Population of Novosibirsk and Novosibirsk Oblast: Rosstat data by year
As of 1 January 2024, 1,633,851 people lived in Novosibirsk. It is the third city in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg and the largest beyond the Urals. Novosibirsk was also third according to the 2002 census, but the lead over Yekaterinburg has narrowed since then: back then the Ural capital lagged by 132 thousand residents, now by 97,668. Throughout Novosibirsk Oblast, as of 1 January 2025 Rosstat counted 2,786,540 people. In 2024 the region lost 2,992 residents. No region in Siberia has shrunk more than it, and Tuva even grew.
Below is the population of Novosibirsk by year and by censuses, its rank among million‑plus cities, the oblast’s population since 2012, showing gains and losses, Berdsk and the national composition. Each chart can be opened on the website in interactive form.
How many people live in Novosibirsk
Rows with censuses are marked, the rest are Rosstat estimates as of January 1.
| Date | Thousand people |
|---|---|
| 2002 Census, October 9 | 1,426 |
| 2010 Census, October 14 | 1,474 |
| 2020 Census, October 1, 2021 | 1,634 |
| January 1, 2022 | 1,621 |
| January 1, 2023 | 1,635 |
| January 1, 2024 | 1,634 |
Between the 2002 and 2010 censuses, the city added 48 thousand people. The following eleven years added 160 thousand. Since then, growth has stopped: in 2023, the population size hardly changed and even decreased slightly, from 1,635 to 1,634 thousand. From 2002, the increase is 208 thousand people, or 14.6%.
58.6% of the region's population lives in the city, which is almost six out of ten residents.
According to a footnote in the table, Rosstat is temporarily not publishing data on cities as of January 1, 2025. The estimate for the region for 2024 has been released, and it is discussed below.
View the population of all Russian cities with 100 thousand residents or more →
Why there are different figures in reference books
In the 2024 yearbook, the estimate for January 1, 2022, is listed next to the census: 1,621 thousand. This is 13 thousand less than what the census counted three months earlier. The discrepancy does not mean that people moved away. The current estimate at that time was still based on the old count and did not take into account the census results. From the following year, it was recalculated, and as of January 1, 2023, it came to 1,635 thousand.
2024 yearbook with census and estimate for 2022 →
What place does Novosibirsk hold among cities with over a million residents
Novosibirsk has been third in all tables since 2002; only the cities following it change. In 2002, Nizhny Novgorod was fourth with 1,311 thousand, and Yekaterinburg was fifth with 1,294. By 2010, Yekaterinburg reached fourth place and has been gradually catching up since then.
| Rank | City | People as of January 1, 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moscow | 13,149,803 |
| 2 | Saint Petersburg | 5,597,763 |
| 3 | Novosibirsk | 1,633,851 |
| 4 | Yekaterinburg | 1,536,183 |
| 5 | Kazan | 1,318,604 |
| 6 | Krasnoyarsk | 1,205,473 |
| 7 | Nizhny Novgorod | 1,204,985 |
Since 2002, Yekaterinburg has grown by 242 thousand people, Kazan by 214 thousand, and Novosibirsk by 208. Out of these top five, Krasnoyarsk grew the fastest: plus 296 thousand, almost a third. Neighboring Omsk decreased from 1,134 to 1,104 thousand over the same period and dropped from seventh place to thirteenth.
In 2023, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg decreased slightly, while Krasnoyarsk and Kazan grew. The gap between third and fourth place remains almost one hundred thousand people.
Open the table of cities with over a million residents →
The proximity to the Urals is analyzed in the article "Population of Yekaterinburg", and other major cities are covered in the article "Largest cities in Russia by population".
Population of the Novosibirsk Region by year
Number of people as of January 1, thousand people.
| Year | Thousand people |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 2,688.3 |
| 2014 | 2,735.8 |
| 2016 | 2,770.0 |
| 2018 | 2,799.7 |
| 2020 | 2,812.2 |
| 2021 | 2,801.4 |
| 2022 | 2,797.5 |
| 2023 | 2,794.3 |
| 2024 | 2,789.5 |
| 2025 | 2,786.5 |
From 2012 to 2020, the region added 124 thousand people, 4.6%. The peak occurred on January 1, 2020, at 2,812.2 thousand. Since then, the population has been decreasing slightly every year: minus 25.7 thousand over five years. Nevertheless, the region is now 98 thousand larger than in 2012.
Siberia as a whole lost 685 thousand people over the same years, 4.0%: from 17,177.8 to 16,492.9 thousand. The Novosibirsk Region remains the second most populous region in the district after the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where 2,837,988 people lived as of January 1, 2025.
Population of all regions since 2012 →
Where profit and loss come from
There are more deaths in the region than births, and migration partially offsets this loss.
| Year | Natural loss | Migration gain | Annual total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | −9,693 | +4,959 | −4,734 |
| 2024 | −12,666 | +9,674 | −2,992 |
In 2024, the natural loss increased by almost three thousand. However, the migration gain grew almost twice. In 2023, migration covered 51% of the natural loss, and in 2024, it covered 76%.
In terms of migration gain, the region is first in Siberia by a wide margin. Its 9,674 people accounted for 70% of the entire district's gain from migration. The Krasnoyarsk Territory had 3,462 for the same year, the Irkutsk Region had 1,656, and the Tomsk Region had 1,618. The Omsk and Kemerovo regions lost more through migration than they gained.
