Statistical information Russia 1996

Russia in the World
top of pageBackground: The defeat of the Russian Empire in World War I led to the seizure of power by the communists and the formation of the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1924-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 broke up the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social political and economic controls of the communist period.
top of pageLocation: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinatesMap referenceAreaTotal: 17,075,200 km²
Land: 16,995,800 km²
Comparative: slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the U.S.
Land boundaries: Total 20,139 km, Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 290 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Coastline: 37,653 km
Maritime claimsContinental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: Ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast
Terrain: Broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
ElevationExtremes lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
Extremes highest point: Mount El'brus 5,633 m
Natural resources:
Wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil
Natural gas
Coal
And many strategic minerals
Timber
Note: Formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
Land useArable land: 8%
Permanent crops: NEGL%
Permanent pastures: 5%
Forests and woodland: 45%
Other: 42%
Irrigated land: 56,000 km² (1992)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographytop of pagePopulation:
148,178,487 (July 1996 est.)
149,909,089 (July 1995 est.)
Note: Official Russian statistics put the population at 148,200,000 for 1994
Growth rate:-0.07% (1996 est.)
0.2% (1995 est.)
Growth rate note: Official Russian statistics put the population growth rate at -6.0% for 1994
NationalityNoun: Russian(s)
Adjective: Russian
Ethnic groups:
Russian 81.5%
Tatar 3.8%
Ukrainian 3%
Chuvash 1.2%
Bashkir 0.9%
Byelorussian 0.8%
Moldavian 0.7%
Other 8.1%
Languages: Russian, other
Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
Demographic profileAge structure0-14 years:21% (male 15,792,573; female 15,213,854)
22% (male 16,784,017; female 16,208,640)
15-64 years:67% (male 48,145,679; female 51,125,902)
66% (male 48,247,101; female 50,711,209)
65 years and over:12% (male 5,403,066; female 12,497,413) (July 1996 est.)
12% (male 5,400,675; female 12,557,447) (July 1995 est.)
Dependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate:
-0.07% (1996 est.)
0.2% (1995 est.)
Note: Official Russian statistics put the population growth rate at -6.0% for 1994
Birth rate:
10.15 births/1000 population (1996 est.)
12.64 births/1000 population (1995 est.)
9.5 births per l,000 population (1994)
Death rate:
16.34 deaths/1000 population (1996 est.)
11.36 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)
15.5 deaths/1000 population (1994)
Net migration rate:
5.47 migrant(s)/1000 population (1996 est.)
0.7 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination
Current issues Natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula
International agreements: party to_Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified_Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the sea
International agreements note: Largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture
Air pollutantsSex ratioAt birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.43 male(s)/female
All ages: 0.88 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Mothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rateInfant Mortality Rate:24.7 deaths/1000 live births (1996 est.)
26.4 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)
Note: Official Russian statistics put the infant mortality rate at 19.9 deaths per l,000 live births in 1994
Life expectancy at birthTotal population: 63.24 years (1996 est.), 69.1 years (1995 est.)
Male: 56.51 years (1996 est.), 64.1 years (1995 est.)
Female: 70.31 years (1996 est.), 74.35 years (1995 est.)
