Irkutsk Oblast

The Irkutsk Oblast, Russia is located in south-eastern Siberia in the basins of Angara, Lena and Nizhnaya Tunguska rivers, and occupies an area of 774,000 km² (4.6 percent of Russia's territory). The Irkutsk Oblast borders with the Buryat and Tuva Republics in the south and south-west, the Krasnoyarsk Krai in the west, the Sakha (Yakut) Republic in the northeast, and the Chita Oblast in the east. A unique and world-famous lake, Lake Baikal, is located in the southeast of the region.

The climate is continental. Almost half the year the temperature is below 0C. Winter is frosty, and the temperature is generally from -17�C to -33�C. Summer is hot, short, and dry in the first half, and humid in the second. The temperature is generally between +17�C and +33�C.

The population of the region is 2.77 million, from which 79.6 percent are urban, and 20.4 percent are rural. The density of the population is 3.5 people per square kilometer, whereas the average density for Russia is 8.7. Irkutsk is the administrative center, with a population of 594,500. Other large cities are Angarsk (267,000 people), Bratsk (253,600 people), Usolie-Sibirskoe (104,300 people), and Ust-Ilimsk (107,200 people). The average wage in the Irkutsk Oblast is about 1,800 rubles (US$72).