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Russia's largest cities, 1975 to 2050

Moscow is Russia's largest city at about 14.5 million in 2025, three times Saint Petersburg's 4.74 million; no other city tops 1.4 million.

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What the data shows

  • In 2025, Moscow ranks #1 with 14.5M, ahead of Saint Petersburg (4.7M) and Novosibirsk (1.3M).
  • By 2050, on the UN's projections, Moscow is projected to rank #1 with 15.5M, ahead of Saint Petersburg (4.7M) and Novosibirsk (1.3M).
  • Moscow holds #1 for the whole period, 1975 to 2025.
  • Biggest climber: Novosibirsk, from #5 in 1975 to #3 in 2050.
  • Moscow grew 1.7× between 1975 and 2025.

About this chart

Russia has one giant city, one large one and then a long tail of cities around a million people. Moscow is at about 14.52 million in 2025, up from 8.52 million in 1975. Saint Petersburg is at 4.74 million. Third-place Novosibirsk has 1.33 million, and tenth-place Ufa has 0.88 million.

Outside the top two, many cities have barely moved or shrunk. Yekaterinburg was third in 1975 at 1.42 million and is fifth in 2025 at 1.15 million. Nizhny Novgorod fell from 1.32 million to 1.2 million. The UN projects Moscow at 15.52 million by 2050 and Saint Petersburg at 4.69 million. Figures use the UN's Degree of Urbanization, which counts contiguous dense areas, so they differ from city-proper or metro counts. Years after 2025 are projections.

The data

Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts.

Russia's largest cities, Population in millions, 1975 to 2050, 1975–2050
Date🇷🇺 Moscow🇷🇺 Saint Petersburg🇷🇺 Novosibirsk🇷🇺 Nizhny Novgorod🇷🇺 Yekaterinburg🇷🇺 Kazan🇷🇺 Rostov-on-Don🇷🇺 Omsk🇷🇺 Samara🇷🇺 Ufa🇷🇺 Voronezh🇷🇺 Chelyabinsk
19758.5M3.7M1.2M1.3M1.4M1.0M1.0M1.1M1.1M0.9M0.9M1.0M
19809.1M3.9M1.4M1.4M1.5M1.0M1.1M1.2M1.1M0.9M1.0M1.0M
19859.7M4.1M1.4M1.4M1.5M1.0M1.1M1.2M1.1M1.0M1.0M1.0M
199010.2M4.2M1.4M1.4M1.5M1.1M1.1M1.3M1.1M1.0M1.0M1.0M
199510.4M4.1M1.3M1.4M1.4M1.0M1.1M1.2M1.1M1.0M0.9M0.9M
200011.2M4.0M1.3M1.3M1.3M1.0M1.1M1.1M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.9M
200512.0M4.0M1.2M1.3M1.2M1.0M1.1M1.1M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.8M
201012.8M4.1M1.2M1.2M1.2M1.0M1.1M1.0M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.8M
201513.5M4.4M1.3M1.2M1.2M1.1M1.1M1.0M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.8M
202014.3M4.8M1.4M1.2M1.2M1.1M1.1M1.0M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.8M
202514.5M4.7M1.3M1.2M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.0M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.8M
203014.8M4.7M1.3M1.2M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.9M0.8M
203514.9M4.7M1.3M1.2M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.9M0.8M
204015.1M4.7M1.3M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.0M0.9M0.9M0.9M0.8M
204515.3M4.7M1.3M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.0M0.9M0.8M0.8M0.8M
205015.5M4.7M1.3M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.1M1.0M0.9M0.8M0.8M0.8M

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Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in Russia?

In 2025, Moscow ranks #1 with 14.5M, followed by Saint Petersburg (4.7M) and Novosibirsk (1.3M). Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025).

What is the largest city in Russia?

Moscow is the largest city in Russia in 2025, with about 14.52 million people under the UN's Degree of Urbanization definition. Saint Petersburg is second at about 4.74 million and Novosibirsk third at about 1.33 million.

Which Russian cities are shrinking?

Several mid-sized cities have declined since 1975 in the UN estimates. Yekaterinburg fell from about 1.42 million to 1.15 million, Nizhny Novgorod from 1.32 million to 1.2 million and Omsk from 1.1 million to 0.98 million. Moscow went the other way, from 8.52 million to 14.52 million.

Does this match Moscow's official population?

Not necessarily. The UN counts a contiguous dense urban area, not an administrative city or a metro region, so the figure can differ from city-proper numbers you may have seen. The same definition is applied to every city in this ranking.

Where does this data come from?

UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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