blics, Serbia and Montenegro depended on their sister
republics for large amounts of foodstuffs, energy supplies, and
manufactures. Wide varieties in climate, mineral resources, and levels of
technology among the six republics accentuated this interdependence, as did
the Communist practice of concentrating much industrial output in a small
number of giant plants. The breakup of many of the trade links, the sharp
drop in output as industrial plants lost suppliers and markets, and the
destruction of physical assets in the fighting all have contributed to the
economic difficulties of the republics. One singular factor in the economic
situation of Serbia and Montenegro is the continuation in office of a
Communist government that is primarily interested in political and military
mastery, not economic reform. A further complication is the major economic
sanctions by the leading industrial nations.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $44 billion, per capita $4,200; real growth rate
NA% (1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
60% per month
Unemployment rate:
25-40%
Budget:
NA
Exports:
$4.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 29%, manufactured goods 28.5%,
miscellaneous manufactured articles 13.5%, chemicals 11%, food and live
animals 9%, raw materials 6%, fuels and lubricants 2%, beverages and tobacco
1%
partners:
principally the other former Yugoslav republics; Italy, Germany, other EC,
the former USSR, East European countries, US
Imports:
$6.4 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 26%, fuels and lubricants 18%,
manufactured goods 16%, chemicals 12.5%, food and live animals 11%,
miscellaneous manufactured items 8%, raw materials, including coking coal
for the steel industry, 7%, beverages, tobacco, and edible oils 1.5%
partners:
principally the other former Yugoslav republics; the former USSR, EC
countries (mainly Italy and Germany), East European countries, US
External debt:
$4.2 billion (may assume some part of foreign debt of former Yugoslavia)
Industrial production:
growth rate -20% or greater (1991 est.)
Electricity:
8,633,000 kW capacity; 34,600 million kWh produced, 3,496 kWh per capita
(1991)

:Serbia and Montenegro Economy

Industries:
machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; arm