As a result of considerable raw resources, especially gold, silver, tin, and tungsten deposits, mining activities and road building had been developed during the Stalin era in the 1930s and 1940s under the coordination of Dalstroy and its forced labor camps.

From then on, paid labor replaced most of the convict-based manpower, attracted by the region's rapid economic expansion, especially the gold-mining interests.

The indigenous peoples of the region, including the Evens, Koryaks, Yupiks, Chukchis, Orochs, Chuvans and Itelmens, who had traditionally lived from fishing along the Sea of Okhotsk coast or from reindeer herding in the River Kolyma valley, suffered from the industrialization of the area but were able to rely on institutional support until 1987 when Perestroika started to cause many of the older structures to close.

On 4 July 1997, Magadan, alongside Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Saratov, and Vologda signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy.

Coastal waters of the Sea of Okhotsk host notable biodiversity where large vertebrates such as bowhead whales[17] may appear, and have rich fishing grounds for pollock, herring, cod, flounder and salmon, as well as crabs and shellfish.

In April 2014 the Russian government has endorsed bills for extending the operations of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Magadan Oblast through to December 31, 2025.

The 600,000 square kilometers (230,000 sq mi) area of the Sea of Okhotsk that borders on Magadan Oblast is one of the most productive regions of the world's oceans.

[19] Owing to the severe climate, agriculture is Magadan Region's least developed economic sector; as a result, 50% of all food products must be supplied from outside.

The severe climate and poorly developed infrastructure are partly to blame, but the difficult transition from Soviet times has led to the collapse of a number of companies with the result that many inhabitants have left the region.

Indeed, on a visit to Magadan in November 2005, President Vladimir Putin supported the extension of special tax advantages for the region in order to encourage gold exploitation.

Emigration is evident from the fact that for the 20-24 age group, there were only 66 females living in rural areas, compared to 202 males.

In addition, 27% of the population declares itself to be "spiritual but not religious", 13% is atheist, and 20.4% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.