Far Eastern economic region: characteristics and features

The Far Eastern economic region is the largest territorial unit of Russia, occupying an area of more than six million square kilometers with a population of more than 7 million people. It includes the Chukchi and Koryak autonomous regions, Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, Magadan, Sakhalin, Amur, Kamchatka and Sakha.

The Far Eastern economic region is a third of the Russian Federation, where there is weak development, remoteness from industrial centers. The border of the territory is located in the neighborhood with China and North Korea, as well as by sea with the United States and Japan.

Long distances, a harsh climate, the spread of permafrost slows down the economic development of the region. The considerable distance and insufficiently developed system of transport communications makes expensive delivery and export of goods to other industrial regions of Russia, which negatively affects the economy. However, the maritime status makes it economically profitable to trade with the countries of the Asia-Pacific zone.

Natural resources have an exceptional variety, which is associated with a huge area. From the south to the north, the climate zones change: from forest, forest-tundra to tundra and arctic desert. Minerals are represented by deposits of coal, natural gas, iron ore, oil, stocks of rare and non-ferrous metals, gold and diamonds.

The population has an extreme uneven distribution, associated with harsh natural conditions, a weak development of the transport system, remoteness from the center. The southern territories are the most densely populated - up to 14 people per km. Square (Sakhalin, Amur, south of the Khabarovsk Territory), the average density is 1.20 people per sq.km.

According to the national composition, the population is rather heterogeneous. The Far Eastern economic region is inhabited mainly by Russians, except for them are represented the indigenous nationalities: the Chukchi, Eskimos, Itelmen, Koryaks, Nanais, Aleuts, Evenks, Yakuts, Udege and others. Indigenous peoples still preserve the traditional way of life and are engaged in reindeer herding, fishing and hunting. The urbanization coefficient of the district is 76 percent.

The economy of the Russian regions is represented by various specializations. In the Far East, the main are the processing and extraction of non-ferrous metals, diamonds, timber, fish, pulp and paper, ship repair and shipbuilding. The metallurgical complex is based on the extraction and processing of mercury, tin, tungsten, polymetals, arsenic. The diamond mining industry, which is located in Yakutia, is developing at an accelerated pace. Gold is also important - the oldest branch of the region's economy . In Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a steel plant was put into operation.

In the southern part of the region, the woodworking and timber industries developed . They produce cellulose, paper, lumber and fiberboard. The main wood processing centers are located in Birobidzhan, Khabarovsk, Blagoveshchensk and Vladivostok.

The Far Eastern economic region has a diverse structure of mechanical engineering, the leading role of which belongs to ship repair and the production of equipment for energy. In addition, the region produces ship devices, machinery, machinery, diesels and cranes.

The Far East leads the catch of fish. It produces salmon, crab, saury and other fish species. Agriculture is engaged in the production of soybeans, grains and rice growing. In the south, cattle are grown , in the north - reindeer. However, the region's need for meat is not covered on its own.

Despite the extraction of oil, gas and coal, the region lacks electricity due to the imperfect structure of the TEB. Therefore, the main direction for the development of the economy should be the improvement of the structure of gas and oil supply.