Moscow, Russia Population 2024

Moscow's 2024 population is now estimated at 12,712,300In 1950, the population of Moscow was 5,356,390Moscow has grown by 31,900 in the last year, which represents a 0.25% annual change.These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Moscow, which typically includes Moscow's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.

Moscow is the capital city and most populous federal subject of Russia, and the northernmost megacity on the planet. It's also the second most populous city in Europe and the 11th largest city proper on earth. In 2016, the estimated population was 12.19 million.

City and Population Size

At its last census in 2010, Moscow had a population of 11.5 million. In 2012, its territory expanded from 1,000 to 2,511 square kilometers, which added an additional 233,000 people. As Russia's official figures are not believed to be completely accurate, and taking into consideration the high rates of illegal immigration, the true figure today may be anywhere from 13 to 17 million, although 2016 estimates put the population right under 13 million. The next census is planned for 2020, so we will have to wait for the fresh data to roll in.

Moscow's population of about 12.19 million makes it the 6th largest city in the world and the most populous city in Russia.

Population Density of Moscow

Moscow has a density of 8,537.2 people per square kilometer.

Moscow is run by one mayor, but the city is actually divided into 12 administrative okrugs and 123 districts, each with its own coat of arms and flags and individual heads of each area. The largest administrative okrugs include:

  • Southern Okrug: 1.59 million
  • Eastern Okrug: 1.39 million
  • North-Eastern Okrug: 1.24 million
  • Northern Okrug: 1.11 million
  • South-Eastern Okrug: 1.12 million

Moscow Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, the ethnic composition of Moscow was:

  • Russian: 91.6%
  • Ukranian: 1.42%
  • Tatar: 1.38%
  • Armenian: 0.98%
  • Azeri: 0.5%
  • Jews: 0.49%
  • Belarusian: 0.4%
  • Uzbek: 0.3%
  • Tajik: 0.2%
  • Moldovan: 0.2%
  • Mordvin: 0.2%
  • Chechen: 0.1%
  • Chuvash: 0.1%
  • Ossetians: 0.1%
  • Other: 1.6%

There was an additional 668,000 people registered in databases that could not declare an ethnicity.

Moscow's official population is based on its residents with "permanent residency." It's believed there are an additional 1.8 million official "guests" on temporary residency through visas or documentation. Those without documentation, mostly from Central Asia, are believed to add another 1 million people.

The predominant religion is Christianity, with the Russian Orthodox Church being the most popular, as Moscow is the capital of Orthodox Christianity in the country, and a part of Russia's historical heritage in a law passed 16 years ago. Muslims, meanwhile, account for 14% of the city's population.

Interestingly, Moscow also had the largest community of billionaires in the world in 2013. The country fell to the number three spot in 2016, trailing behind New York City and Hong Kong.

Moscow Population Growth

It's hard to even estimate where Moscow is today, as the number of migrants (legal and illegal) has made it impossible to keep track of Russia and Europe's largest city. While the official figure was 11.5 million as of 2010, this number could really be as high as 17 million in 2016, and this makes it difficult to pinpoint where Moscow is going in the coming decades.

Migrants, both legal and illegal, have been coming to Moscow in droves from other parts of Russia and former Soviet republics in search of better living conditions and higher pay, and this will continue as long as Moscow offers higher standards than the rest of Russia. The average monthly salary in the state is 61,200 roubles, which is almost double the nationwide average.

Death rates have been higher than birth rates in Moscow for years, and its growth is now solely dependent on migration. While Russia's population is shrinking (although slower than previously expected), more people continue to move to Moscow, which grew 10.9% from 2002 to 2010, while the country's population decreased 1.2%.

Time will tell how high Moscow's population can grow in the next twenty years, but its growth rate will certainly outpace Russia's.

Country
Russia
Growth Rate
0.25%

86 Rows

Year
Population
203512,822,700
203412,815,800
203312,810,400
203212,805,700
203112,801,000
203012,795,700
202912,789,400
202812,781,400
202712,770,800
202612,756,500
202512,737,400
202412,712,300
202312,680,400
202212,640,800
202112,593,300
202012,538,000
201912,476,200
201812,409,700
201712,288,500
201612,168,400
201512,049,100
201411,931,200
201311,814,500
201211,699,000
201111,584,400
201011,461,300
200911,315,600
200811,172,100
200711,029,900
200610,889,800
200510,751,400
200410,615,000
200310,480,000
200210,336,800
200110,169,200
200010,004,500
19999,842,070
19989,682,480
19979,512,890
19969,334,370
19959,200,990
19949,110,940
19939,066,910
19929,067,510
19919,040,520
19908,986,630
19898,933,060
19888,857,930
19878,764,190
19868,671,560
19858,579,920
19848,489,370
19838,399,530
19828,310,760
19818,222,920
19808,136,140
19798,050,040
19787,950,280
19777,839,550
19767,730,520
19757,622,700
19747,516,540
19737,411,850
19727,308,760
19717,206,830
19707,106,460
19697,007,050
19686,908,820
19676,811,690
19666,716,060
19656,621,780
19646,528,950
19636,437,160
19626,346,790
19616,257,690
19606,169,960
19596,083,220
19585,997,820
19575,913,620
19565,830,710
19555,748,750
19545,668,040
19535,588,470
19525,510,120
19515,432,660
19505,356,390

