only museum of the Sun in Russia is located in the city;
Novosibirsk Academgorodok is a large educational and research center in the Siberian Federal District.

4. Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg, formerly Sverdlovsk, ranks 4th among Russian cities with a population of more than a million people (1,444,439 people with a total city area of 1,142 square kilometers). The Trans-Siberian Railway and six major highways pass through this huge transport and sorting center, which occupies a huge niche in Russia's logistics. Yekaterinburg is an industrial city with a developed industry in various fields, from optical and mechanical to light and food industries.

5. Nizhny Novgorod

Gorky until 1990, or "Nizhny" in the common people, a million-plus city and an auto giant in the Volga Federal District. Founded in the time of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich, Nizhny Novgorod, spread across both sides of the Oka River, today has a population of 1,266,871 and is the fifth largest city in Russia. The area of the city is only 410 km², but a large seaport, the largest automobile plant in Russia, a concern engaged in the manufacture and production of military equipment, an aircraft plant and a shipbuilding are concentrated here. In addition to the development in the industry, Nizhny Novgorod is famous for its Kremlin and extraordinary architecture. This is a wonderful city for tourism. Even the most sophisticated traveler will be delighted with the beauties of Nizhny Novgorod.

The area of the city is 425 square kilometers with a population of 1,216,965 people and a population density of 2,863 people per square kilometer. The capital of Tatarstan has its own Kremlin and a rather rich architectural heritage, which encourages Russians and foreign residents to tourism. Kazan is not just a beautiful and big city, but also a center of international trade and economy, education, tourism with an interesting historical past.

The population of Chelyabinsk is 1,191,994 people per 530 square kilometers, which is 2,379 people per square kilometer in terms of density. The “Severe City”, as it is jokingly called, has a lot of funny stories and facts: a meteorological hyperionic brick, Kaganovichgrad, a forest in the city center, the Chelyabinsk meteorite, Stalin in the Chelyabinsk prison… Interested? Then it's time to go to Chelyabinsk with a tour!

An important and rather large industrial and transport center, where the well-known oil refinery is located both in Russia and abroad. Omsk is also a significant city for tourists: the Assumption Cathedral for foreigners is included in the list of "the main attractions in the world", and the Okunevskoe sanctuary is included in the list of holy places of world importance by the Vatican. The population of the administrative center-capital of the Omsk region is 1,178,079, while the area of Omsk is only 572.9,572 km².

The millionaire city, formerly called Kuibyshev, is known for its historically important places that have become attractions: the Iversky Convent, the Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cathedral Square - now Kuibyshev Square - the first in size in Europe and the fifth in the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people from the country come here for the Grushinsky festival of bard songs. The population of 1170910 people lives in the city, the area of which is 382 sq. km.

10. Rostov-on-Don

Rostov, popularly called "Rostov-Papa" is a city of federal significance for the south of Russia. It's big, beautiful, noisy. Often the phrase hurts the ear: “Rostov-dad, Odessa-mother” - this is a historical expression - both cities were criminal capitals competing with each other. With a rather small city area of 348 square kilometers, the population of Rostov is 1,119,875 people. and ranks 10th in the ranking of the largest cities in Russia in terms of population.

Russia is a country with a fairly high level of urbanization. Today in our country there are 15 million-plus cities. Which Russian cities are leading in terms of population at the moment? You will find the answer to this question in this fascinating article.

Urbanization and Russia

Is urbanization an achievement or a scourge of our modernity? It is difficult to answer this question. After all, this process is characterized by great inconsistency, provoking both positive and negative consequences.

This concept in a broad sense means the growth of the role of the city in human life. This process, bursting into our lives in the 20th century, fundamentally changed not only the reality around us, but also the person himself.

Mathematically speaking, urbanization is a measure of the proportion of the urban population of a country or region. Highly urbanized are those countries in which this figure exceeds 65%. In the Russian Federation, about 73% of the population lives in cities. You can find a list of cities in Russia by below.

It should be noted that the processes of urbanization in Russia took place (and are taking place) in two aspects:

The emergence of new cities that covered new spaces of the country.
Expansion of already existing cities and formation of large agglomerations.

History of Russian cities

In 1897, within the boundaries of modern Russia, the All-Russian counted 430 cities. Most of them were small towns, there were only seven large ones at that time. And all of them were up to the line of the Ural Mountains. But in Irkutsk - the current center of Siberia - there were hardly 50 thousand inhabitants.

A century later, the situation with cities in Russia has changed dramatically. It is quite possible that the main reason for this was the quite reasonable regional policy pursued by the Soviet authorities in the 20th century. One way or another, but by 1997 the number of cities in the country had increased to 1087, and the proportion of the urban population had grown to 73 percent. At the same time, cities increased twenty-three times! And today almost 50% of the total population of Russia lives in them.