Note: Official Russian statistics put life expectancy at birth as 64 years for total population in 1994
Total fertility rate:
1.42 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracyDefinition: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
Total population: 98%
Male: 100%
Female: 97%
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: Russian Federation
Conventional short form: Russia
Local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
Local short form: Rossiya
Former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Government type: Federation
Capital: Moscow
Administrative divisions: 21 autonomous republics (avtomnykh respublik, singular_avtomnaya respublika); Adygea (Maykop), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashia (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Gorno-Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Ingushetia (Nazran'), Kabardino-Balkaria (Nal'chik), Kalmykia (Elista), Karachay-Cherkessia (Cherkessk), Karelia (Petrozavodsk), Khakassia (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mari El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordovia (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tuva (Kyzyl), Udmurtia (Izhevsk), Yakutia_also known as Sakha (Yakutsk); 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular_oblast'); Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orel, Orenburg, Penza, Perm', Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'; 6 krays (krayev, singular_kray); Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'; 10 autonomous okrugs; Aga (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenkia (Tura), Khantia-Mansia (Khanty-Mansiysk), Koryakia (Palana), Nenetsia (Nar'yan-Mar), Permyakia (Kudymkar), Taymyria (Dudinka), Ust'-Onda (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalia (Salekhard); 1 autonomous oblast (avtomnykh oblast'); Birobijan
Note: The autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary between Chechenia and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are federal cities; an administrative division has the same name as its administrative center (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Dependent areasIndependence: 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, June 12 (1990)
Constitution: Adopted 12 December 1993
Legal system: Based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branchChief of state: President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991) was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage under the constitution of 12 December 1993, but subsequent presidents, beginning with the 16 June 1996 election, will serve a four-year term; election last held 16 June 1996 (next to be held NA June 2000); results_percent of vote NA; President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN was reelected; note_no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months
Leaders since 1917: Vladimir Lenin, Josif Stalin, Nikita Hrushtshov, Leonid Brezhnev, Juri Andropov, Konstantin Tshernenko, Michail Gorbatshov, Boris Yel'tsin
Head of government: Premier and Chairman of the Russian Federation Government Sergei KIRIJENKO (since 22 March 1998), First Deputy Premiers and First Deputy Chairmen of the Government Boris NEMTSOV (since NA) and Anatoly TSHUBAIS (since NA) were appointed by the president on approval of the Dumas Security Council:Originally established as a presidential advisory body in June 1991, but restructured in March 1992 with responsibility for managing individual and state security Presidential Administration:Drafts presidential edicts and provides staff and policy support to the entire executive branch
Cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president Group of Assistants:Schedules president's appointments, processes presidential edicts and other official documents, and houses the president's press service and primary speechwriters Council of Heads of Republics:Includes the leaders of the 21 ethnic-based Republics Council of Heads of Administrations:Includes the leaders of the 66 autonomous territories and regions, and the mayors of Moscow and St. Petersburg Presidential Council:Prepares policy papers for the president
Legislative branch: Bicameral Federal Assembly Federation Council:178 seats, filled ex-officio by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units (oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg) State Duma:Elections last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1999; results_percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats:Communist Party of the Russian Federation 22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia 10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats_(450 total_half elected in single-member districts and half elected from national party lists) Communist Party of the Russian Federation 157, Independents 78, Our Home Is Russia 55, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko Bloc 45, Agrarian Party of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9, Power To the People 9, Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward, Russia! 3, Women of Russia 3, other parties 15
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court (highest court for criminal, civil, and administrative cases), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration (highest court that resolves economic disputes), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC
Diplomatic representationFlag description
: Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern-market economy. The break-up of the USSR into 15 successor states in late 1991 destroyed major economic links that have been only partially replaced. As a result of these dislocations and the failure of the government to implement a rigorous and consistent reform program, output in Russia has dropped by one-third since 1990 (instead of the one-half previously estimated). On the one hand, President YEL'TSIN's government has made substantial strides in converting to a market economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992 by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious voucher privatization program in 1994, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing foreign trade. On the other hand, Russia has made little progress in a number of key areas that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to a market economy; and the strong showing of the communists and nationalists in the Duma elections in December 1995 casts a shadow over prospects for further reforms. In 1995, the new cash privatization program went slower than planned. The state claims that the nonstate sector produced approximately 70% of GDP in 1995, up from 62% in 1994, although these figures apparently include many enterprises that have only nominally moved out of state control. Moscow has been slow to develop the legal framework necessary to fully support a market economy and to encourage foreign investment. Stockholder rights remain ill-defined and the Duma has yet to adopt a land code that would allow development of land markets as sources of needed capital. Russia's securities market remains largely unregulated and suffers from the lack of a comprehensive securities law. In addition, Moscow has yet to develop a social safety net that would allow faster restructuring by relieving enterprises of the burden of providing social benefits for their workers. Most rank-and-file Russians perceive they are worse off because of growing crime and health problems, the drop in real wages, the great rise in wage arrears, and the widespread threat of unemployment. The number of Russians living below the official poverty level rose by 10% to 36.6 million people, or 25% of the population. The decline in output slowed during 1995, and some sectors showed signs of a turnaround; analysts forecast the resumption of growth in 1996_at a low rate. Russian official data, which fail to capture a considerable portion of private sector output and employment, show that GDP declined by 4% in 1995, as compared with a 15% decline in 1994. Despite continued declines in agricultural and industrial production, unemployment climbed only slowly to about 8% of the work force by yearend because government policies aimed at softening the impact of reforms have created incentives for enterprises to keep workers on the rolls even as production slowed to a crawl. Moscow renewed tightened financial policies in early 1995 and succeeded in reducing monthly consumer price inflation from 18% in January to about 3% in December, the lowest monthly rate since the beginning of reform. According to official trade statistics, Russia ran a $19.9 billion trade surplus for 1995, up from $15.9 billion in 1994. It continued to shift its trade away from the other former Soviet republics toward the West, with the CIS countries' share of Russian trade falling to 22% in 1995. Russia made good progress with official and commercial creditors in 1995 in resolving the issue of its $105 billion in Soviet-era debts. When completed, these Paris Club and London Club rescheduling agreements will reduce Russia's repayment liabilities from $20 billion to less than $5 billion annually through the end of the decade. Capital flight reportedly continued to be a problem in 1995, with billions of additional dollars in assets being moved abroad, primarily to bank accounts in Europe.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rate:
-4% (1995 est.)
