The dependence of the absorption coefficient of an electromagnetic wave on the spatial scale of plasma inhomogeneity is studied. It is shown that this dependence has two maxima: the first maximum corresponds to the spatial scale of inhomogeneity that is about the length of the spatial dispersion v_T/ω and the second - resonant absorption - corresponds to the inhomogeneity scale that is about the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave c/ω. The first maximum occurs when the inequality v_T/ω > c/ω_p, where ω_p is the plasma frequency corresponding to the interior plasma, is satisfied. The analytical dependence obtained is compared with the results of numerical modeling.