Russia

Economic and political outline

Economic indicators | Foreign Trade in figures | Sources of economic information | Political outline

Economic indicators

For several years now, Russian growth has been dynamic and stable around 7%. According to the IMF, the growth rate of the GDP was 6.7% in 2006 and will be about 7.0% in 2007 and 6.8% in 2008.
This growth is drawn from hydrocarbon exports, but domestic demand is also strong, especially due to the rise in salaries. The main threats to growth are linked to mastering inflation which is still high (9.7% in 2006, 7.7% in 2007) and, in the longer term, to the drop in population.
Tax reductions have been planned for the next few years, in order to favor the diversification of the economy through investment while regaining some balance. A stabilization fund has been set up to modernize infrastructures, the education and health systems, as well as agriculture.
The unemployment rate has dropped sharply over the last few years and is about 7%, but disparities are still marked, in particular between big cities and rural areas. In spite of an emerging middle class in towns, the poverty rate is still 16%.

GDP Indicators	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (billions USD)	591.86	764.07	984.93	1,223.73e	1,480.18e
GDP (constant prices, annual % change)	7.2	6.4	6.7	7.0e	6.5e
GDP per capita (USD)	4,104.44	5,324.52	6,897.23	8,611.67e	10,467.50e
Inflation rate (%)	10.9	12.7	9.7	8.1e	7.5e
Unemployment rate (% of the labor force)	n.c.	7.6	7.2	6.2	n.c.
Current Account (billions USD)	59.51	84.44	95.32	72.54e	49.18e
Current Account (in % of GDP)	10.1	11.1	9.7	5.9e	3.3e

Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database; OECD

Note: (e) Estimated data

Socio-demographic indicators	2005	2006	2007
Unemployment rate (%)	7.6	7.2	6.2

Source:

Main sectors of industry

Russia has a wealth of natural resources. It is the leading producer of natural gas and the second producer of petroleum in the world; it is also one of the main producers and exporters of diamonds, nickel and platinum.
In spite of its size, Russia has relatively little land suitable for agriculture because of unfavorable climatic conditions. The northern regions of the country concentrate mainly on livestock, the southern regions and western Siberia produce cereals.
Russia has inherited most of the industrial bases of the Soviet Union. The most well developed sectors are chemicals, metallurgy, mechanical construction and defense.
Since the financial crises in 1998, the banking sector has not yet been completely restructured. Given the size of the country, the sectors of transport, communications and also trade are especially extensive.

Breakdown of economic activity by sector	Agriculture	Industry	Services
Value added (annual % change)	1.1	4.1	7.6
Value added (in % of GDP)	5.6	38.0	56.4
Employment by sector (in % of total employment)	10.2	29.8	60.0

Source: World Bank - World Development Indicators - last available data.

Monetary indicators	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Average annual exchange rate for 1 USD	31.35	30.69	28.81	28.28	27.19

Source: World Bank - World Development Indicators

Foreign trade in figures

The country is open to foreign trade in spite of the nationalistic attitude of its leaders and strict legislation and tariff policies. Russia is the 13th world exporter and the 18th importer.

Foreign trade indicators	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Imports of goods (millions USD)	60,966	76,070	97,382	125,434	164,692
Exports of goods (millions USD)	107,301	135,929	183,207	243,798	303,926
Imports of services (millions USD)	23,497	27,122	33,732	39,435	45,268
Exports of services (millions USD)	13,611	16,229	20,356	24,593	30,340
Imports of goods and services (annual % change)	14.6	17.7	22.0	17.3	20.2
Exports of goods and services (annual % change)	10.3	12.5	11.8	6.3	4.3
Imports of goods and services (in % of GDP)	24.4	23.8	22.1	21.5	20.2
Exports of goods and services (in % of GDP)	35.2	35.2	34.4	35.1	33.3
Trade Balance (millions USD)	46,335	59,860	85,825	118,364	139,234
Trade Balance (including service) (millions USD)	36,449	48,966	72,449	103,523	124,306
Current Account (millions USD)	29,116	35,410	59,003	83,836	94,467
Current Account (in % of GDP)	8.4	8.2	10.0	11.0	9.6
Foreign trade (in % of GDP)	59.6	59.0	56.5	56.6	53.5

Source: World Bank - World Development Indicators

Main partner countries

Main customers (% of exports)	2006
Netherlands	11.9%
Italy	8.3%
Germany	8.1%
China	5.2%
Ukraine	5.0%

Main suppliers (% of imports)	2006
Germany	13.4%
China	9.4%
Ukraine	6.7%
Japan	5.7%
Belarus	5.0%

Source: 2006

Main products

Main exports (% of exports)	2006
Mineral fuels, mineral oils	63.0%
Iron and steel	5.9%
Aluminum	2.5%
Wood and articles of wood, wood charcoal	2.2%

Main imports (% of imports)	2006
Machinery and mechanical appliances	15.9%
Vehicles other than railway or tramway	13.6%
Electrical machinery and equipment	10.8%
Pharmaceutical products	4.5%

Source: 2006

To see more products: More imports (Intracen Data)
More exports (Intracen Data)

Sources of economic information

Ministries: Gouvernement Russe Ministère de l'Agriculture Ministère du Développement économique et du Commerce Ministère des Affaires étrangères Ministère des Finances
Statistical Office: Goskomstat
Central Bank: Russian Central Bank
Stock Exchange: Russian Trading System
Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange
Online newspapers: St Petersburg Times
The Moscow Times
Kommersant
Expert (in Russian)
RIA-Novosti (in French)
Search Engines: Russia on the Net
Atrus
Radio Free Liberty
Rambler
Russia.com
Spravki.net
Tela
Yandex

Political outline

Executive Power: The President is the Head of State. He is elected by universal suffrage for four years. He is the commander-in-chief of the army and is the real center of power in the country. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. He is appointed by the President, with the approval of the lower house of Parliament, and manages the everyday business of the country.
Legislative Power: Russia has a two-chamber legislative power. The Parliament, called the Federal Assembly, is composed of: the Council of the Federation (upper chamber), which has 78 seats and the members are appointed by the regional governors and legislative institutions, for a four-year term of office; and the State Douma (lower chamber), which has 450 seats; its members are elected by direct universal suffrage from partisan lists, for a four-year term.
Main political parties: Russia is a State with one dominant party - United Russia (a centrist party) which is in power. Opposition parties are authorized but they do not really have any chance of gaining power. The other important parties in the country are:
- The CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) – a nationalist and communist party;
A Just Russia (born of the merger between Rodina, the Russian Life party and the Russian Pensioners' party in 2006) - a center-left party, an ally of United Russia;
The LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) - an extreme right nationalist political party;
- The SPS (Union of right-wing forces) - associated with reforms leading towards the free market economy and privatization, it supports western-style capitalism.
Current political leaders: President: Dmitri MEDVEDEV (elected on May 2008) – Independent
Prime Minister: Vladimir PUTIN (since May 2008) – Last president. United Russia Party President.
Next election dates: Presidential election: March 2012