What is the largest state in the world?

The Russian Federation is the largest country on the planet. The area of the largest state is just over seventeen million square kilometers. This is approximately 11.5% of the entire earth's surface. Our country is located on the mainland of Eurasia and is intersected by nine time zones. Russia has a rich history, and the 862-th year is the beginning of the national statehood.

Population and its composition

Speaking about which state is the largest on the planet, it should be noted that graduation can be made also on such an indicator as population size. In this regard, the largest is China. As for our country, the total number of inhabitants that inhabit it is about 144 million people. Irrespective of religion and nationality, all citizens of the Federation are officially called Russians. Representatives of more than two hundred nationalities live in the territory of the state, they speak one hundred different languages. Speaking about the national composition, it should be noted that approximately 81% of all residents are Russians, 3.87% - Tatars, 1.41% - Ukrainians, 1.15% - Bashkirs. In such an indicator as the density of the population, the largest state is located in the ninth place in the world. In terms of religion, Orthodoxy is most widespread. To a much lesser extent the inhabitants of the country adhere to Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and also Judaism.

Largest cities

As for cities with a population of more than one million people, there are officially fourteen such cities in Russia. Few for whom it will be a secret that the largest of them is the capital of the country, Moscow. Based on the last census, there are almost 11.5 million inhabitants. If we take into account the unofficial (real) data, then this figure can be safely multiplied by one and a half or even two times. Among other major cities, it should be noted St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Vladivostok, Kazan, Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Yakutsk and Kaliningrad.

Important for the development of the economy of any country have ports. The world's largest state was not an exception. The main ports on its territory are the ports located in Arkhangelsk (the White Sea), Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Baltiysk, Vyborg (the Baltic Sea), Murmansk (Barents Sea), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Pacific Ocean), Vladivostok (Sea of Japan), Astrakhan (The Caspian Sea), Sochi (the Black Sea), Taganrog (Azov Sea).

Geography

Russia has the largest number of neighbors in the world. In particular, it borders on the sea with four states, including the USA, Japan, Turkey and Sweden. In addition, there are fourteen other countries with which we have a land border. These include Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Mongolia and North Korea.

The largest state in the world, basically, lies on the plains and lowlands. Along with this, there are many large mountain ranges. Among them, the Sikhote-Alin and the Greater Caucasus ridges can be called. It should be noted that the second one divides the continent into the European and Asian parts. In addition, there are many volcanoes on the territory of Russia, among which there are also active ones.

Transport system

The largest state in the world has a fairly developed transport network. It includes more than 120,000 kilometers of railways, one million kilometers of highways, about 230,000 kilometers of pipelines (main lines), and over 100,000 kilometers of navigable river routes. In connection with the harsh climate and huge size, the first of the above-mentioned species is of paramount importance for the national economy. The bulk of all cargo handling falls on it. Due to the short navigation period, water transport is not so important for the country's economy.

As for passenger transportation, the metro is in seven settlements. In many cities there are trams and trolleybuses. Practically in every, even the smallest, settlement, shuttle buses and buses run. As for long distance trips, the railway is most often used here.

Climate

The world's largest state is characterized by a cold continental climate, which is typical for most of its territory. Spring and autumn here are fairly short. Great influence on the western and northern regions of the country have cold air currents that form over the Antarctic. In addition, the movement of warm air masses from the Indian and Atlantic Ocean to Russia is hampered by mountain massifs that are located in the south and east. In this regard, for most areas are characterized by severe winters.

Provision of natural resources

The largest state can boast of the world's largest reserve of fresh water. On its territory there is also a huge freshwater lake on the Earth - Baikal. Its area is 31.7 thousand kilometers square. In addition, there are about a hundred thousand rivers of different sizes in Russia, including the Volga, the longest in Europe. The depths of the earth on which the territory of the Russian Federation is located are very rich in minerals. The most valuable of them are natural gas and oil. It should be noted that in both cases, these two species are found in almost all regions.

Flora and fauna

Most of the plants (in our country there are more than 25 thousand varieties) are found in the Far East and the Caucasus. Not surprisingly, the largest state is often called the "light of Europe", because a significant number of forest areas are concentrated here. In addition, there are roughly 780 bird species and 266 mammal species in Russia. Most often they are found in the taiga.

Approximately one tenth of all the arable land available on the globe is in the Russian Federation. In addition, almost half of all chernozems are concentrated in our country. At the same time, local farmers are constantly at risk, as the agricultural season lasts a maximum of four months, while in Europe and America - almost nine.