The Neva River is the city's main waterway The name of the river derives from the ancient name of Lake Ladoga, the Neva where it begins. St. Petersburg is situated in the North-West of Russia in the Neva River delta on the Eastern coast of the Gulf of Finland and occupies, together with the administratively subordinated territories, the terri-tory of 1439 square kilometres. The city is located on 44 islands formed by the Neva River and 90 more rivers and canals. The abundance of islands has led to the construction of a multitude of bridges. The total length of all the bridges is ;about 16 kilometers. The longest bridge across the Neva is the Alexander Nevsky Bridge (909 meters with runways), the widest bridge is the Siniy Bridge on the Moika River (99.5 meters). The highest elevation equals 42 meters above the sea level (Poklonnaya Gora).

Neighbouring countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ger-many, Denmark (The Baltic Sea Region). The neighbouring Russian regions: Leningrad Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Vologda Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast and Republic of Karelia. Distance to the nearest cities: Helsinki - 383 km, Stockholm - about 700 km. The city is advantageously located at the sea routes and on land roads (12 radii of railroads and 11 highways). This is the European gateway gate-way of Russia, it's a strategic centre which is closest to the European Union countries of Russia, it's a strategic centre which is closest to the Euro-pean Union countries. Natural and Economical Resoutrces Water resources - fresh surface waters and underground waters. The surface fresh waters are concentrated in the columbine of the water system "Lake Ladoga - the Neva River - the Neva Inlet -the Gulf of Finland".

Population. 4.70 min inhabitants as of 01.01.2000 (which makes approximately 3% of the Russian population). 2.8 min people of labour force. (See also:Human Resources - Labour Code Issues).

• Birth rate in 1999 - 6.2 per 1000 inhabitants.
• Death rate in 1999 -15.4 per 1000 inhabitants.
• Gender distribution as of 01.01.99: men - 45.1%; women - 54.9%.
• Registered pensioners as of 01.01.2000 -1250.4 thousand.
• Unemployment rate - 0.9% (official data).
• The number of the officially registered unemployed as of 01.01.2000 - 22.8 thousand people.
• Average monthly salary, including social support, made 2.9 thousand Roubles in December 1999 (approximately 107 USD).
• Average monthly income per capita in 1999 -1718 Roubles (69.8 USD).

Since 1996 the unemployment level reduced twice. At present it makes 0,9% from the amount of the active population, which is twice lower than the average ratio in Russia.

St. Petersburg is one of the three out of the 89 regions of Russia where the unemployment allowance has been paid otf duly and in the full scope.

In 1999 the number of vacancies announced by employers increased by 2,5 times. This shows the general tendency towards the improvement of the social-economical situation in St. Petersburg, the revival of the financial system and the development of the real sector of the economy in the region.

According to the participants of the market and the recruiting agencies, the regular salary of the office employees in St. Petersburg makes at present 150-200 USD, of the middle-level managers and high-level specialists - 200-500 USD, of the top managers and top-level specialists - up to 3,000 USD.

Religion. As of 1 November 1996, 330 religious associations were regestred in the city, 238 of which are traditional.

[source: petersburgcity.com]