Recent from talks
Economy of Belarus
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Economy of Belarus
The economy of Belarus is an upper-middle income mixed economy. As a post-Soviet transition economy, Belarus rejected most privatisation efforts in favour of retaining centralised political and economic controls by the state. The highly centralized Belarusian economy emphasizes full employment and a dominant public sector. It has been described as a welfare state practicing market socialism.[not in body] Belarus is the world's 74th-largest economy by GDP.
As of 2018[update], Belarus ranks 53rd from 189 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index, and appeared in the group of states with "very high development". With an efficient health system, it has a very low infant-mortality rate of 2.9 (compared to 6.6 in Russia or 3.7 in the United Kingdom). The rate of doctors per capita is 40.7 per 10,000 inhabitants (the figure is 26.7 in Romania, 32 in Finland, 41.9 in Sweden) and the literacy rate is estimated[by whom?] at 99%. According to the United Nations Development Program, the Gini coefficient (inequality indicator) is one of the lowest in Europe.
Before the October Revolution, Belarus was a relatively backward and underdeveloped country, heavily reliant on agriculture and with rural overpopulation, although it experienced a rapid economic and industrial growth after the construction of railways in the late 19th century (with Minsk, Vitsebsk, Hrodna, Pinsk and Homel becoming significant industrial centres. The Second World War devastated Belarus, which lost about a quarter of its population and suffered immense destruction of infrastructure. In the post-war years, Belarus rapidly industrialised and became an important trade hub between the Soviet Union and Europe. Manufacturing became a pillar of its economy emphasising tractors, heavy trucks, oil processing, metal-cutting lathes, synthetic fibres, TV sets, semi-conductors and microchips. In the 1980s, more than half of the industrial personnel of Belarus worked for enterprises with over 500 employees. Among the Soviet republics, it had an unusually high export rate of its products, about 80%, and was the most technologically advanced. Because of its role as a producer of products made from raw materials imported from the Soviet Union, Belarus was called "the Soviet assembly shop".
Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union and under Lukashenko's leadership, Belarus has maintained government control over key industries and eschewed the large-scale privatizations seen in other former Soviet republics.
The period between 1996 and 2000 was also characterised by significant financial distress, in particular in 1998 and 1999 as a result of the financial and economic crisis in Russia. This resulted primarily in a sharp increase in prices and the devaluation of the national currency, a decline in trade with Russia and other CIS countries, growth in inter-enterprise arrears, and overall deterioration of the country's balance of payments. Extreme tension within the foreign exchange market was the key factor that destabilized the economy in 1998 and 1999. In 1999, consumer prices grew by 294%.[citation needed]
Between 2001 and 2005, the national economy demonstrated steady and dynamic growth. The GDP grew at an average rate of 7.4 percent, peaking in 2005 at 9.2 percent. This growth was mainly a result of the performance of the industrial sector, which grew on average more than 8.7 percent per year, with a high of 10.4 percent in 2005. Potatoes, flax, hemp, sugarbeets, rye, oats, and wheat are the chief agricultural products. Dairy and beef cattle, pigs, and chickens are raised. Belarus has only small reserves of petroleum and natural gas and imports most of its oil and gas from Russia. The main branches of industry produce tractors and trucks, earth movers for use in construction and mining, metal-cutting machine tools, agricultural equipment, motorcycles, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, and consumer goods. The chief trading partners are Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Germany.
The Belarus GDP grew 9.9% in 2006. In the first quarter of 2007, GDP grew 8.2%. GDP further grew in 2008 by 10%.
Analysis of foreign direct investment to Belarus between 2002 and 2007 shows that nearly 80% of FDI was geared into the service sector, while industrial concerns accounted for 20%. Agricultural FDI was negligible at 1%.
Hub AI
Economy of Belarus AI simulator
(@Economy of Belarus_simulator)
Economy of Belarus
The economy of Belarus is an upper-middle income mixed economy. As a post-Soviet transition economy, Belarus rejected most privatisation efforts in favour of retaining centralised political and economic controls by the state. The highly centralized Belarusian economy emphasizes full employment and a dominant public sector. It has been described as a welfare state practicing market socialism.[not in body] Belarus is the world's 74th-largest economy by GDP.
As of 2018[update], Belarus ranks 53rd from 189 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index, and appeared in the group of states with "very high development". With an efficient health system, it has a very low infant-mortality rate of 2.9 (compared to 6.6 in Russia or 3.7 in the United Kingdom). The rate of doctors per capita is 40.7 per 10,000 inhabitants (the figure is 26.7 in Romania, 32 in Finland, 41.9 in Sweden) and the literacy rate is estimated[by whom?] at 99%. According to the United Nations Development Program, the Gini coefficient (inequality indicator) is one of the lowest in Europe.
Before the October Revolution, Belarus was a relatively backward and underdeveloped country, heavily reliant on agriculture and with rural overpopulation, although it experienced a rapid economic and industrial growth after the construction of railways in the late 19th century (with Minsk, Vitsebsk, Hrodna, Pinsk and Homel becoming significant industrial centres. The Second World War devastated Belarus, which lost about a quarter of its population and suffered immense destruction of infrastructure. In the post-war years, Belarus rapidly industrialised and became an important trade hub between the Soviet Union and Europe. Manufacturing became a pillar of its economy emphasising tractors, heavy trucks, oil processing, metal-cutting lathes, synthetic fibres, TV sets, semi-conductors and microchips. In the 1980s, more than half of the industrial personnel of Belarus worked for enterprises with over 500 employees. Among the Soviet republics, it had an unusually high export rate of its products, about 80%, and was the most technologically advanced. Because of its role as a producer of products made from raw materials imported from the Soviet Union, Belarus was called "the Soviet assembly shop".
Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union and under Lukashenko's leadership, Belarus has maintained government control over key industries and eschewed the large-scale privatizations seen in other former Soviet republics.
The period between 1996 and 2000 was also characterised by significant financial distress, in particular in 1998 and 1999 as a result of the financial and economic crisis in Russia. This resulted primarily in a sharp increase in prices and the devaluation of the national currency, a decline in trade with Russia and other CIS countries, growth in inter-enterprise arrears, and overall deterioration of the country's balance of payments. Extreme tension within the foreign exchange market was the key factor that destabilized the economy in 1998 and 1999. In 1999, consumer prices grew by 294%.[citation needed]
Between 2001 and 2005, the national economy demonstrated steady and dynamic growth. The GDP grew at an average rate of 7.4 percent, peaking in 2005 at 9.2 percent. This growth was mainly a result of the performance of the industrial sector, which grew on average more than 8.7 percent per year, with a high of 10.4 percent in 2005. Potatoes, flax, hemp, sugarbeets, rye, oats, and wheat are the chief agricultural products. Dairy and beef cattle, pigs, and chickens are raised. Belarus has only small reserves of petroleum and natural gas and imports most of its oil and gas from Russia. The main branches of industry produce tractors and trucks, earth movers for use in construction and mining, metal-cutting machine tools, agricultural equipment, motorcycles, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, and consumer goods. The chief trading partners are Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Germany.
The Belarus GDP grew 9.9% in 2006. In the first quarter of 2007, GDP grew 8.2%. GDP further grew in 2008 by 10%.
Analysis of foreign direct investment to Belarus between 2002 and 2007 shows that nearly 80% of FDI was geared into the service sector, while industrial concerns accounted for 20%. Agricultural FDI was negligible at 1%.
Recent media