Siberia (; Russian: Сиби́рь, tr. Sibir', IPA: [sʲɪˈbʲirʲ] ( listen)) is an extensive geographical region, and by the broadest definition is also known as North Asia. Siberia has historically been a part of modern Russia since the 16th and 17th centuries.
The territory of Siberia extends eastwards from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between the Pacific and Arctic drainage basins. The Yenisei River conditionally divides Siberia into two parts, Western and Eastern. Siberia stretches southwards from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and to the national borders of Mongolia and China. With an area of 13.1 million square kilometres (5,100,000 sq mi), Siberia accounts for 77% of Russia 's land area, but it is home to just 40 million people —27% of the country 's population. This is equivalent to an average population density of about 3 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.8/sq mi) (approximately equal to that of Australia ), making Siberia one of the most sparsely populated regions on Earth. If it were a country by itself, it would still be the largest country in area, but in population it would be the world 's 35th-largest and Asia 's 14th-largest.
Worldwide, Siberia is well known primarily for its long, harsh winters, with a January average of −25 °C (−13 °F), as well as its extensive history of use by Russian and Soviet administrations as a place for prisons, labor camps, and exile.
