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Belarus: Economic and Political Outline
Economic Indicators | Foreign Trade in Figures | Sources of General Economic Information | Political Outline
Fourth largest economy of the CIS, Belarus is both largely publically administered (over 70% of GDP is generated by public or quasi public enterprises) and very open commercially.
Even today, Belarus' economy remains an economy in transition, inherited from the former Soviet block. After its independence in 1991, Belarus slowly adopted market-economy reforms, and in particular numerous privatizations. The country has always maintained close relations with Russia. Since 2005 and the accession of Loukachenko to the power, the country, which had adopted a "market socialism", has re-nationalized many private companies and the pressure from the part of the government has become stronger in the business field: arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous inspections, arrest of businessmen and factory owners.
Belarus obtains gas and oil from Russia at a reduced price and its growth comes largely from the re-exportation of Russian oil at market price which has created a source of tension with Russia. Trade with Russian, by far its largest trading partner, fluctuates according to the tensions between these two countries.
Despite the financial crisis the country is experiencing, the Belarusian GDP has been growing steadily in recent years, reaching 6% in 2010 and 5% in 2011. However, the effects of the global crisis have been deeply felt, especially in the industrial sector.
In great difficulties economically and financially since the beginning of 2011, the authorities have had to agree to a significant devaluation of the currency, the Belarusian ruble losing over 50% of its value within only a few months. Minsk was been granted a loan of $3.5 billion from the anti-crisis fund of the Eurasian Economic Community to support the economy: inflation reached 36%. Seeking external funding, Belarus also called on the IMF and requested the establishment of a new "Stand By" program for an amount of up to $ 8 billion. However, according to the latest IMF mission in Belarus, the lack of progress in implementing the necessary reforms and recommendations - such as price liberalization, privatization, floating the currency and wage freezes - will not allow to resolve the situation in the near future. In a statement made in June 2011, the World Bank described the economic model of Belarus as "out of breath."
| Main Indicators | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 (e) | 2013 (e) |
| GDP (billions USD) | 49.21 | 54.71 | 57.72e | 65.14 | 72.11 |
| GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | 0.2 | 7.6e | 5.0 | 1.2 | 3.8 |
| GDP per Capita (USD) | 5,180 | 5,771 | 6,118 | 6,940 | 7,721 |
| General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) | 21.7 | 26.5 | 46.3 | 45.6 | 50.3 |
| Inflation Rate (%) | 13.0 | 7.7e | 41.0 | 35.5 | 14.9 |
| Unemployment Rate (% of the Labor Force) | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Current Account (billions USD) | -6.39 | -8.49 | -7.76e | -6.43 | -6.76 |
| Current Account (in % of GDP) | -13.0 | -15.5e | -13.4e | -9.4 | - |
Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database ; World Bank , Last Available Data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Agriculture contributes to around 9.3% of the country’s GDP and employs 14% of the active population. The country is the third largest producer of milk in Europe.
The industry sector accounts for 39.7% of the GDP and employs over 30% of workforce. The main industries of Belarus are machine tools, agricultural equipment, fertilizers, chemical products, prefabricated construction material, motor vehicles, motorcycles, textiles and some consumer products (such as refrigerators, watches, televisions, and radios).
The tertiary sector contributes around 51% to the GDP and employs half of the Belarusian workforce.
| Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
| Value Added (in % of GDP) | 8.7 | 38.7 | 52.5 |
| Value Added (Annual % Change) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 32.2 |
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
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| Monetary Indicators | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Belarussian Rubble (BYR) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD | 2,144.56 | 2,146.08 | 2,136.40 | 2,793.05 | 2,978.51 |
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
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Distribution of Economic freedom in the world
Source: 2011 Index of Economic freedom, Heritage Foundation
Note: The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.
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As a legacy of the Soviet period, during which Belarus was the assembly line of the USSR, production structures between Russia and Belarus are still largely complementary. As a result, the Belarusian economy remains heavily oriented towards the Russian market, which is both its natural out and the main supplier (over 50% of total trade).
The country's main import partners are Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine and China. Belarus is an important transit country for oil from Russia, which has guaranteed supplies of oil and gas at below-market rates for many years.
Its main customers are Russia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.
The country's sustained economic growth has nonetheless been accompanied by significant external imbalances, especially of its trade deficit, which has deteriorated significantly (about $7 billion). Since spring 2011, the country has been experiencing a severe currency crisis. The devaluation of the Belarusian ruble in May has not been a sufficient short-term solution and has had a great impact on the country's foreign trade.
The trade balance remains largely negative, particularly because of the rising prices of oil sold to Belarus by Russia. Russia remains the largest trading partner of Belarus.
| Foreign Trade Indicators | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Imports of Goods (million USD) | 28,693 | 39,381 | 28,569 | 34,868 | 45,747 |
| Exports of Goods (million USD) | 24,275 | 32,571 | 21,304 | 25,226 | 40,409 |
| Imports of Services (million USD) | 2,011 | 2,550 | 2,031 | 2,878 | 3,136 |
| Exports of Services (million USD) | 3,244 | 4,151 | 3,453 | 4,470 | 5,205 |
| Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 7.3 | 16.5 | -8.6 | 3.4 | - |
| Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 5.6 | 2.1 | -8.2 | 6.0 | - |
| Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 67.2 | 68.7 | 61.8 | 65.3 | - |
| Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 60.9 | 60.9 | 50.5 | 54.4 | - |
| Trade Balance (million USD) | -4,042 | -6,237 | 6,957 | -9,118 | - |
| Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | -2,816 | -4,614 | - | - | - |
| Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 128.2 | 129.6 | 112.3 | 119.8 | - |
Source: WTO - World Trade Organization ; World Bank , Last Available Data
| Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2010 |
| Russia | 38.5% |
| Netherlands | 11.0% |
| Ukraine | 10.1% |
| United Kingdom | 3.9% |
| Latvia | 3.7% |
| See More Countries | 32.8% |
| Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2010 |
| Russia | 51.3% |
| Germany | 6.8% |
| Ukraine | 5.4% |
| China | 4.7% |
| Venezuela | 3.3% |
| See More Countries | 28.5% |
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
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Source: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2011, Reporters Without Borders
Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
Map of freedom 2010
Source: Freedom House
Note: The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
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Last Updates: May 2012