Population of Samara and Samara Oblast: Rosstat data by year
As of 1 January 2024, Samara was home to 1,158,952 people. The city is the tenth in Russia by number of residents: in 2023 it was overtaken by Ufa, now the difference is 4,352 people. Back in 2010, Samara was sixth. It has hardly changed since then; according to the 2002 census it had 1,158 thousand, just as now, while the neighboring entries in the table have grown. In Samara Oblast, as of 1 January 2025, Rosstat counted 3,112,566 people. In 2024 the region lost 15,276 residents.
Further, the population of Samara by censuses and years, its rank among million‑plus cities, Toliyatti and other cities of the region, the region’s population since 2012, birth rate, death rate and ethnic composition. All charts are available on the website in interactive form.
How many people live in Samara
Census is marked in the row, the rest is Rosstat estimate as of Jan 1.
| Date | Thousand people |
|---|---|
| Census of 2002, 9 October | 1 158 |
| Census of 2010, 14 October | 1 165 |
| Census of 2020, 1 October 2021 | 1 173 |
| 1 January 2022 | 1 137 |
| 1 January 2023 | 1 164 |
| 1 January 2024 | 1 159 |
Maximum was at the 2020 census: 1 173 thousand. After it the population declines and in two years returned almost exactly to the 2002 level. The difference between 2002 and 2024 in Rosstat table is one thousand people, 0.1%. Twenty‑two years the city stands still.
Now Samara is home to 37% of the region’s population.
In the chart the column “2021” means the 2020 census, which was carried out in autumn 2021.
View the population of all Russian cities with 100 thousand residents →
Where the drop in 2022 comes from
The 2022 annual report shows 1 137 thousand on 1 January, 36 thousand less than the census counted three months earlier. So many people did not leave in a quarter. The current estimate at that time was still based on the old count, the census results were not included. A year later it was recalculated, and on 1 January 2023 it turned out 1 164 thousand. Therefore 2022 cannot be compared with the neighboring years.
Samara among million‑city towns
In 2002 and 2010 Samara was sixth after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. According to the 2020 census it was already ninth: Kazan, Chelyabinsk and Krasnoyarsk moved ahead. On 1 January 2024 it is tenth.
| Rank | City | People on 1 January 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Nizhny Novgorod | 1,204,985 |
| 8 | Chelyabinsk | 1,177,058 |
| 9 | Ufa | 1,163,304 |
| 10 | Samara | 1,158,952 |
| 11 | Rostov‑on‑Don | 1,140,487 |
| 12 | Krasnodar | 1,138,654 |
Ufa overtook Samara in 2023. By the average population for 2023 Samara is still ahead: 1,161,299 versus 1,160,649, a difference of 650 people. By the end of the year Ufa had already moved ahead.
Behind them support Rostov‑on‑Don (18,465 people behind Samara) and Krasnodar (20,298). Since 2002 Krasnodar has grown by 493 thousand people, by 76 %, and trails Rostov by only 1,833 people.
Since 2002 Kazan has added 214 thousand, Ufa 121 thousand, Rostov‑on‑Don 72 thousand. Samara has remained unchanged. Nizhny Novgorod, which was ahead in 2002, lost 106 thousand over the same period and now stands seventh, 46 thousand above Samara.
Open the table of million‑city towns →
How Nizhny Novgorod changes is examined in the article "Population of Nizhny Novgorod", the full list of million‑city towns is in the article "Largest cities of Russia by population".
Tolyatti and other cities of the region
The region's second‑largest city, Tolyatti, is also large: on 1 January 2024 it was home to 667,956 people. Together Samara and Tolyatti total 1,826,908 residents, 58% of the region's population.
| City | 2002 Census, thousand | 1 January 2024, thousand | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samara | 1,158 | 1,159 | +0.1% |
| Tolyatti | 703 | 668 | −5.0% |
| Syzran | 188 | 162 | −13.8% |
| Novokuybyshevsk | 113 | 96 | −15.0% |
Tolyatti grew up to the 2010 census, when it had 720 thousand. Since then the city has lost 52 thousand residents, 7.2%. Syzran and Novokuybyshevsk have been losing population since 2002. In Novokuybyshevsk there are now fewer than 100 thousand; in the yearbook it is still listed among large cities, but in the bulletin of cities with 100 thousand on 1 January 2024 it is absent.
Russian cities with 500 thousand to one million residents →
Population of Samara Oblast by Year
Population as of January 1, thousand people.
| Year | Thousand people |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 3 217,0 |
| 2015 | 3 224,5 |
| 2018 | 3 214,3 |
| 2020 | 3 206,2 |
| 2021 | 3 183,9 |
| 2022 | 3 164,4 |
| 2023 | 3 142,7 |
| 2024 | 3 127,8 |
| 2025 | 3 112,6 |
Until 2017 the region's population remained at the same level, about 3.22 million, with a peak in 2015. Then it declined, and since 2020 the decrease accelerated. From 2015 to 2025 the region lost 112 thousand people, 3.5%.
In the Volga Federal District Samara Oblast is third after Bashkortostan (4 042 377 people) and Tatarstan (4 019 606). In 2012 it lagged behind Nizhny Novgorod Oblast by 77 thousand. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast has been losing people faster all this time, and in 2018 Samara overtook it. Now the difference is 73 thousand in favor of Samara.
