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 reimposed
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 and
persistent trade deficits, businesses have been subject to pressure
on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary
changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive
application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive"
businessmen and factory owners. A wide range of redistributive
policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder. 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 - $90.19 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4.7% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 15%
industry: 40%
services: 45% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line:
22% (1995 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
21.7 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
42.8% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation:
industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%,
services NA%
Unemployment rate:
2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); 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, earthmovers,
motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles,
radios, refrigerators
Industrial production growth rate:
2.5% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
24.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1%
other: 0.4% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
26.69 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
4.3 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
37,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
230,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Natural gas - production:
200 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
18 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
17.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products:
grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Exports:
$7.7 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals;
textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners:
Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany
4.1% (2002)
Imports:
$8.8 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs,
metals
Imports - partners:
Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002)
Debt - external:
$851 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$194.3 million (1995)
Currency:
Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Currency code:
BYB/BYR
Exchange rates:
Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75
(2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year