Thus, only a hundred years have passed, and Russia has been transformed from a country of villages into a state of large cities.

Russia is a country of megacities

The largest cities of Russia in terms of population are distributed quite unevenly over its territory. Most of them are located in the most populated part of the country. Moreover, in Russia there is a steady trend towards the formation of agglomerations. It is they who form the framework grid (socio-economic and cultural) on which the entire system of settlement, as well as the country's economy, is strung.

850 cities (out of 1087) are located within European Russia and the Urals. In terms of area, this is only 25% of the territory of the state. But in the vast Siberian and Far Eastern expanses - only 250 cities. This nuance greatly complicates the process of developing the Asian part of Russia: the shortage of large metropolitan areas is felt especially acutely here. After all, there are colossal deposits of minerals. However, there is simply no one to develop them.

The Russian North also cannot boast of a dense network of large cities. This region is also characterized by focal settlement of the population. The same can be said about the south of the country, where in the mountainous and foothill regions only lonely and brave brave cities "survive".

So can Russia be called a country of big cities? Of course. Nevertheless, in this country, with its vast expanses and colossal natural resources, there is still a shortage of large cities.

The largest cities in Russia by population: TOP-5

As mentioned above, as of 2015, there are 15 million-plus cities in Russia. Such a title, as you know, is given to that settlement, the number of inhabitants of which has exceeded one million.

So, we list the largest cities in Russia by population:

Moscow (from 12 to 14 million inhabitants according to various sources).
St. Petersburg (5.13 million people).
Novosibirsk (1.54 million people).
Yekaterinburg (1.45 million people).
Nizhny Novgorod (1.27 million people).

If you carefully analyze the population (namely, its upper part), you will notice one interesting feature. We are talking about a fairly large gap in the number of residents between the first, second and third lines of this rating.

Thus, over twelve million people live in the capital, and about five million live in St. Petersburg. But the third largest city in Russia - Novosibirsk - is inhabited by only one and a half million inhabitants.

Moscow is the largest metropolis on the planet

The capital of the Russian Federation is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. It is very difficult to say how many people live in Moscow. Official sources speak of twelve million people, unofficial sources give other figures: from thirteen to fifteen million. Experts, in turn, predict that in the coming decades, the population of Moscow may even increase to twenty million people.

Moscow is included in the list of 25 so-called "global" cities (according to Foreign Policy magazine). These are the cities that make the most significant contribution to the development of world civilization.

Moscow is not only a significant industrial, political, scientific, educational and financial center of Europe, but also a tourist center. Four objects of the Russian capital are included in the UNESCO heritage list.

Finally...

In total, about 25% of the country's population lives in 15 million-plus cities in Russia. And all these cities continue to attract more and more people.

The largest cities in Russia are, of course, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. All of them have significant industrial, cultural, as well as scientific and educational potential.

The population of modern Russia lives mainly in cities. In pre-revolutionary Russia, the rural population predominated, currently the urban population dominates (73%, 108.1 million people). up to Until 1990, Russia experienced a steady increase in the urban population, contributing to the rapid increase in its share in the population of the country. If in 1913 the urban population accounted for only 18%, in 1985 - 72.4%, then in 1991 their number reached 109.6 million people (73.9%).

The main source of the steady growth of the urban population during the Soviet period was the influx of rural residents into the cities as a result of the redistribution between and agriculture. An important role in ensuring high rates of annual growth of the urban population is played by the transformation of some rural settlements into urban ones with a change in their functions. To a much lesser extent, the urban population of the country grew due to the natural increase in the population of cities.

Since 1991 for the first time in many decades in Russia urban population began to decline. In 1991, the urban population decreased by 126 thousand people, in 1992 - by 752 thousand people, in 1993 - by 549 thousand people, in 1994 - by 125 thousand people, in 1995 .- per 200 thousand people. Thus, for 1991-1995. the reduction amounted to 1 million 662 thousand people. As a result, the share of the country's urban population decreased from 73.9% to 73.0%, but by 2001 it had risen to 74% with an urban population of 105.6 million people.

The largest absolute reduction in the urban population occurred in the Central (387 thousand people). Far East (368 thousand people) and West Siberian (359 thousand people) regions. The Far East (6.0%), Northern (5.0%) and West Siberian (3.2%) regions are leading in terms of the intensity of reduction. In the Asian part of the country, the absolute losses of the urban population as a whole are greater than in the European part (836 thousand people, or 3.5%, compared with 626 thousand people, or 0.7%).

The growth trend in the share of the urban population continued until 1995 only in the Volga, Central Black Earth, Ural, North Caucasus and Volga-Vyatka regions, and in the last two regions the growth of the urban population in 1991-1994. was minimal.

