Short facts about the economy in Russia
| Economy -
overview: |
A decade after the implosion of the
Soviet Union in 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market
economy and achieve strong economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners
in Central Europe - which were able to overcome the initial production declines
that accompanied the launch of market reforms within three to five years -
Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature
dithered over the implementation of many of the basic foundations of a market
economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but the government's
stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor business climate made it
vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis
culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the
government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the
population. The economy rebounded in 1999 and 2000, buoyed by the competitive
boost from the weak ruble and a surging trade surplus fueled by rising world oil
prices. This recovery, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 to advance
lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over
Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet serious problems
persist. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities,
particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for over 80% of
exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's
agricultural sector remains beset by uncertainty over land ownership rights,
which has discouraged needed investment and restructuring. Another threat is
negative demographic trends, fueled by low birth rates and a deteriorating
health situation - including an alarming rise in AIDS cases - that have
contributed to a nearly 2% drop in the population since 1992. Russia's
industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized
if the country is to achieve sustainable economic growth. Other problems include
widespread corruption, capital flight, and brain
drain. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $1.12
trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real
growth rate: |
6.3% (2000
est.) |
| GDP - per
capita: |
purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2000
est.) |
| GDP -
composition by sector: |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 34%
services: 59% (1999
est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
40% (1999
est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 38.7%
(1998) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
20.6% (2000
est.) |
| Labor
force: |
66 million
(1997) |
| Labor force
- by occupation: |
agriculture 15%, industry 30%, services
55% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
10.5% (2000 est.), plus considerable
underemployment |
| Budget: |
revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $33.7 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
complete range of mining and extractive
industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine
building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles;
shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment;
agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power
generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments;
consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs,
handicrafts |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
8.8% (2000
est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
798.065 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 66.31%
hydro: 19.79%
nuclear:
13.9%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
728.2 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
20 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
6 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed,
vegetables, fruits; beef, milk |
| Exports: |
$105.1 billion (2000
est.) |
| Exports -
commodities: |
petroleum and petroleum products,
natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of
civilian and military manufactures |
| Exports -
partners: |
US 8.8%, Germany 8.5%, Ukraine 6.5%,
Belarus 5.1%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4.8% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$44.2 billion (2000
est.) |
| Imports -
commodities: |
machinery and equipment, consumer
goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal
products |
| Imports -
partners: |
Germany 13.8%, Belarus 10.7%, Ukraine
8.3%, US 7.9%, Kazakhstan 4.6%, Italy 3.8%
(1999) |
| Debt -
external: |
$163 billion (2000
est.) |
| Economic aid
- recipient: |
$8.523 billion
(1995) |
| Currency: |
Russian ruble
(RUR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Russian rubles per US dollar - 28.3592
(January 2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999), 9.7051 (1998), 5,785 (1997),
5,121 (1996)
note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to
1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year | Source: World Factbook |
