Country comparison · 476 cities measured
Russia vs United States Air quality index (AQI) and deforestation
Russia has cleaner air than United States right now: its cities average AQI 32 against 42.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Russia 45 (9 cities) and United States 42 (284 cities), which puts United States ahead instead. Russia has lost more forest since 2001. Russia has more tree cover in its cities.
Average of 168 cities
AQI 32
Good
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 45
- Tree cover
- 34.1%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 91.7 million ha
Average of 308 cities
AQI 42
Good
Cleaner on average
- At ground stations
- AQI 42
- Tree cover
- 25.1%
- Forest lost since 2001
- 126 million acres (51 million ha)
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Russia32United States42
Head to head
Russia vs United States at a glance
Russia and United States are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Russia | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Average air qualityUS AQI, all measured cities. | 32 (better) | 42 |
| At ground stationsCities with a current station reading. | 45 | 42 (better) |
| Cities over AQI 100Not fine for sensitive groups. | 2% | 2% (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001The whole country. | 91.7 million ha | 126 million acres (51 million ha) (better) |
| Share of its forest lostOf what it had in 2000. | 12% (better) | 18% |
| Average tree coverAcross its measured cities. | 34.1% (better) | 25.1% |
Air quality today
Is Russia cleaner than United States?
On air quality, yes, right now. Russia has cleaner air than United States right now: its cities average AQI 32 against 42.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Russia 45 (9 cities) and United States 42 (284 cities), which puts United States ahead instead.
2% of the measured cities in Russia are over AQI 100 today, the point where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, against 2% in the United States.
How each country's cities split across the air quality bands
Russia
- Good132 (79%)
- Moderate33 (20%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups2 (1%)
- Unhealthy1 (1%)
United States
- Good192 (62%)
- Moderate111 (36%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups5 (2%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How do Russia and United States compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Russia average cleaner air than 85% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and those of the United States than 71%.
Cleaner air than…
- Russia
- Beats 85%
- United States
- Beats 71%
More tree cover than…
- Russia
- Beats 76%
- United States
- Beats 52%
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which country has lost more forest, Russia or United States?
Russia has lost more: about 91.7 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 126 million acres (51 million ha) in the United States, or 1.8 times as much. 1 million ha of Russia's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.
The whole country, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: unlike the city averages above, this counts every forest, not just the land around cities.
Worst year: 2021, with 6.49 million ha lost.
Worst year: 2004, with 6.77 million acres (2.74 million ha) lost.
| Russia | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 91.7 million ha | 126 million acres (51 million ha) (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 12% (better) | 18% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1 million ha (better) | 9.87 million acres (4 million ha) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Wildfires (73%) | Logging (62%) |
Trees
Which country has more tree cover, Russia or United States?
Russia does: its measured cities average 34.1% tree cover against 25.1%, a gap of 9.0 percentage points.
| Russia | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingSummed across measured cities. | 17.3M | 23.3M (better) |
| Cities below their targetShort of the canopy target. | 37% (better) | 64% |
| Trees still neededTo reach those targets. | 1.3M (better) | 8.2M |
Behind the averages
The cities behind Russia and United States
An average says nothing about how far apart the best and worst places are. These are the measured cities at each end.
Russia
- Greenest measured city
- Solikamsk73.3% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- KrasnoyarskAQI 52
United States
- Greenest measured city
- South Fulton71.7% tree cover
- Worst air right now
- East HamptonAQI 117
Reading these numbers
What a country average is, and is not
It is a mean of cities
Not a national statistic. Each figure is the average across the cities Airleaf has measured: 168 in Russia and 308 in the United States, each read over the same 2 km radius, on the US EPA index. Rural land and unmeasured towns are not in it.
Coverage shapes the number
A country measured mostly in its capital reads differently from one measured across dozens of towns. United States rests on 308 cities against 168, so its average is the steadier of the two. Forest figures come from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
Frequently asked
Russia vs United States: your questions answered
Is Russia cleaner than United States?
On air quality, yes, right now: Russia's cities average AQI 32 against 42 on the US EPA index. These are live readings averaged across cities, so the gap moves with the weather. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the averages are Russia 45 (9 cities) and United States 42 (284 cities), which puts United States ahead instead.
Which country has lost more forest, Russia or United States?
Russia has lost more: about 91.7 million ha of forest from 2001 to 2025, against 126 million acres (51 million ha) in the United States, or 1.8 times as much. 1 million ha of Russia's was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns; the rest burned, was logged or can grow back.
Which country has more tree cover, Russia or United States?
Russia does: its measured cities average 34.1% tree cover against 25.1%, a gap of 9.0 percentage points.
How many cities are the Russia and United States figures based on?
168 measured cities in Russia and 308 in the United States. Every one was read the same way, so the two averages are directly comparable, but a country with more measured cities has the more settled figure.
Why are there two air quality averages for each country?
The first covers every measured city, using a ground station where one is close and a model estimate everywhere else. The second counts only cities with a current station reading, which is measured rather than estimated but covers fewer places. Airleaf's world rankings use the station figures only.
Does this cover the whole of Russia and the United States?
The air and tree figures are not: they are the cities Airleaf has measured, each over the same 2 km radius, so treat them as a comparison of urban air and urban tree cover. The forest figures are: they count every forest in the country.
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