Russia 🇷🇺
Russia is a country in Europe with a population of 144,713,314. Its capital is Moscow. The official currency is RUB, and the main languages are Russian.
Quick facts
- Capital: Moscow
- Continent: Europe
- Population: 144,713,314
- Area: 17,098,242 km²
- Density: 8.5 people per km²
- Currency: RUB
- Languages: Russian
- ISO code: RU
Where Russia sits
Russia 🇷🇺 is one of 46 countries in Europe, with its capital at Moscow. It covers 17,098,242 square kilometres — 1st in the world — and is home to about 144,713,314 people, 9th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Russia compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Russia sits closest to Mexico and Japan. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Canada and United States.
At 8.5 people per square kilometre it is about 7.0 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.
Russian is an official language in 4 countries here, among them Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The RUB is used by Russia and no one else.
To see Russia next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Russia
Russia stretches over the easternmost part of Europe and the northernmost part of Asia, and Moscow is on the European side. For the flag, read it from top to bottom like snow, sky and sunset: white, blue, red.
The flag of Russia: white, blue and red
🇷🇺 The flag is three horizontal stripes of white, blue and red. No official meaning is given to the colours, which may have been based on the Dutch flag. The flag was first used mostly at sea, when Russia built its first navy ships.
Region and neighbours
Russia is the largest country in the world, stretching across Eastern Europe and North Asia to the Pacific Ocean. It shares land borders with 14 countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. The borders with Lithuania and Poland are along Kaliningrad Oblast, a part of Russia on the Baltic coast that is separated from the rest of the country.
- Norway 🇳🇴 — capital Oslo
- Finland 🇫🇮 — capital Helsinki
- Estonia 🇪🇪 — capital Tallinn
- Latvia 🇱🇻 — capital Riga
- Lithuania 🇱🇹 — capital Vilnius
- Poland 🇵🇱 — capital Warsaw
- Belarus 🇧🇾 — capital Minsk
- Ukraine 🇺🇦 — capital Kyiv
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 — capital Astana
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Mongolia 🇲🇳 — capital Ulaanbaatar
- North Korea 🇰🇵 — capital Pyongyang
Three facts about Russia
- Russia spans eleven time zones and shares land borders with fourteen countries.
- Russia is one of only three countries in the world that border three oceans.
- Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains, 5,642 m high, is the highest peak in Russia and in Europe.
Sources: Wikipedia: Russia, Wikipedia: Flag of Russia, Wikipedia: Moscow, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Russia
- European capitals quiz — match Russia to Moscow
- European flags quiz — spot the Russia flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Russia
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Russia those are:
- Europe map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Europe flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Europe capitals quiz — match it to Moscow
- Russia capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Russia
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Russia
- Capital of Russia: Moscow — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 46 countries of Europe
Nearby countries
- Albania 🇦🇱 — capital Tirana
- Andorra 🇦🇩 — capital Andorra la Vella
- Austria 🇦🇹 — capital Vienna
- Belarus 🇧🇾 — capital Minsk
- Belgium 🇧🇪 — capital Brussels
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 — capital Sarajevo
- Bulgaria 🇧🇬 — capital Sofia
- Croatia ðŸ‡ðŸ‡· — capital Zagreb
- Cyprus 🇨🇾 — capital Nicosia
- Czechia 🇨🇿 — capital Prague
- Denmark 🇩🇰 — capital Copenhagen
- Estonia 🇪🇪 — capital Tallinn
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Russia flag?
The flag of Russia is three horizontal stripes of white, blue and red. No official meaning is given to the colours, which may have been based on the Dutch flag. The flag was first used mostly at sea, when Russia built its first navy ships.
Which countries border Russia?
Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. The borders with Lithuania and Poland are along Kaliningrad Oblast, a part of Russia on the Baltic coast that is separated from the rest of the country.
How can I remember the capital of Russia?
Russia stretches over the easternmost part of Europe and the northernmost part of Asia, and Moscow is on the European side. For the flag, read it from top to bottom like snow, sky and sunset: white, blue, red.