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Belarusian Economy in 2005
Economic performance
of Belarus in 2005 demonstrates sustainable development of the national
economy and proves the effectiveness of the chosen socio-economic model.
In comparison with 2004:
gross domestic
product grew 9.2 percent. According to the United Nations World
Economic Situation and Prospects 2006 report, this is one of the highest
achievements in the world, yielding only to Azerbaijan (18.5 percent) and
Armenia (10 percent);
industrial
production rose 10.4 percent;
agricultural
production rose 2.1 percent;
consumer goods
production increased by 10.4 percent;
foreign trade of goods and services
grew 11.1 percent, including the growth of exports of goods and services by
17 percent;
foreign trade surplus has been
reached for the first time and amounted to $234 million;
exports growth is noticeably
higher (17 percent) than imports growth (5.6 percent);
unemployment level which as of
January 1, 2006 made up 1.5 percent of the economically active population,
is the lowest among the countries of CIS and Eastern Europe;
inflation
level made up 8 percent the lowest level since
the last 15 years when inflation was monitored in Belarus,
growth
of housing construction made up 8 percent.
A number of socio-economic indicators make
Belarus look quite favorably among other CIS countries and transition
economies as a whole.
According to the World Bank country
economic memorandum for Belarus Belarus: Window of Opportunity to Enhance
Competitiveness and Sustain Economic Growth (November 2005), the experience
of Belarus is somewhat at odds with the standard transition paradigm. Unlike
most CIS countries, where economic reforms were partial and not always
successful, Belarus thanks to slow restructuring managed to avoid some
serious mistakes of the initial stage of transformation period. Present
situation in Belarus and current tendencies in the global economy are quite
favorable for pursuing structural reforms. The memorandum also notes the
following:
since 1996 the Belarusian has
experienced steady and sizable economic growth: in 1996-2004 GDP growth
averaged 6.6 percent per annum or 77.4 percent cumulatively;
broad-based economic growth has solid
economic and social basis;
Belarus reached the lowest poverty
level among transition economies.
According to the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development Transition Report 2005, Belarus:
in comparison with other CIS countries
considerably improved business climate and the quality of economic
administration;
has the lowest among all CIS countries
level of business financial losses due to criminal environment;
has comparatively low level of time
losses related to bureaucratic hurdles;
has the lowest, in comparison with
neighboring countries, share of people living below poverty level
under 2 percent (in Latvia 11.5 percent, in Ukraine 31.4 percent);
has the highest share of expenditure
on health 4.9 percent of GDP;
has one of the highest parameters of
expenditure on education 6.1 percent of GDP.
According to the UNIDO Global
Industrial Development Report 2005, in the last few years Belarus:
takes a stable lead over CIS countries,
as well as many countries in Europe and the world, in terms of industrial
export per capita. In 2002 industrial export per capita in Belarus made
up $713, in Russia - $257, in Ukraine - $289;
has been a leader among CIS countries in
terms of the share of industry in total GDP (31 percent). This
indicator in Russia is 22 percent, in Kazakhstan 20 percent;
has
the share of
industrial production in total exports
(94 percent) considerably higher than in other CIS countries (in Russia 53
percent, in Ukraine 79 percent).
According to the United Nations Statistical Yearbook
2005 (forty-ninth issue):
the number of users of cell phones
in Belarus grew 170 times between 1996 and 2003 (from 6.5 thousand to
1.1 million people);
in terms of the number of users of
stationary phones per 100 people (31.1), Belarus leads over CIS
countries (Russia 25.3, Ukraine 23.3, Kazakhstan 14.1);
in terms of the number of Internet users
(over 1.3 million people), Belarus leads over Kazakhstan, Ukraine and
Uzbekistan, where the population is considerably higher than in Belarus;
Belarus is number 11 in the world by
production of
TV-sets,
number 12 by production of
household
refrigerators, number 14
by production of
trucks.
According to the CIS Statistical
Committee (2005), Belarus in comparison with other CIS countries:
has the
highest level of
expenses of
consolidated budget on education and vocational training
(6.1 îf
GDP in 2004;
has the lowest infant mortality rate
(6.9 deaths of infants under one per 1000 newborns). |
