Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Australia fits inside Russia 2.2 times.
Australia: 7,741,220 km² (2023) · Russia: 17,125,200 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Russia’s coastline is 46% longer than Australia’s.
Australia: 25,760 km (2026 edition) · Russia: 37,653 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Russia’s highest peak towers 3,414 m above Australia’s.
Australia: 2,228 m (2026 edition) · Russia: 5,642 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Russia has 5.2 times as many people as Australia.
Australia: 27.6 million (2025) · Russia: 144 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Russia is 2.4 times as densely populated as Australia.
Australia: 4 per km² (2025) · Russia: 9 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Australia are 2.1 cm taller than in Russia.
Australia: 178.8 cm (2019) · Russia: 176.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Australia and Russia are practically level.
Australia: 164.7 cm (2019) · Russia: 164.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Russia is 1.7 years older than in Australia.
Australia: 37.8 years (2023) · Russia: 39.5 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Australia have 0.1 more children on average than in Russia.
Australia: 1.48 children per woman (2024) · Russia: 1.42 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
Australia and Russia are practically level.
Australia: 18.1% (2025) · Russia: 17.8% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Australia has produced 3.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Russia 2.0.
Australia: 3.6 (2025) · Russia: 2 (2025)
How many official languages?
Australia and Russia are practically level.
Australia: 1 (2026) · Russia: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Russia’s economy is 42% larger than Australia’s.
Australia: $1.8 trillion (2025) · Russia: $2.56 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Australia produces 45% more per person than Russia.
Australia: Int$71,934 (2025) · Russia: Int$49,568 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Australia than in Russia (Gini 0.8 points higher).
Australia: 33.8 (2020) · Russia: 33 (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.1% in Australia, versus 2.1% in Russia.
Australia: 4.1% (2025) · Russia: 2.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Russia spends 7.1% of its GDP on the military, Australia 1.9%.
Australia: 1.9% (2024) · Russia: 7.1% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Australia’s price level (US = 100) is 2.6× Russia’s.
Australia: 91% (2025) · Russia: 35% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Australia spends 7 times as much on health per person as Russia.
Australia: $6,980 (2023) · Russia: $1,003 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Australia live 9.6 years longer than in Russia.
Australia: 83.1 years (2024) · Russia: 73.4 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Russia is 32% more likely to die before turning one than in Australia.
Australia: 3.1 per 1,000 (2024) · Russia: 4.1 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Russia has 25% more doctors per person than Australia.
Australia: 4.1 per 1,000 (2022) · Russia: 5.1 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
32% of adults in Australia are obese, versus 21% in Russia.
Australia: 32.4% (2024) · Russia: 21.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
27% of adults in Russia smoke, versus 12% in Australia.
Australia: 11.6% (2024) · Russia: 27% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Australia rate their lives 1.08 points higher than in Russia.
Australia: 6.92 (2025) · Russia: 5.83 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Australia and Russia are nearly identical here.
Australia: 10.5 litres (2023) · Russia: 10.4 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Australia has 38% more meat per person than Russia.
Australia: 116.8 kg (2023) · Russia: 84.8 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Australia has 34 kcal more food per person per day than Russia.
Australia: 3,562 kcal (2023) · Russia: 3,528 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Russia put in 476 more hours a year than in Australia.
Australia: 1,611 hours (2023) · Russia: 2,087 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Australia went to school 0.46 years longer than in Russia.
Australia: 12.9 years (2023) · Russia: 12.4 years (2023)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
96% of people in Australia are online, versus 94% in Russia.
Australia: 96% (2024) · Russia: 94% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Australia and Russia are practically level.
Australia: 100% (2024) · Russia: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
88% of people in Australia live in cities, versus 75% in Russia.
Australia: 88% (2025) · Russia: 75% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Russia has 186 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Australia 113.
Australia: 113 (2024) · Russia: 186 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Russia’s railway network is 2.6 times as long as Australia’s.
Australia: 32,606 km (2022) · Russia: 85,544 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Australia fly 3.6 times as many passengers per resident as those from Russia.
Australia: 2.5 (2023) · Russia: 0.69 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 50% of Russia, but only 17% of Australia.
Australia: 17.4% (2023) · Russia: 49.8% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Australia emits 18% more CO₂ than someone in Russia.
Australia: 14.5 t (2024) · Russia: 12.3 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
39% of Australia’s electricity is renewable, versus 17% in Russia.
Australia: 38.6% (2025) · Russia: 17.4% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Russia carries 2.4 times as much fine dust as in Australia.
Australia: 5.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Russia: 12.9 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 9.2 times as likely to be murdered in Russia as in Australia.
Australia: 0.9 per 100k (2023) · Russia: 7.8 per 100k (2024)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Russia are 2.4 times as deadly as in Australia.
Australia: 4.5 per 100k (2021) · Russia: 10.6 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Australia is on average 25.1 °C warmer than Russia.
Australia: 22.5°C (2016–2025 avg) · Russia: -2.6°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Russia gets 31% more rain than Australia.
Australia: 447 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Russia: 586 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Australia bigger than Russia?
Russia is larger. Australia fits inside Russia 2.2 times.
Which has more people, Australia or Russia?
Russia has 5.2 times as many people as Australia (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Australia or Russia?
People in Australia live 9.6 years longer than in Russia. Life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years in Australia and 73.4 in Russia.
Are people taller in Australia or Russia?
Men in Australia are 2.1 cm taller than in Russia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
