The number of municipalities is 1019. The capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan is the city of Ufa. The population in the city of Ufa is 1036.8 thousand people. Major cities include Sterlitamak (265.5 thousand people), Salavat (157 thousand people), Neftekamsk (129.3 thousand people with subordinate settlements) and Oktyabrsky (107.8 thousand people).

There are three nature reserves in the republic (Bashkir, South Ural and Shulgan-Tash), 12 preserves for the protection of medicinal plants, 15 hunting reserves, Bashkiria National Park, two nature parks and more than 150 natural monuments. The total area of specially protected natural territories of the Republic of Bashkortostan is 1226 thousand hectares (8.5% of the total area). The Republic of Bashkortostan borders with the Republic of Tatarstan, the Udmurt Republic, Perm Territory, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Orenburg Regions.

The most common religions are Islam and Orthodoxy.

The republic has nine religious centers, 1,445 religious organizations in more than 22 different religious directions. There are more than 900 mosques, 200 Orthodox churches, 60 religious buildings of other faiths. In particular, there are two Jewish communities in Ufa (originated in 1993 and 2000).

Orthodoxy and Islam are the leading faiths, their associations comprise more than 89% of the total number of religious organizations: about 67% are Islam, 22% are Orthodoxy. Protestant formations are about 11%.

The main Muslim center of Bashkortostan is the cathedral mosque-madrassah "Lala-Tulip", which was erected in 1989. The mosque has a very unusual appearance - the shape and color of the main building resembles a blossoming tulip, and the minarets are buds. This is no accidental resemblance - since ancient times, this particular flower has been a symbol of the Turkic people. According to a legend, inside the tulip bud lies happiness.

1. The region is rich in minerals. The total number of mineral deposits exceeds three thousand. These are oil, gas, coal, ferrous metal ores (iron ores, manganese, chromites); non-ferrous metal ores (copper, lead, aluminum, zinc, gold, bauxite); rare metal ores (tungsten, tin); non-metallic minerals (rock crystal, fluorite, Icelandic spar, sulfur pyrite, barite, silicates, silica, asbestos, talc); precious, ornamental and natural stones (malachite, Jasper, granite).
Mining and processing of minerals

The Republic of Bashkortostan is one of the oldest oil-producing regions of Russia.
3% of Russian oil, including gas condensate, is produced in Bashkortostan. The Republic holds the 9th place among the regions of Russia with the largest production volumes and the 1st place in terms of primary oil refining.

2. The region has significant forest resources. The total land area of the forest fund of Bashkortostan is 6.2 million ha, including 5 million ha of forest land. The total timber reserves in the forests of the republic are estimated at 717.9 million m³.

3. The land fund of the region is 14.3 million hectares. The largest share in the structure of the republic’s land falls on agricultural land. The main agricultural regions of the republic are located in a moderately warm agro-climatic zone. The area of ​​agricultural land is more than 7 million hectares. The Republic ranks seventh among the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in terms of gross agricultural output. Bashkortostan has developed meat and dairy farming, poultry farming, horse breeding, and beekeeping. Bashkir honey is widely known in Russia.

5. The presence of the Ural Mountains, healing mineral waters, healing muds, contributes to the creation of resorts and sanatoriums in the region: the Yangan-Tau, Zelenaya Roscha, Krasnousolsk, Yumatovo sanatoriums (the only kumysolebnitsa in the country), “Yakty-Kul ”,“Assy”, as well as a wide network of tourist centers with various types of recreation: horseback riding, skiing, rafting.

6. Bashkortostan ranks second in Russia in terms of synthetic rubber production, and third in caustic soda. Over 120 types of chemical products are exported. The republic also specializes in the extraction and concentration of ores with the production of copper and zinc concentrates, precious metals.

