---
title: "Iran vs Russia — area, population, currency"
description: "Iran is 1,648,195 km² with 92,417,681 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/iran-vs-russia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Iran vs Russia

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

1,648,195 km² vs 17,098,242 km² · 92,417,681 vs 143,513,328

Russia is 10 times larger than Iran — 17,098,242 against 1,648,195 km². Russia is 1.6 times more populous than Iran — 143,513,328 against 92,417,681 people.

## Side by side

|  | Iran | Russia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Tehran | Moscow |
| Area | 1,648,195 km² | 17,098,242 km² |
| Population | 92,417,681 (2025) | 143,513,328 (2025) |
| Density | 56.1 /km² | 8.4 /km² |
| Currency | Iranian rial (IRR) | Russian ruble (RUB) |
| Official languages | Persian | Russian |
| Time zones | UTC+03:30 | 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 | +98 | +7 |
| Drives on the | right | right |
| Continent | Asia | Europe |
| ISO codes | IR / IRN | RU / RUS |

## Population density

Iran is 6.7 times more densely populated than Russia — 56 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 Iranian rial and the Russian ruble.
- Russia spans 11 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.
- Different continents — Asia and Europe.

## Iran

The Lut Desert has recorded the highest land surface temperatures ever measured from orbit, around 80 °C. Iran is largely a high plateau ringed by mountains — the Zagros and the Alborz, where Damavand reaches 5,610 m, the highest volcano in Asia. The qanat, an underground irrigation tunnel, has been used here for around 3,000 years.

## 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 Iran bigger than Russia?

Russia is larger — 17,098,242 km² against 1,648,195 km².

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

Russia, with 143,513,328 against 92,417,681.

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

Iran is UTC+03:30 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

- [Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country/iran/)
- [Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country/russia/)
- [India vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-russia/)
- [India vs Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-iran/)
- [China vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-russia/)
- [China vs Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-iran/)
- [Japan vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-russia/)
- [Canada vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-russia/)
- [Canada vs Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-iran/)
- [Australia vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-russia/)
- [Australia vs Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-iran/)
- [New Zealand vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/new-zealand-vs-russia/)
- [France vs Russia](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-russia/)
- [France vs Iran](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-iran/)

## 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]