it is the ninth-largest country in the world by area, but it is only 62nd country in population, with approximately 6 persons per km² (15 per sq. mi.). Population in 2006 is estimated at 15,300,000, down from 16,464,464 in 1989 [1] due to the emigration of ethnic Russians and Volga Germans. Much of the country’s land consists of semi-desert (steppe) terrain.