Population of Yekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Oblast: Rosstat data by year
As of 1 January 2024, 1 536 183 people lived in Yekaterinburg. It is the fourth city in Russia after Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. Since the 2002 census, Yekaterinburg has grown by 242 thousand residents, but in 2023 it decreased slightly. Across the whole Sverdlovsk Oblast, as of 1 January 2025 Rosstat counted 4 221 452 people: in 2024 the region changed hardly at all, minus 1 243 residents.
Below is the population by year, Yekaterinburg's rank among million‑plus cities, other major cities of the oblast, births, deaths and migrations, and the population composition according to the census. Each chart can be opened on the website in interactive form.
How many people live in Yekaterinburg
The first two rows are taken from censuses, the rest from Rosstat estimates as of 1 January.
| Date | Thousand people |
|---|---|
| 2002 Census, 9 October | 1 294 |
| 2010 Census, 14 October | 1 350 |
| 1 January 2023 | 1 539 |
| 1 January 2024 | 1 536 |
From 2002 to 2024 the city added 18.7%, with most of the growth occurring after 2010: plus 186 thousand. In contrast, 2023 ended with a small decline, about 3 thousand people.
Yekaterinburg accounts for 36.4% of the population of Sverdlovsk Oblast.
There are no figures for cities as of 1 January 2025: in a footnote Rosstat writes that they are temporarily not published, referring to the law on official statistical accounting. Data for regions for 2025 have been released.
View the population of all Russian cities with 100 thousand residents →
Yekaterinburg among million‑plus cities
According to the 2002 census Yekaterinburg was fifth: Nizhny Novgorod was ahead, 1,311 thousand versus 1,294. By the 2010 census Yekaterinburg overtook it and has held fourth place ever since. Now only Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk are ahead.
In 2002 Novosibirsk lacked 132 thousand residents; by 1 January 2024 the gap had narrowed to 97,668 people. Novosibirsk grew by 208 thousand during that period, Yekaterinburg by 242 thousand. Kazan is fifth and trails by 217,579 people, Chelyabinsk is eighth, trailing by 359 thousand.
In 2023 Yekaterinburg lost about 3 thousand people, Novosibirsk about one thousand, Chelyabinsk about 6 thousand. Kazan added about 4 thousand in the same year.
Open the table of million‑plus cities →
How the other large cities change is discussed in the article "Largest cities of Russia by population".
Population of Sverdlovsk Oblast by Year
Number as of 1 January, thousand people.
| Year | Thousand people |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 4,307.5 |
| 2014 | 4,320.5 |
| 2016 | 4,329.7 |
| 2018 | 4,324.8 |
| 2020 | 4,310.1 |
| 2021 | 4,289.4 |
| 2022 | 4,263.7 |
| 2023 | 4,239.1 |
| 2024 | 4,222.7 |
| 2025 | 4,221.5 |
Until 2016 the region grew, then it began to shrink. From the peak of 4,329.7 thousand it lost 108 thousand residents, 2.5%. The hardest years were 2020, 2021 and 2022: minus 20.7, minus 25.7 and minus 24.6 thousand. In 2023 the decline eased to 16.5 thousand, and in 2024 the number hardly changed.
Sverdlovsk Oblast is the largest in the Ural Federal District: according to Rosstat data on population and migration for 2023, it accounts for 34.4% of the district’s residents and 2.9% of the country’s population. Neighbouring regions in the district diverged in 2024. Tyumen Oblast together with autonomous districts added 40,896 people, while Chelyabinsk lost 10,674.
The share of elderly in the region is close to the national average. As of 1 January 2024, people older than working age numbered 992.9 thousand, 23.5%, compared with 23.7% for Russia.
Population of all regions since 2012 →
Why the region's population sometimes falls, sometimes stays
The size changes in two ways: through the difference between births and deaths and through the difference between arrivals and departures. In the last two years the difference between these ways is especially clear.
| Year | Natural decline | Migration increase | Total for the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | −17,619 | +1,153 | −16,466 |
| 2024 | −20,961 | +19,718 | −1,243 |
Natural decline over the two years even grew. Migration patterns changed: in 2023 arrivals were only slightly more than departures, and they covered 6.5% of the decline. In 2024 migration increase grew 17 times and covered 94% of the difference between deaths and births. Therefore the region stayed almost in place for a year.
In 2023 the region had 38,497 births and 56,116 deaths, roughly three deaths per two births. Per thousand residents this is 9.1 births and 13.3 deaths. Births here are higher than the Russian average (8.6), but mortality is also higher (12.1), and natural decline is minus 4.2 per thousand versus minus 3.5 nationwide.
In the district only Tyumen region shows a positive figure, especially its autonomous districts: mortality in Yamalo-Nenets is 5.5 per thousand, in Khanty-Mansi 6.2, and births are above 10. Kurgan region on the other side is minus 8.5 per thousand.
