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Nationalities in the population of Russia
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Russia is a multinational country inhabited by representatives of more than a hundred nationalities and ethnic groups. The majority of them is classified as indigenous peoples and ethnic groups of the country since Russia is the main or even only place of their habitat. Besides that, in the Russian Federation there are also representatives of more than 60 nationalities whose main place of residence is outside Russia.
The indigenous peoples constitute approximately 93% of the country's overall population, out of which more than 80% are Russians.More than 6% of the population is made up of peoples of the former Soviet republics (for example, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Armenians and others make up 5%) and foreign countries (for example, Germans, Koreans and others). Ethnographers classify the indigenous peoples of Russia into several regional groups that are close to each other both from the point of view of geography and, to a certain extent, culture and history. Less than 8% of the country's overall population is made up of the peoples living in the Volga River basin and the Urals area - Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Komis, Maris, Mordovans, Tatars, Udmurts and Chuvash. Out of this number, almost half are Tatars - the second largest nationality in Russia in terms of numbers. The traditional religion of Tatars and Bashkirs is Islam, Kalmyks - Buddhism, the rest - Orthodoxy.
The peoples living in the North Caucasus: Abazians, Adygeis, Balkars, Ingushetians, Kabardins, Karachayevs, Ossetians, Cherkessians, Chechens, the peoples in Dagestan (Avars, Aguls, Dargins, Kumyks, Laks, Lezgins, Nogays, Rutuls, Tabasarans and Tsakhurs) make up less than 3% of the population of Russia. Besides the majority of Ossetians being Christians, the peoples of the North Caucasus profess Islam.
The peoples living in Siberia and the Far North - Altais, Buryats, Tuvas, Khakass, Shors, Yakuts and almost three dozen of the so-called "small" peoples in the Far North constitute 0.6% of the entire population. The Buryats and Tuvas are Buddhists, the rest - Orthodox. There are also pagans among the peoples in the Far North.
The last time trustworthy data concerning the ethnic composition of the population of Russia were obtained during the national census in 1989. Much later data of the same trustworthiness does not exist. However, bearing in mind that during this interim the ethnic composition of the country could not change, specialists have attempted to estimate the numerity of various peoples living in Russia by calculations based on current statistics, summarizing the natural and migration increment of the population.
Numerity based on 1989 census (thousands): total population - 147022, Russians - 119866 (81.53%), Tatars - 5522 (3.76%), Ukranians - 4364 (2.97%), Chuvash - 1774 (1.21%), Peoples of Dagestan - 1749 (1.19%), Bashkirs - 1345 (0.92%), Belorussians - 1206 (0.82%), Mordovans - 1073 (0.73%), Chechens - 899 (0.61%), Germans - 843 (0.57%).
Numerity in 1999 (thousands): total population: 146370, Russians - 117884 (80.58%), Tatars - 5821 (3.98%), Chuvash 1837 (1.26%), Peoples of Dagestan - 2122 (1.45%), Bashkirs - 1473 (1.01%), Belorussians - 1152 (0.79%), Mordovans - 1027 (0.70%), Chechens - 1085 (0.74%), Germans - 585 (0.40%)
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