Almost all of the migration gain went to cities: 8,910 people out of 9,674. This was enough to offset the urban natural loss, and the region's urban population grew by 207 people in 2024, reaching 2,225,649. Rural areas lost about 3.2 thousand residents in the same year. Currently, 79.9% of the region's residents live in cities.
Of the ten regions in the district, only Tuva grew, and the Novosibirsk Region decreased less than all others: by 0.11%.
Population size and components of its change in 2024 →
Birth and death rates in the region
In 2023, 25,978 children were born in the region and 35,671 people died. Per thousand residents, this is 9.3 births and 12.8 deaths, a loss of 3.5. For Russia, the same figures are 8.6, 12.1, and minus 3.5; for the Siberian District, they are 8.8, 13.0, and minus 4.2.
In January–February 2025, the birth rate was 8.6 per thousand against 9.0 a year earlier, and the death rate was 14.0 against 14.4. The natural loss remained the same at 5.4 per thousand. For the country, it was 5.0, and for Siberia, 6.4.
Births, deaths, and natural increase by region →
Causes of death in the Novosibirsk Region
In 2023, 1,277.7 people per 100 thousand residents died in the region. For Russia, it was 1,206.2, and for Siberia, 1,298.5. The overall mortality rate is 5.9% higher than the national average, but lower than the district average.
658 people per 100 thousand die from circulatory system diseases (557 for Russia), and 239 from neoplasms (197 for Russia). The region stands out most significantly in infections: 40.2 deaths per 100 thousand against 18.4 for the country, more than twice as high. 8.0 people per 100 thousand die from tuberculosis, compared to 3.5 for Russia. Conversely, people in the region die from digestive system diseases 20% less often than the national average: 59 against 74. 9.2 people per 100 thousand die on the roads, exactly the same as in Russia.
How mortality is distributed across the country is analyzed in the article "Mortality by Russian regions". The average life expectancy in the region is shown on the page about life expectancy in the Novosibirsk Region.
Mortality by main causes in each region →
Other cities of the Novosibirsk Region
Besides Novosibirsk, only Berdsk has more than 100 thousand residents in the region. As of January 1, 2024, 102,760 people lived there. According to the 2002 census, there were 88 thousand, according to the 2010 census 97 thousand, and since 2021 the population has remained at about 103 thousand. Since 2002, Berdsk has grown by 17%, faster than the regional center.
Together, the two cities account for 62.3% of the region's population.
Cities of Russia with 100 to 250 thousand residents →
Who lives in the Novosibirsk Region: 2020 census
The 2020 All-Russian Census counted 2,797,176 people in the region: 1,516,724 women and 1,280,452 men, with 1,185 women per thousand men. 79.6% of the population lived in cities.
Nationality was not indicated for 475,688 people, which is 17.0% of all residents. The omission is almost entirely urban: in cities, nationality is not indicated for one in five, while in villages it is 5%. The shares below are calculated from the 2,321,488 people who indicated their nationality.
| Nationality | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Russians | 2,185,710 | 94.2% |
| Tatars | 16,332 | 0.7% |
| Germans | 15,997 | 0.7% |
| Tajiks | 9,192 | 0.4% |
| Ukrainians | 9,000 | 0.4% |
| Kazakhs | 8,670 | 0.4% |
| Uzbeks | 8,199 | 0.4% |
| Kyrgyz | 6,047 | 0.3% |
| Armenians | 5,579 | 0.2% |
There are almost as many Germans in the region as there are Tatars: 15,997 versus 16,332. Germans and Kazakhs live in rural areas noticeably more often than others: 47% of Germans and half of the Kazakhs live there, while 23% of Russians live in rural areas. Almost all Kyrgyz and Tajiks are urban: 95% of Kyrgyz and 89% of Tajiks live in cities.
National composition of the Novosibirsk Region by census →
The national composition of the country as a whole is analyzed in the article "Peoples of Russia: national composition".
Questions and answers
How many people live in Novosibirsk in 2025?
The latest published estimate refers to January 1, 2024: 1,633,851 people. Rosstat is temporarily not publishing city-level figures for January 1, 2025.
What is Novosibirsk's rank in terms of population size?
Third in Russia after Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Novosibirsk has held this position according to all data since the 2002 census and remains the largest city in Siberia and the Far East.
Which is larger, Novosibirsk or Yekaterinburg?
Novosibirsk. As of January 1, 2024, it is larger by 97,668 people. In 2002, the difference was 132 thousand, in 2010 it was 124 thousand.
In brief
- As of January 1, 2024, 1,633,851 people lived in Novosibirsk, ranking third in Russia. Yekaterinburg lags behind by 97,668 residents.
- Since 2002, the city has grown by 14.6%, which is slower than Yekaterinburg, Kazan, and Krasnoyarsk. In 2023, growth stopped.
- As of January 1, 2025, there are 2,786,540 people in the region. The peak was passed in 2020, and since then the region has been losing 3–11 thousand people per year.
- In 2024, migration covered 76% of the natural population decline. The region is first in Siberia in terms of migration growth, and its population decrease was smaller than in all other regions of the district, except for growing Tuva.