Economy of Belarus
|
|
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYN) |
|---|---|
| Calendar year | |
|
Trade organisations
|
CIS |
| Statistics | |
| GDP |
 $82 billion (2015 est.) $173 billion (PPP; 2017 est.) |
| GDP rank | 72nd (2017, PPP) |
|
GDP growth
|
 -3.5% (2015) |
|
GDP per capita
|
$5,000(nominal;2016) $17,000 (PPP; 2016) |
|
GDP by sector
|
agriculture (9.1%), industry (47.2%), services (43.7%) (2012 est.) |
|
GDP by component
|
household consumption: 46.7% government consumption: 14.6% investment in fixed capital: 32.8% investment in inventories: 1.6% exports of goods and services: 81.6% imports of goods and services: -77.1% (2012 est.) |
| 21.8% (Dec 2011—Dec 2012) 59.2% (2012 average) 20.5% (2013 average; proj.) |
|
|
Population below poverty line
|
27.1% (2003 est.) 10% (2008 est.) 7.3% (2011 est.) |
 27.7 (2010 est.)26.5 (2011 est.) |
|
|
Labour force
|
4.5 million (2011 est.) |
|
Labour force by occupation
|
agriculture (9.4%), industry (45.9%), services (44.7%) (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment | 1% (2009 est.; only officially registered as unemployed included) |
|
Average gross salary
|
BYN 8,600/€4,300/$4,800, annual (2016) |
| BYN 7,400/€3,600/$4,000, annual (2016) | |
|
Main industries
|
petrochemicals, potash, foodstuffs, timber, metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, synthetic fibers, fertilizers, textiles, radios, refrigerators Agriculture prod.: grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
|
37th (2017) |
|
| External | |
| Exports |
$52 billion (2012 est.; BoP) |
|
Export goods
|
machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
|
Main export partners
|
 Russia 42.2% Ukraine 11.3% UK 8.2% Netherlands 4.8% Germany 4.6% (2014 est.) |
| Imports |
$49 billion (2012 est.; BoP) |
|
Import goods
|
mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
|
Main import partners
|
Russia 54.6% Germany 6.0% China 5.8% Ukraine 4.1% (2014 est.) |
|
FDI stock
|
$10 billion (2012 est.) |
|
Gross external debt
|
$34 billion (31 December 2012 est.) |
| Public finances | |
|
35.6% of GDP (2013) |
|
| Revenues | $22 billion (2012 est.) |
| Expenses | $22 billion (2012 est.) |
| B+ (Domestic) B (Foreign) B (T&C Assessment) (Standard & Poor's) |
|
|
Foreign reserves
|
$8 billion (July 2013)$7 billion (2013 proj.) |
$5,000(nominal;2016)
household consumption: 46.7% government consumption: 14.6% investment in fixed capital: 32.8% investment in inventories: 1.6% exports of goods and services: 81.6%
petrochemicals, potash, foodstuffs, timber, metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, synthetic fibers, fertilizers, textiles, radios, refrigerators
After the fall of the Soviet Union, all former Soviet republics faced a deep economic crisis. Belarus has however chosen its own way of overcoming this crisis. After the 1994 election of Alexander Lukashenko as the first President, launched the country on the path of "market socialism" as opposed to what Lukashenko considered "wild capitalism" chosen by Russia at that time. In keeping with this policy, administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates were introduced. Also the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise was expanded, but on March 4, 2008, the President issues a decree abolishing the golden share rule in a clear movement to improve its international rating regarding the foreign investment.
As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus had a relatively well developed industrial base; it retained this industrial base following the break-up of the USSR. The country also has a broad agricultural base and a high education level. Among the former republics of the Soviet Union, it had one of the highest standards of living.
From 1991–1995, all sectors of the national economy were affected by the profound economic crisis, triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union. At first, this event triggered the end of traditional economic processes, the sharp drop in the economic capacity of enterprises and of the population of the republics of the former Soviet Union that were key consumers of Belarus products, cessation of financing from the Soviet Union’s military sector which accounted for a considerable share of Belarus’ industry, shocks of price liberalization, and, above all, outpacing growth in prices for raw materials and energy resources. Moreover, Belarus, like the rest of the former Soviet Union republics, was characterized by a general lack of preparedness of the country’s institution and society for the market system of relations. The sharp growth in prices for raw materials and energy resources revealed the technological weakness of the economy with its resource-intensive and low-quality output. At the same time, the weak competitiveness of the local products, legal inter-government restrictions, and absence of marketing and financial management skills prevented the country’s economic entities from making up for the drop in effective demand at the traditional markets through the conquer of new export markets.
...
Wikipedia