Northern
Population: 5,861,000.
Biggest city: Murmansk (443,000)
Flying time from Moscow to Murmansk (the biggest city): 2 hours.
Time difference from Moscow: none.
Urban population: 76%.
Rural population: 24%.
Territory: 1,466,300 square km (about the same as UK)
Density: 4.0 persons / sq. km.
Climate zones: Ranging from coniferous forests in the south to tundra
and arctic deserts in the far north.
Socio-economic indicators (1999 Duma Vote)
In the partly arctic zone of Russia, monthly wages appear much higher than the national average, but this is offset by the likelihood of payment being much lower. A higher proportion in the region are employed in a state enterprise, and a lower proportion are secure in their jobs. Unemployment is more than one fifth higher in the region than across Russia as a whole.
Although climactic
conditions can be daunting, the life expectancy in the Northern region
is almost exactly the national average for both men and women.
Youths ambitious for a higher education tend to leave the region; the ratio
of students to population is a fifth lower than the national average. And,
for those who live in the region, the expectation of life improving is
lower than the national average.
Administrative divisions:
| Archangelsk Oblast(Pop.
1,506,400) Capital: Archangelsk (415,000) |
Murmansk Oblast (Pop.
1,030,100) Capital: Murmansk (443,000) |
| Vologda Oblast (Pop.
1,344,100) Capital: Vologda (304,000) |
Karelian Republic (Pop. 780,100) Capital: Petrozavodsk (279,000) |
| Komi Republic (Pop.
1,172,200) Capital: Syktyvkar (243,000) |
Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Within Arkhangelsk
Oblast, pop.49,000) Capital: Naryan-Mar (28,000) |