---
title: "France vs Russia — area, population, currency"
description: "France is 643,801 km² with 68,720,337 people; Russia is 17,098,242 km² with 143,513,328. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-russia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# France vs Russia

**France vs Russia: Russia is larger; Russia has more people**

643,801 km² vs 17,098,242 km² · 68,720,337 vs 143,513,328

Russia is 27 times larger than France — 17,098,242 against 643,801 km². Russia is 2.1 times more populous than France — 143,513,328 against 68,720,337 people.

## Side by side

|  | France | Russia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Paris | Moscow |
| Area | 643,801 km² | 17,098,242 km² |
| Population | 68,720,337 (2025) | 143,513,328 (2025) |
| Density | 106.7 /km² | 8.4 /km² |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | Russian ruble (RUB) |
| Official languages | French | Russian |
| Time zones | UTC+01:00 | UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00, UTC+04:00, UTC+05:00, UTC+06:00, UTC+07:00, UTC+08:00, UTC+09:00, UTC+10:00, UTC+11:00, UTC+12:00 |
| Calling code | +33 | +7 |
| Drives on the | right | right |
| Continent | Europe | Europe |
| ISO codes | FR / FRA | RU / RUS |

## Population density

France is 13 times more densely populated than Russia — 107 against 8 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

## Practical differences

- Different currencies: the Euro and the Russian ruble.
- Russia spans 11 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.

## France

Mont Blanc on the Italian border is 4,806 m, the highest point in western Europe. Counting its overseas departments, France spans twelve time zones — more than any other country — and its exclusive economic zone is the second largest in the world. The Gouffre Mirolda and other Alpine systems make it one of the great caving countries.

## Russia

The largest country in the world by land area, close to twice the size of the next one, and it spans eleven time zones. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lake on Earth at 1,642 m and holds roughly a fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water — more than all five North American Great Lakes combined. Russia and China each border fourteen countries, more than any other state.

> Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

## Common questions

### Is France bigger than Russia?

Russia is larger — 17,098,242 km² against 643,801 km².

### Which has more people, France or Russia?

Russia, with 143,513,328 against 68,720,337.

### What is the time difference between France and Russia?

France is UTC+01:00 and Russia is UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00, UTC+04:00, UTC+05:00, UTC+06:00, UTC+07:00, UTC+08:00, UTC+09:00, UTC+10:00, UTC+11:00, UTC+12:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [France](https://atoneplace.net/country/france/)
- [Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country/russia/)
- [India vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-russia/)
- [China vs France](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-france/)
- [China vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-russia/)
- [Japan vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-russia/)
- [Canada vs France](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-france/)
- [Canada vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-russia/)
- [Australia vs France](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-france/)
- [Australia vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-russia/)
- [New Zealand vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/new-zealand-vs-russia/)
- [France vs United States](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-united-states/)
- [France vs India](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-india/)
- [France vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-united-kingdom/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]