
Belarus Economy
Belarus Economy: A summary of information about Belarus Economy, from government research data as well as independent research and other sources.
Belarus: Economy
Economy - overview
Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO re-imposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
GDP
purchasing power parity - $55.2 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
1.5% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $5,300 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 23% industry: 28% services: 49% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line
22% (1995 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
295% (1999 est.)
Labor force
4.3 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation
industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate
2.3% officially registered unemployed (December 1998); large number of underemployed workers
Budget
revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Industries
metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, TV sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Industrial production growth rate
8% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production
21.893 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 99.89% hydro: 0.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption
28.66 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports
2.3 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports
10.6 billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products
grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Exports
$6 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners
Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998)
Imports
$6.4 billion (c.i.f., 1999)
Imports - commodities
mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners
Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998)
Debt - external
$1.1 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$194.3 million (1995)
Currency
Belarusian rubel (BR)
Exchange rates
Belarusian rubels per US$1 - 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (2nd qtr 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996), 11,500 (yearend 1995)
Fiscal year
calendar year