countries moving away from the command economy, posted its third
straight year of growth in 1995. Bucharest also was successful in
reducing its inflation rate to 25% - less than half the 1994 rate -
because of tight monetary and fiscal policies, while unemployment
fell to 9% as the private sector hired more workers. Despite these
successes on the economic front, Romania has lagged much of Central
and Eastern Europe in the restructuring process. The private sector
accounted for only 40% of GDP in 1995 with over 90% of industry
remaining in state hands. Privatization is slated to pick up in
1996, but Bucharest faces other economic problems that could stall
recovery, including a growing budget deficit, limited reform of the
agricultural and energy sectors, and accumulated decay of the
infrastructure.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $105.7 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 5.4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $4,600 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 19.6%
industry: 36.3%
services: 44.1% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1995)
Labor force: 11.3 million (1992)
by occupation: industry 38%, agriculture 28%, other 34% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 8.9% (December 1995)
Budget:
revenues: $5.35 billion
expenditures: $6.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995 est.)
Industries: mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy,
chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum production
and refining
Industrial production growth rate: 3.3% (1994 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 22,180,000 kW
production: 50.8 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 2,076 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes,
grapes; milk, eggs, meat
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and
Latin American cocaine transiting the Balkan route
Exports: $6.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: textiles and footwear 23.8%, metals and metal products
17.3%, fuels and mineral products 11.6%, machinery and transport
equipment 14.8%, chemicals 7.9%, food and agricultural goods 6.5%,
other 18.1% (1994)
partners: developing countries 30.3%, East and Central Europe 8.4%,
Russia 3.4%, OECD 57.9% (EU 50%, US 3.1%) (1994)
Imports: $7.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
commodities: fuels and minerals 26.8%, machinery and transport
equipment 25.1%, textiles and footwear 12.3%, food and agricultural
goods 9.3%, chemicals 7.9%, other 18.6% (1994)
partners: OECD 60% (EU 44.5%, US 6.5%), East and Central Europe
6.1%, developing countries 16.6%, Russia 13.8%, other 3.5% (1994)
External debt: $4.7 billion (1995)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $81 million (1993)
Currency: 1 leu (L) = 100 bani
Exchange rates: lei (L) per US$1 - 2,599.24 (January 1996),
2,033.28 (1995), 1,655.09 (1994), 760.05 (1993), 307.95 (1992),
76.39 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation
--------------
Railways:
total: 11,374 km
broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 10,887 km 1.435-m gauge (3,866 km electrified; 3,060
km double track)
narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (1994)
Highways:
total: 153,014 km
paved: 78,037 km (including 113 km of expressways)
unpaved: 74,977 km (1992 est.)
Waterways: 1,724 km (1984)
Pipelines: crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km;
natural gas 6,400 km (1992)
Ports: Braila, Constanta, Galatz, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea
Merchant marine:
total: 233 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,425,729
GRT/3,641,741 DWT
ships by type: bulk 39, cargo 166, container 2, oil tanker 13,
passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 9
note: Romania owns an additional 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 1,078,490 DWT operating under the registries of Liberia,
Malta, Cyprus, and The Bahamas (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 156
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 4
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 9
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 14
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 17
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 108 (1994 est.)
Communications
--------------
Telephones: 2.3 million (1990 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: poor service; 89% of telephone network is automatic; trunk
network is microwave radio relay; roughly 3,300 villages with no
service (February 1990 est.)
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital
international direct-dial exchanges are in Bucharest (1993 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 4.64 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 13 (1990 est.)
Televisions: 4.58 million (1992 est.)
Defense
-------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary
Forces, Civil Defense
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 5,572,383
males fit for military service: 4,693,376
males reach military age (20) annually: 198,125 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $885 million,
3.0% of GDP (1995)
Original publicaton at
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm (June 17,
1997).
======================================================================
@Russia
------
Map
---
Location: 60 00 N, 100 00 E -- Northern Asia (that part west of
the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic
Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Flag
----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue,
and red
Geography
---------
Location: 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 coordinates: 60 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total area: 17,075,200 sq km
land area: 16,995,800 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 19,913 km
border countries: 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, Kazakstan 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) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576
km
Coastline: 37,653 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: inherited disputes from former USSR
including sections of the boundary with China; islands of Etorofu,
Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet
Union in 1945, administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; maritime
dispute with Norway over portion of the Barents Sea; Caspian Sea
boundaries are not yet determined; potential dispute with Ukraine
over Crimea; Estonia claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in
the Narva and Pechora regions; the Abrene section of the border
ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944;
has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the
right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation
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
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
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 use:
arable land: 8%
permanent crops: NEGL%
meadows and pastures: 5%
forest and woodland: 45%
other: 42%
Irrigated land: 56,000 sq km (1992)
Environment:
current 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
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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air
Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the
Sea
Geographic 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
People
------
Population: 148,178,487 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 15,792,573; female 15,213,854)
15-64 years: 67% (male 48,145,679; female 51,125,902)
65 years and over: 12% (male 5,403,066; female 12,497,413) (July
1996 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.07% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 10.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 16.34 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at 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.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.24 years
male: 56.51 years
female: 70.31 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.42 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian
Ethnic divisions: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash
1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1%
Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
Languages: Russian, other
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
total population: 98%
male: 100%
female: 97%
Government
----------
Name of country:
conventional long form: Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia
local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
local short form: Rossiya
former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Data code: RS
Type of government: 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 Chechnya 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)
Independence: 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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief 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 12 June 1991 (next to be held 16 June
1996); results - percent of vote NA; 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
head of government: Premier and Chairman of the Russian Federation
Government Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992),
First Deputy Premiers and First Deputy Chairmen of the Government
Oleg SOSKOVETS (since 30 April 1993) and Vladimir KADANNIKOV (since
25 January 1996) 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: Ministries of the Government or "Government" was 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 leaders:
pro-market democrats: Our Home Is Russia, Viktor CHERNOMYRDIN;
Yabloko Bloc, Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY; Russia's Democratic Choice Party,
Yegor GAYDAR; Forward, Russia!, Boris FEDOROV
centrists/special interest parties: Congress of Russian Communities,
Yuriy SKOKOV; Women of Russia, Alevtina FEDULOVA and Yekaterina
LAKHOVA
anti-market and/or ultranationalist parties: Communist Party of the
Russian Federation, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV; Liberal Democratic Party of
Russia, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY; Agrarian Party, Mikhail LAPSHIN;
Power To the People, Nikolay RYZHKOV and Sergey BABURIN; Russian
Communist Workers' Party, Viktor ANPILOV and Viktor TYULKIN
note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to
gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17
December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded
Other political or pressure groups: NA
International 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 representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas R. PICKERING
embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59
FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61
consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
Economy
-------
Economic 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.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $796 billion (1995 estimate as
extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP real growth rate: -4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $5,300 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 41%
services: 53%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% monthly average (1995 est.)
Labor force: 85 million (1993)
by occupation: production and economic services 83.9%, government
16.1%
Unemployment rate: 8.2% (December 1995) with considerable
additional underemployment
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
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; shipbuilding; 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, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: -3% (1995 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 213,100,000 kW
production: 876 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 5,800 kWh (1994)
Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables,
fruits (because of its northern location does not grow citrus,
cotton, tea, and other warm climate products); meat, milk