The population is aging. At the beginning of 2024 the number of people beyond working age in the region was 791,2 thousand, 25,3% of residents. Across Russia their share is 23,7%, in the district 24,9%.
Population of all regions since 2012 →
Where the decline comes from
In 2024, the region saw 20,271 more deaths than births. Migration returned 4,995 people, about a quarter of this decline. The net result for the year was minus 15,276 residents, 0.49%.
In almost the entire Volga Federal District the population is decreasing. Only Tatarstan grew, by 0.41%. The only region in the Samara Oblast that decreased more slowly was Perm Krai: minus 0.47%. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast was minus 0.68%, Penza Oblast minus 0.75%, and Mordovia lost the most, minus 0.91%.
Arrivals were distributed between city and village unexpectedly. The cities of the oblast received only 1,545 people from migration, while villages got 3,450. Therefore the rural population hardly declined: 643,228 people on 1 January 2025 versus 644,448 the year before. The cities lost 14,056 residents in the same year. In the cities live 79.3% of the oblast's residents.
Population size and its components of change for 2024 →
Births and deaths
In 2023, the oblast recorded 23,968 births and 42,271 deaths. There were 1.8 deaths per birth. Per thousand residents this is 7.6 births and 13.5 deaths, a decline of 5.9. For Russia the same indicators are 8.6, 12.1 and minus 3.5; for the Volga Federal District 8.1, 13.0 and minus 4.9.
In January–February 2025, the oblast's birth rate was 6.9 per thousand versus 7.3 the year before, and mortality was 14.0 versus 15.0. Natural decline fell from 7.7 to 7.1 per thousand, but remained above the district average (6.9) and the national average (5.0).
Births and deaths by region for January–February 2025 →
Causes of death in Samara Oblast
In 2023, the oblast had 1,348.2 deaths per 100,000 residents. For Russia it was 1,206.2, for the district 1,300.5. Overall mortality is 11.8% higher than the national average.
The oblast stands out most in infections: 31.3 deaths per 100,000 versus 18.4 in Russia, 70% higher. Deaths from diseases of the digestive organs amount to 99.3 per 100,000, versus 74.0 nationally. There are opposite examples. Deaths from diseases of the respiratory organs in the oblast are 27.1 per 100,000, almost half the Russian rate (53.0). Tuberculosis deaths are 35% lower, external causes 13% lower.
How mortality is distributed across the country is examined in the article "Mortality by regions of Russia". Average life expectancy in the oblast can be seen on the page life expectancy in Samara Oblast.
Mortality by main causes in each region →
Who lives in Samara Oblast: the 2020 census
The 2020 census counted 3,172,925 people in the region: 1,717,170 women and 1,455,755 men, with 1,180 women per thousand men. 79.6% of the population lived in cities.
Nationality was not indicated by 204,885 people, 6.5% of residents. The shares below are calculated from the 2,968,040 people who did indicate it.
| Nationality | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Russians | 2,659,734 | 89.6% |
| Tatars | 94,452 | 3.2% |
| Chuvash | 46,222 | 1.6% |
| Mordva | 29,659 | 1.0% |
| Armenians | 19,732 | 0.7% |
| Kazakhs | 15,058 | 0.5% |
| Ukrainians | 14,292 | 0.5% |
| Uzbeks | 13,048 | 0.4% |
| Tajiks | 12,844 | 0.4% |
| Azerbaijanis | 10,596 | 0.4% |
Three Volga peoples—Tatars, Chuvash and Mordva—together account for almost 6% of the region's population. Chuvash and Kazakhs live mainly in rural areas: there 68% of Chuvash and 67% of Kazakhs. Half of Mordva, a third of Tatars, and 19% of Russians live in the countryside. Uzbeks, Tajiks and Azerbaijanis, like Russians, are about four fifths urban.
National composition of Samara Oblast according to the census →
The national composition of the country as a whole is discussed in the article "Peoples of Russia: national composition".
Questions and answers
How many people live in Samara in 2025?
The latest published estimate refers to 1 January 2024: 1,158,952 people. Rosstat temporarily does not publish city figures for 1 January 2025.
What rank does Samara hold by population size?
Tenth in Russia on 1 January 2024. Ahead of it is Ufa with a difference of 4,352 people, behind it is Rostov-on-Don. In 2002 and 2010 Samara was sixth.
Which is larger, Samara or Tolyatti?
Samara, almost twice as large: 1,158,952 people versus 667,956 on 1 January 2024. Tolyatti is nevertheless larger than many regional centers, such as Ulyanovsk and Orenburg.
How many people live in Samara Oblast?
On 1 January 2025, 3,112,566 people. It is the third region of the Volga Federal District after Bashkortostan and Tatarstan.
Brief
- In Samara, as of 1 January 2024, 1,158,952 people lived there, ranking tenth in Russia. Ufa overtook it in 2023.
- Since the 2002 census, the city's population has hardly changed, while Kazan, Ufa and Krasnodar grew by hundreds of thousands.
- Since 2010, Tolyatti has lost 52 thousand residents; Syzran and Novokuybyshevsk have been losing population since 2002.
- The region has been shrinking since 2017: over ten years, minus 112 thousand people. In 2024, natural decline was 20,271, and migration returned about a quarter.
- Mortality in the region is 11.8% higher than the Russian average, mortality from infections is 70% higher, and mortality from respiratory diseases is almost twice lower.