THE BELARUSIAN ECONOMY

At the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus was one of the world's most industrially developed states by percentage of GDP as well as the richest CIS member-state. In 2006, GDP amounted to US$83. 1 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP) dollars (estimate), or about $8, 100 per capital. Trade and other services accounted for 41 percent of GDP; industry, including mining and manufacturing, 46 percent; and agriculture and forestry, 13 percent.

Approximately 5. 3 million people contribute to the economy of Belarus. Of this total, 42 percent are employed in industry; 21 percent in agriculture and forestry; 17 percent in culture, education, and health services; 7 percent in trade; 7 percent in transportation, and 6 percent in miscellaneous pursuits. Unemployment is officially estimated at 2. 1 percent. In 2015, 39. 3% of Belarusians were employed by state-controlled companies, 57. 2% were employed by private companies (in which the government has a 21. 1% stake) and 3. 5% were employed by foreign companies. The country relies on Russia for various imports, including petroleum. Important agricultural products include potatoes and cattle byproducts, including meat. As of 2015, 38% of Belarusian exported goods go to Russia and 56% of imported goods come from Russia

Natural Resources.

Belarus is relatively poor in terms of natural resources. It does not have vast amounts of most of the minerals used in modern industrial production. The country has small reserves of petroleum and natural gas.

In the south-west there are small reserves of hard coal, brown coal, and petroleum, but they are not easily accessible and remain undeveloped. The country has large forest reserves. About one-third of the republic is covered in forest.

Belarus does possess, however, one of the world's largest reserves of potassium salts - discovered in 1949 south of Minsk and exploited from the 1960s around the new mining town and fertilizer-manufacturing centre of Soli-gorsk. Although exports of potash to other former Soviet republics declined significantly in the 1990s, exports to other countries remained at a high level.

The country also is a world leader in the production of peat, which is especially abundant in the Pripyat Marshes. Peat is used as a mulching material in agriculture. In briquette form it is used as fuel.

Among the other minerals recovered are salt, an important deposit of which, near Mozyr, was opened in the 1980s; building materials, chiefly limestone and, near Grodno, quartz sands for glassmaking, both used locally; and small deposits of gold and diamonds.

Belarus is heavily reliant on oil and gas supplies from Russia. These fuel imports reach Belarus via two major pipelines: the Friendship Pipeline carrying oil, and the Natural Lights Pipeline carrying natural gas. The government is attempting to accelerate the development of its raw-material base, but Belarus remains dependent on Russia for most of its energy and fossil-fuel requirements.

Energy

Belarus generates only about 12 percent of its own energy needs. Nearly all electricity is generated at thermal power stations using piped oil and natural gas; however, there is some local use of peat, and there are a number of low-capacity hydroelectric power plants.

Industry

Belarus is a highly developed industrial country. The main industries include machine building, instrument making, chemicals, timber processing, textile and clothing manufacture, and food processing.

Manufacturing contributes most of the country's industrial output. The country is known for its heavy-duty trucks, transport vehicles, and tractors. Belarus also manufactures computers, engineering equipment, metal-cutting tools, and such consumer goods as clocks and watches, motorcycles, bicycles, refrigerators, radios, television sets and others. Forests yield many wood products, including furniture, matches, plywood* and paper goods.

Heavy industry is the most highly developed sector of the economy. Machine-building industry is mostly concentrated in Minsk. It makes various types of tractors, heavy-duty trucks, other heavy machinery and electrical equipment. Minsk's satellite town, Zhodzino, produces large-capacity dump trucks. Dump trucks are also made in Moghilyov.

Chemical industry produces chemical fibers, mineral fertilizers, petrochemicals, plastics, soda ash, and synthetic resins. The chief chemical product is potassium fertilizer.

The Minsk area is Belarus' leading manufacturing centre. Its factories produce chemicals, electrical equipment, electronics, motor vehicles, processed foods, and textiles. Metal processing and machinery production are important in Moghilyov and Gomel. Most oil refining takes place in the Novopolotsk and Mozyr regions. Light industry, particularly textile production, is centred in Brest and Vitebsk.

Agriculture

Agriculture accounts for about a seventh of Belarus' economic output. Belarus has a large amount of farmland. But a short growing season and a lack of fertile soil make farming difficult. Most of Belarus has soils of only moderate fertility, but the better-drained uplands can be productive with fertilizer application. Considerable areas of the swampy lowlands have been drained since the late 19th century, with much of the reclaimed land being used for fodder crops.

Services

Service industries are industries that produce services, not goods. In the recent past, these industries were underdeveloped in Belarus. Most service-industry workers were poorly trained and underpaid. They had little incentive to satisfy their customers, who competed for services that were in short supply. Today, private economic activity in the service sector is flourishing. Many individuals and families are starting small businesses such as restaurants, barbershops, dry cleaners, and taxi services.

During the Soviet period, the service industry employed only about 5 percent of the workforce. This sector of the economy remains largely underdeveloped. State-owned stores offering relatively low-quality goods predominate, although new supermarkets are opening at an increasing rate. Private stores are limited mainly to small kiosks, or free-standing merchandise booths, on the sidewalks. The number of restaurants in the major cities has risen markedly. In 1996 the first McDonald's fast-food restaurant opened in Minsk.

Finance

Independent Belarus restructured its banking system into a system consisting of the National Bank of Belarus and a number of commercial banks, most of which are either joint-stock or limited-liability companies. A securities market and stock exchange were also established. The republic introduced its own currency, the Belarusian ruble, in 1994. It has been the official national currency since January 1995, when circulation of Russian rubles ceased.

Transportation

Belarus has an extensive transportation system, including railroad and highway networks connecting its cities with other major European cities. Airplanes are Belarus' most important means of long-distance travel. Belarus has several international airports, the largest of which is Minsk-2, located about 50 km east of its capital. Minsk-2 serves airlines from Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, and other countries. Belavia is a Belarus' national airline. The country's railway network headed by major interregional railways crisscross the country: east-west between Berlin, Warsaw, and Moscow; north-south between St. Petersburg and Kiev; and northwest-southeast between the Baltic countries and Ukraine. The major railroad, which was built in the 1860s to connect Moscow and Warsaw, runs through Belarus via Minsk and Brest. Rivers and the Dnieper-Bug Canal also serve as transportation routes. The Dnieper-Bug Canal and other canals improve water transportation by linking many of the rivers with ports on the Baltic and Black seas. Public transportation is modern and inexpensive, but crowded. Buses, trams, and trolley-buses operate in the cities. Minsk has a clean, efficient subway system. The use of automobiles is increasing, but it remains small in comparison with other developed nations.

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