-15% (1994 est.)
Real gdp per capita:
purchasing power parity_ $5,300 (1995 est.)
$4,820 (1994 est.)
Gross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: Grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, meat, milk, vegetables, fruits; because of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm climate products
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
Ship- building
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
Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate -3% (1995 est.), -21% (1994)
Labor force: 85 million (1993)
By occupation Production and economic services: 83.9%
By occupation Government: 16.1%
Unemployment rate:
8.2% (December 1995) with considerable additional underemployment
7.1% (December 1994) with considerable additional underemployment
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudgetRevenues: NA
Expenditures: NA
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: Calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports:
total value. $77.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$48 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
Commodities:Petroleum and petroleum products
Natural gas
Wood and wood products
Metals
Chemicals
A wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Partners:Europe
North America
Japan
Third World countries
Cuba
ImportsTotal value:$57.9 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
$35.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
Commodities:Machinery and equipment
Consumer goods
Medicines
Meat
Grain
Sugar
Semifinished metal products
Partners:Europe
North America
Japan
Third World countries
Cuba
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external:
$130 billion (yearend 1995)
$95 billion-$100 billion (yearend 1994)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Rubles per US$1_6,000 (december 1997), 4,640 (29 December 1995), 3,550 (29 December 1994), 1,247 (27 December 1993)
Note: On 1 january 1998 new rubles, equal to 1,000 old rubles, were introduced; this also implicated that the kopek was re-introduced
top of pageElectricityCapacity: 213,100,000 KW
Production: 876 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 5,800 kWh (1994)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesTelephone system: 25.4 million telephones (1993 est.); total pay phones for long distant calls 34,100; enlisting foreign help, by means of joint ventures, to speed up the modernization of its telecommunications system; in 1992, only 661,000 new telephones were installed compared with 855,000 in 1991, and in 1992 the number of unsatisfied applications for telephones reached 11,000,000; expanded access to international electronic mail service available via Sprint network; the inadequacy of Russian telecommunications is a severe handicap to the economy, especially with respect to international connections
Domestic: NMT-450 analog cellular telephone networks are operational and growing in Moscow and St. Petersburg; intercity fiberoptic cable installation remains limited
International: international traffic is inadequately handled by a system of satellites, landlines, microwave radio relay, and outdated submarine cables; much of this traffic passes through the international gateway switch in Moscow which carries most of the international traffic for the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States; a new Russian Intersputnik satellite will link Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome from whence calls will be relayed to destinations in Europe and overseas; satellite earth stations_NA Intelsat, 4 Intersputnik (2 Atlantic Ocean Region and 2 Indian Ocean Region), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean Region), and NA Orbita
Broadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresMilitary and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 2,517
With paved runways over 3047 m: 54
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 202
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 108
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 115
With paved runways under 914 m: 151
With paved runways With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 25
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 45
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 134
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 291
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1,392
HeliportsPipelines: Crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (30 June 1993)
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: Total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km; routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900 km; of which routes with night navigational aids 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes 16,900 km (1 January 1994)
Merchant marineTotal: 745 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,730,178 GRT/9,385,565 DWT
Ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 25, cargo 406, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 17, container 31, multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 134, passenger 4, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 19, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2
Note: Russia owns an additional 163 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,276,829 DWT operating under the registries of Malta, Cyprus, Liberia, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras, The Bahamas, and Vanuatu (1995 est.)
Ports and terminalsRussia - Transnational issues 1996
top of pageDisputes internationalRefugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs: Illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe and Latin America