The latest operational data on the website refer to January–February 2025. Births in the region for these two months are 8.3 per thousand versus 9.0 a year earlier, mortality fell from 15.5 to 14.4. Natural decline amounted to 6.1 per thousand, compared with the Russian average of 5.0.
Births, deaths and natural increase by region →
Why mortality is higher than average in the region
In 2023 Sverdlovsk region recorded 1,326 deaths per 100,000 residents, versus 1,206 in Russia. The biggest gap comes from circulatory system diseases: 672 deaths per 100,000 versus 557 nationwide, half of all deaths in the region. Tumors caused 232 deaths per 100,000 (Russia 197), external causes 129 (Russia 107).
The sharpest difference is in infectious and parasitic diseases: 36.2 deaths per 100,000, almost twice the all‑Russia figure of 18.4. Tuberculosis accounts for 5.7 per 100,000, the rest comes from other diseases of this class. However, deaths from respiratory diseases are lower in the region than the national average: 34.3 versus 53.0.
How mortality is distributed across the country is discussed in the article "Mortality by Russian regions".
Mortality by main causes in each region →
Other cities of Sverdlovsk Oblast
There are four cities in the region with more than 100 thousand inhabitants. As of 1 January 2024, Nizhny Tagil had 330,507 residents, Kamensk-Uralsky 161,085, and Pervouralsk 111,751. Together with Yekaterinburg, these four cities are home to 50.7% of the region's population.
All three cities are smaller than they were in 2002 and are losing people at roughly the same rate. Nizhny Tagil decreased from 390 to 331 thousand, by 15.1%. Kamensk-Uralsky from 186 to 161 thousand, by 13.4%. Pervouralsk from 132 to 112 thousand, by 15.2%. While the regional centre grew by 242 thousand, the next three largest cities together lost 104 thousand.
The region is noticeably more urban than the country as a whole. According to 2023 data, 85.9% of its residents live in cities, compared with 74.9% in Russia. For every thousand city dwellers there are 165 rural residents, compared with 336 in the country.
Cities of Russia with 250 to 500 thousand inhabitants →
Who lives in Sverdlovsk Oblast: 2020 Census
The All‑Russian Census of 2020 counted 4,268,998 people in the region. Of them, 2,293,530 were women and 1,975,468 were men, with 1,161 women per thousand men. Nationality was not indicated by 366,808 people, that is 8.6%, and the shares below are calculated from those who did indicate.
| Nationality | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Russians | 3,602,400 | 92.3% |
| Tatars | 93,516 | 2.4% |
| Tajiks | 21,803 | 0.6% |
| Bashkirs | 17,286 | 0.4% |
| Mari | 13,995 | 0.4% |
| Ukrainians | 13,337 | 0.3% |
| Kyrgyz | 10,300 | 0.3% |
| Azerbaijanis | 10,217 | 0.3% |
Overall in the region, 14.2% of people live in rural areas, and among the Mari more than half do: 7,722 out of 13,995. Among Tatars, almost every fourth person lives in a village, and among Russians roughly every seventh.
For Tajiks and Kyrgyz the picture is the opposite: almost all live in cities, and men among Tajiks are almost twice as many as women (14,223 versus 7,580). Such a skew is usually caused by labor migration.
National composition of Sverdlovsk Oblast according to the census →
Questions and Answers
How many people live in Yekaterinburg in 2025?
The latest published estimate is for 1 January 2024: 1,536,183 people. Rosstat temporarily does not publish city figures for 1 January 2025.
What rank does Yekaterinburg hold by population size?
Fourth, after Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. In 2002 it was fifth and overtook Nizhny Novgorod by the 2010 census.
Which is larger, Yekaterinburg or Novosibirsk?
Novosibirsk. On 1 January 2024 it had 1,633,851 people, 97,668 more than Yekaterinburg. But the gap is narrowing: in 2002 it was 132 thousand.
How many people live in Sverdlovsk Oblast?
On 1 January 2025, 4,221,452 people. Since 2016, when the population was at its highest, the region has decreased by 108 thousand.
Is Yekaterinburg's population growing?
From the 2002 census to early 2023 the city grew by 245 thousand, and in 2023 it decreased by about 3 thousand. In 2024, migrants helped the oblast: they covered 94% of the natural decline.
How does Rosstat calculate population between censuses?
It takes the result of the latest census and each year adds births and arrivals, subtracts deaths and departures. After a new census the series are recalculated, so figures for the same years may differ slightly across publications.
In Brief
- In Yekaterinburg on 1 January 2024 lived 1,536,183 people, 4th place among Russian cities.
- Since 2002 the city grew by 242 thousand, overtook Nizhny Novgorod and reduced the lag behind Novosibirsk from 132 to 98 thousand, but 2023 ended with a small deficit.
- In Sverdlovsk Oblast on 1 January 2025 4,221,452 people, down 108 thousand since 2016.
- In 2024 migrants covered 94% of the natural decline, and the oblast changed little.
- Nizhny Tagil, Kamenka-Ural and Pervouralsk have lost from 13 to 15% of residents since 2002.