Russia’s largest city and capital is Moscow[a]. The city, which is located in Central Russia on the Moskva River, is home to an estimated 13 million people within its city borders, 18.8 million people in its urban area, and 21.5 million people in its metropolitan region. The urban area is 5,891 square kilometers (2,275 sq mi), the metropolitan region is more than 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 sq mi), and the city itself is 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi). Moscow is one of the biggest cities in the world because it is the most populous city in all of Europe, the largest urban and metropolitan region in Europe, and the largest city on the European continent in terms of land area.