1995 U. S. Central Intelligence Agency  
The World Factbook

September 07, 1995

LENGTH: 7934 words

COUNTRY: RUSSIA

GEOGRAPHY:


Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean

Map references: Asia

Area:

total area: 17,075,200 sq km

land area: 16,995,800 sq km

comparative area: slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the US

Land boundaries: total 20,139 km, Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 290 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Ukraine 1,576 km

Coastline: 37,653 km

Maritime claims:

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes:

inherited disputes from former USSR including: sections of the boundary with China; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; maritime dispute with Norway over portion of the Barents Sea; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined; potential dispute with Ukraine over Crimea; Estonia claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions; the Abrene section of the border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation

Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber

note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources

Land use:

arable land: 8%

permanent crops: NEGL%

meadows and pastures: 5%

forest and woodland: 45%

other: 42%

Irrigated land: 56,000 sq km (1992)

Environment:

current issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination

natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula

international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

Note: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture

PEOPLE:


Population: 149,909,089 (July 1995 est.)

note: official Russian statistics put the population at 148,200,000 for 1994

Age structure:

0-14 years: 22% (female 16,208,640; male 16,784,017)

15-64 years: 66% (female 50,711,209; male 48,247,101)

65 years and over: 12% (female 12,557,447; male 5,400,675) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.2% (1995 est.)

note: official Russian statistics put the population growth rate at -6.0% for 1994

Birth rate: 12.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

note: official Russian statistics put the birth rate at 9.5 births per l,000 population for 1994

Death rate: 11.36 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

note: official Russian statistics put the death rate at 15.5 deaths per l,000 population in 1994

Net migration rate: 0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 26.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

note: official Russian statistics put the infant mortality rate at 19.9 deaths per l,000 live births in 1994

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 69.1 years

male: 64.1 years

female: 74.35 years (1995 est.)

note: official Russian statistics put life expectancy at birth as 64 years for total population in 1994

Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Russian(s)

adjective: Russian

Ethnic divisions: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1%

Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other

Languages: Russian, other

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)

total population: 98%

male: 100%

female: 97%

Labor force: 85 million (1993)

by occupation: production and economic services 83.9%, government 16.1%

GOVERNMENT:


Names:

conventional long form: Russian Federation

conventional short form: Russia

local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya

local short form: Rossiya

former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

Digraph: RS

Type: federation

Capital: Moscow

Administrative divisions: 21 autonomous republics (avtomnykh respublik, singular - avtomnaya respublika); Adygea (Maykop), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashia (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Gorno-Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Ingushetia (Nazran'), Kabardino-Balkaria (Nal'chik), Kalmykia (Elista), Karachay-Cherkessia (Cherkessk), Karelia (Petrozavodsk)