| Country Russia Administrative center Rostov-on-Don Federal subjects 8 contained Area 447,900 km² | Established May 18, 2000 Area rank 7th Economic regions 1 contained | |
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| Destinations Sochi, Volgograd, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don Clubs and Teams FC Rostov, FC Krasnodar Colleges and Universities Southern Federal University, Kuban State University, Rostov State University, Rostov State Medical, Kuban State Agrarian Points of interest Rosa Khutor Alpine Re, Mamayev Kurgan, The Motherland Calls, Oceanario de Sochi, Sochi Park | ||
The Southern Federal District (Russian: Ю́жный федера́льный о́круг, Yuzhny federalny okrug; [ˈjuʐnɨj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk]) is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. Its territory lies mostly on the Pontic-Caspian steppe. The Southern Federal District was originally called the North Caucasian Federal District when it was founded in May 2000, but was renamed soon after for political reasons. On January 19, 2010, the Southern Federal District was split in two, with its former southern territories forming a new North Caucasian Federal District.
Map of Southern Federal District, Russia
On July 28, 2016 Crimean Federal District (which contains the Republic of Crimea and the Federal city of Sevastopol) was abolished and merged into Southern Federal District in order to "improve the governance". Crimean Federal District was established on March 21, 2014 after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The federal district includes both the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol, both recognized as part of Ukraine by most of the international community. Ukraine considers the area, along with the areas of Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic, as temporarily occupied territories.
Its population was 13,854,334 (62.4% urban) according to the 2010 Census, living in an area of 420,900 square kilometers (162,500 sq mi).