The Chukotka Republic located at the northeasternmost extreme of the Asian continent (territory is 733 000 square km), is a sparsely populated region with physical features typical of the Arctic tundra and tundra-taiga transitional zones. The population is approximately 160,000. 10% of whom are aboriginal, including about 12,200 Chukchi, 1400 Eskimos, 1100 Evens and smaller number of Yakagir, Koryak, chuvan and others. The traditional activities of the Native population are reindeer herding, hunting and fishing, but an incresed pace of industrialization and urbanization has resulted in substantial social and economic changes.