The republic is located on the border of Europe and Asia at the intersection of the most important water, rail, pipeline and automobile highways connecting the European part of the country with the Urals, Siberia and the countries of Central Asia. The Republic has favorable opportunities for the import and export of raw materials, fuel and finished products, as well as for the development of economic ties and interaction with many countries due to the presence of the following transport and logistics factors:

• the Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the territory of the republic, connecting Central Russia with Siberia, the Far East and the countries of Central Asia;
• the republic has access to five seas (the Caspian, Azov, Black, Baltic and White) through the rivers Belaya, Kama and Volga; also in the Republic is a port of the "river-sea" class Agidel;
• The territory of the region is crossed by two federal highways - M5 Ural and M7 Volga, as well as the R-240 Ufa-Orenburg highway. The Republic of Bashkortostan has the longest road network among the subjects of the Volga Federal District.

In the rating of investment attractiveness of Russian regions of the Expert RA agency for 2017, the Republic of Bashkortostan improved its position by two points and entered the group of regions with medium potential and minimal risks (""2A"").
According to the investment potential of the Russian regions, the Republic of Bashkortostan takes the 11th place in the indicated rating for 2017. The international rating agency Fitch Rating in 2017 confirmed the long-term credit rating of the Republic of Bashkortostan at the level of ""BBB-"" with a stable outlook.

The rating of this investment category reflects the ability of the assessed entity to timely fulfill its financial obligations and confirms its high budget performance achieved through diversification of the economy.

At the end of 2017, Bashkortostan was in the 8th place in the National Event Event Potential Rating of Russia. In the same year, the main congress venue of the republic Congress Hall was recognized the best in the nomination "The Best Congress and Business Center of Russia", and last year it became a nominee (according to the annual professional award in the field of business tourism and MICE - Russian Business Travel & MICE Award) .

Following the results of work in 2017, the Bashkortostan Congress Bureau was awarded the special nomination “Perspective of the Year” for the professional meeting industry award EFEA Awards.
Ufa took 2nd place in the ranking of the 7 most promising Russian megacities of 2017.
In 2017, the Republic of Bashkortostan took 11th place in the ranking of the socio-economic situation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

"The Rating" information communications center and the "Tourism & Leisure in Russia" magazine conducted the fourth annual study on the development of domestic and inbound tourism, the tourist attractiveness of Russian regions, their tourist potential and popularity among domestic and foreign tourists. According to the results of the National tourist rating - 2018, the Republic of Bashkortostan entered the "Golden twenty" and took the 10th place. In three years, the Republic has moved from the third ten to the top 10 best regions for tourism development.

SCO BRICS Small Business Forum

For the first time, the Forum was held in 2015 as part of the VII BRICS summit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit held in parallel with it (July 8–9, 2015) and established itself as a professional platform in the SCO and BRICS space for discussing issues of accelerated business development through partnerships between companies in the regions of the SCO and BRICS member states, as well as strengthening and developing interregional ties, attracting investments and increasing the number of joint business projects.

Russian Petrochemical Forum and International Exhibition "Gas. Oil. Technologies"

This is the largest business platform for the industry with the participation of leading experts at the federal and regional levels, representing government agencies, research institutes and leading Russian companies. The program of the Russian Petrochemical and Chemical Forum includes a plenary meeting, international conferences, sections, seminars, round tables, and thematic meetings.

"Dairy Country" Festival

The largest family holiday in Russia dedicated to milk and dairy products. The program includes an official part, a concert program, a business program and a wide variety of interactive venues. At Dairy Country 2019, visitors drank 60,000 welcome glasses of milk (12 tons), purchased 47 tons of whole milk products, 5 tons of butter, 3.6 tons of cheese, 2.3 tons of ice cream, 4.1 tons of koumiss, 18 thousand tins of condensed milk! The festival’s guests will enjoy traditional entertainments, such as a dairy registry office, a cheese maker contest, a dairy circus, attractions, a sports ground, a cafe and a food court, a dairy fair, a dairy farm, master classes, concerts, etc.