Is Russia in Asia?
Partly. About 77% of Russia's land, Siberia and the Russian Far East, lies in Asia, but about three-quarters of its people live in European Russia, and the UN classes it as Eastern European.
Russia is the clearest example of a transcontinental country. The traditional dividing line follows the Ural Mountains, the Ural River and the Caucasus:
| European Russia | Asian Russia | |
|---|---|---|
| Share of land | about 23% | about 77% |
| Area | about 4 million km² | about 13.1 million km² |
| Share of population | about three-quarters | about a quarter |
| Main cities | Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan | Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok |
Asian Russia, made up of Siberia and the Russian Far East, is enormous. On its own it would be the largest country in Asia, bigger than China (9,596,961 km²). But it is thinly populated, and Russia's capital, largest cities and historical heartland are all west of the Urals.
So is Russia an Asian country?
Usually not. The UN statistical geoscheme puts Russia in Eastern Europe, and most lists of Asian countries, including the 49 on this site, leave it out. It is better described as a European country with a vast Asian territory. Russia borders six of the Asian countries we cover: China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Georgia and Azerbaijan. It is separated from Japan only by narrow straits.
Russia also takes part in Asian institutions such as APEC and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and its Pacific port of Vladivostok is closer to Tokyo than to Moscow.
For the full count of Asian countries, see How many countries are in Asia?
Related questions
What divides European and Asian Russia?
By convention, the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea and the Greater Caucasus. Cities such as Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk lie just east of the line, in Asia.
Is Siberia in Asia?
Yes. Siberia stretches from the Urals to the Pacific and lies entirely in Asia. It makes up most of Russia's land but holds only a small share of its population.