86 Rows

Year
Population
Change
Growth
19505,356,3900%0
19515,432,6601.42%76,270
19525,510,1201.43%77,460
19535,588,4701.42%78,350
19545,668,0401.42%79,570
19555,748,7501.42%80,710
19565,830,7101.43%81,960
19575,913,6201.42%82,910
19585,997,8201.42%84,200
19596,083,2201.42%85,400
19606,169,9601.43%86,740
19616,257,6901.42%87,730
19626,346,7901.42%89,100
19636,437,1601.42%90,370
19646,528,9501.43%91,790
19656,621,7801.42%92,830
19666,716,0601.42%94,280
19676,811,6901.42%95,630
19686,908,8201.43%97,130
19697,007,0501.42%98,230
19707,106,4601.42%99,410
19717,206,8301.41%100,370
19727,308,7601.41%101,930
19737,411,8501.41%103,090
19747,516,5401.41%104,690
19757,622,7001.41%106,160
19767,730,5201.41%107,820
19777,839,5501.41%109,030
19787,950,2801.41%110,730
19798,050,0401.25%99,760
19808,136,1401.07%86,100
19818,222,9201.07%86,780
19828,310,7601.07%87,840
19838,399,5301.07%88,770
19848,489,3701.07%89,840
19858,579,9201.07%90,550
19868,671,5601.07%91,640
19878,764,1901.07%92,630
19888,857,9301.07%93,740
19898,933,0600.85%75,130
19908,986,6300.6%53,570
19919,040,5200.6%53,890
19929,067,5100.3%26,990
19939,066,910-0.01%-600
19949,110,9400.49%44,030
19959,200,9900.99%90,050
19969,334,3701.45%133,380
19979,512,8901.91%178,520
19989,682,4801.78%169,590
19999,842,0701.65%159,590
200010,004,5001.65%162,430
200110,169,2001.65%164,700
200210,336,8001.65%167,600
200310,480,0001.39%143,200
200410,615,0001.29%135,000
200510,751,4001.28%136,400
200610,889,8001.29%138,400
200711,029,9001.29%140,100
200811,172,1001.29%142,200
200911,315,6001.28%143,500
201011,461,3001.29%145,700
201111,584,4001.07%123,100
201211,699,0000.99%114,600
201311,814,5000.99%115,500
201411,931,2000.99%116,700
201512,049,1000.99%117,900
201612,168,4000.99%119,300
201712,288,5000.99%120,100
201812,409,7000.99%121,200
201912,476,2000.54%66,500
202012,538,0000.5%61,800
202112,593,3000.44%55,300
202212,640,8000.38%47,500
202312,680,4000.31%39,600
202412,712,3000.25%31,900
202512,737,4000.2%25,100
202612,756,5000.15%19,100
202712,770,8000.11%14,300
202812,781,4000.08%10,600
202912,789,4000.06%8,000
203012,795,7000.05%6,300
203112,801,0000.04%5,300
203212,805,7000.04%4,700
203312,810,4000.04%4,700
203412,815,8000.04%5,400
203512,822,7000.05%6,900

Moscow Population Data (Urban Area)

Name
2024 Pop.
2024 Growth
Moscow12,712,3000.25%
Saint Petersburg5,581,7100.37%
Novosibirsk1,701,5100.4%
Yekaterinburg1,532,9700.34%
Kazan1,296,2300.34%
Nizhniy Novgorod1,250,300-0.08%
Chelyabinsk1,243,8800.24%
Omsk1,180,680-0.01%
Krasnoyarsk1,173,1000.54%
Samara1,154,450-0.11%
Ufa1,146,7900.17%
Rostov on Don1,139,6400.07%
Perm1,084,1200.22%
Voronezh1,083,7200.27%
Krasnodar1,010,5500.94%
Volgograd993,352-0.17%
Tyumen916,8621.44%
Saratov837,687-0.08%
Tolyatti690,485-0.22%
Izhevsk652,4640.05%

Other Cities in Russia

  1. Federal State Statistics Service - Moscow population and demographic information
  2. Moscow City Duma - Moscow city government and information

Sources