Main reasons for the decline of the urban population in Russia:

the changed ratio of migration flows arriving in urban settlements and departing from them;
reduction in recent years in the number of urban-type settlements (in 1991 their number was 2204; by the beginning of 1994 - 2070; 2000 - 1875; 2005-1461; 2008 - 1361);
negative natural population growth.

In Russia, it left its mark not only on the ratio of the urban and rural population in the territorial context, but also on the structure of urban settlements.

Population of Russian cities

A city in Russia can be considered a settlement with a population of more than 12 thousand people and more than 85% of the population of which is employed in non-agricultural production. According to their functions, cities are distinguished: industrial, transport, scientific centers, resort cities. By population, cities are divided into small (up to 50 thousand inhabitants), medium (50-100 thousand people), large (100-250 thousand people), large (250-500 thousand people), largest (500 thousand people). - 1 million people) and millionaire cities (population over 1 million people). G.M. Lappo distinguishes the category of semi-medium cities with a population of 20 to 50 thousand people. The capitals of the republics, territories and regions perform several functions - they are multifunctional cities.

Before the Great Patriotic War, there were two millionaire cities in Russia, in 1995 their number increased to 13 (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Volgograd, Omsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Chelyabinsk).

At present (2009), there are 11 millionaire cities in Russia (Table 2).

A number of the largest cities in Russia with a population of more than 700 thousand, but less than 1 million - Perm, Volgograd, Krasnoyarsk, Saratov, Voronezh, Krasnodar, Togliatti - are sometimes referred to as sub-millionaire cities. The first two of these cities, which were once millionaires, as well as Krasnoyarsk, are often called millionaires in journalism and semi-officially.

Most of them (except for Tolyatti and partly Volgograd and Saratov) are also interregional centers of socio-economic development and attraction.

Table 2. Cities-millionaires of Russia

More than 40% of the population lives in large cities of Russia. Multifunctional cities are growing very fast, satellite cities appear next to them, forming urban agglomerations.

Millionaire cities are the centers of urban agglomerations, which additionally characterize the population and significance of the city (Table 3).

Despite the advantages of large cities, their growth is limited, as there are difficulties in providing cities with water and housing, supplying a growing population, and preserving green areas.

Rural population of Russia

Rural resettlement - the distribution of residents by settlements located in rural areas. At the same time, the entire territory located outside the urban settlements is considered rural. At the beginning of the XXI century. in Russia there are approximately 150 thousand rural settlements, in which about 38.8 million people live (data from the 2002 census). The main difference between rural and urban settlements is that their inhabitants are predominantly engaged in agriculture. In fact, in modern Russia, only 55% of the rural population is engaged in agriculture, the remaining 45% work in industry, transport, non-manufacturing and other "urban" sectors of the economy.

Table 3. Urban agglomerations of Russia

The nature of the settlement of the rural population of Russia differs in natural zones depending on the conditions of economic activity, national traditions and customs of the peoples living in those regions. These are villages, villages, farms, auls, temporary settlements of hunters and reindeer herders, etc. The average density of the rural population in Russia is approximately 2 persons/km2. The highest density of the rural population is noted in the south of Russia in the Ciscaucasia (Krasnodar Territory - more than 64 people / km 2).

Rural settlements are classified according to their size (population) and the functions they perform. The average size of a rural settlement in Russia is 150 times smaller than an urban one. The following groups of rural settlements are distinguished by size:

the smallest (up to 50 inhabitants);
small (51-100 inhabitants);
medium (101-500 inhabitants);
large (501-1000 inhabitants);
the largest (over 1000 inhabitants).

Almost half (48%) of all rural settlements in the country are the smallest, but they are home to 3% of the rural population. The largest proportion of rural residents (almost half) live in the largest settlements. Rural settlements in the North Caucasus are especially large, where they stretch for many kilometers and number up to 50 thousand inhabitants. The share of the largest settlements in the total number of rural settlements is constantly increasing. In the 90s of the XX century. settlements of refugees and temporary migrants have appeared, and cottage and dacha settlements are growing in the suburbs of large cities.

By functional type, the vast majority of rural settlements (more than 90%) are agricultural. Most non-agricultural settlements are transport (near railway stations) or recreational (near sanatoriums, rest homes, other institutions), as well as industrial, logging, military, etc.

Within the agricultural type, settlements are distinguished:

with a significant development of administrative, service and distribution functions (district centers);
with local administrative and economic functions (centers of rural administrations and central estates of large agricultural enterprises);
with the presence of large-scale agricultural production (plant-growing brigades, livestock farms);
without industrial enterprises, with the development of only personal subsidiary plots.

At the same time, the size of settlements naturally decreases from rural regional centers (which are the largest) to settlements without industrial enterprises (which, as a rule, are small and smallest).