A brief guide to Russia economy, Russia economy overview, Inflation rates GDP and other economic indicators in Russia.
Despite rich natural resources in addition to a skilled and educated labor force, the Russian economy has not succeeded in achieving its potential, because of the slow pace of industrial rehabilitation and the lack of confidence in the banking system, among other reasons.
The main sources of Russia's GDP are services(60%),industry(35%) and agriculture(5%).
More than 50% of exports are from oil and gas. Metal is another significant export.
The main imports are made up of machinery and equipment. Other significant imports are agricultural inputs and food.
In the year 2003, the main export, some 8.6%, was to Germany. Exports to Italy in that year amounted to 6.3% of the total. Approximately 6.2% of Russia's exports reached China. 15.7% of the imports that year were from Germany. Other significant sources of imports are Belarus and China each of which account for 7% of the total imports.
From the aspect of natural resources, considerable deposits of oil and gas, coal, precious metals, iron, copper and zinc are to be found in Russia as well as large tracts of timber.
An analysis of the main economic indices shows that the GDP increased in 2003. The annual rate of inflation for 2003 is down compared to the years 1988 - 1999! The main problem in the Russian economy is the rate of unemployment. In recent years, this has decreased to 8.5% in 2003.
The per capita GDP for the year 2003 (ppp) is 8,900 dollars, which is significantly lower than that of the developed countries in the west.
