as discouraged foreign investment,
which totaled only $6.5 billion in 1996, including $2.1 billion in
direct investment; furthermore, capital flight continues to exceed in
volume the inflow of foreign capital. The central bank estimates that
$30 billion in US currency circulates in the Russian economy. In March
1997, YEL'TSIN signaled his intention to restart stalled economic
reforms by reorganizing the cabinet, bringing in a new team of
ministers with strong reform credentials.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $767 billion (1996 estimate as
extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP - real growth rate: -6% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,200 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 22% (1996)

Labor force:
total: 73 million (1996)
by occupation : NA

Unemployment rate: 9.3% (December 1996) (according to ILO definition)
with considerable additional underemployment

Budget:
revenues : $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries
producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine
building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space
vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment;
communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and
construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting
equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables,
textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: -5% (1996)

Electricity - capacity: 214.69 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 833.16 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 5,114 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed,
vegetables, fruits (because of its northern location does not grow
citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm climate products); meat, milk

Exports:
total value: $88.3 billion (1996)
commodities : petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and
wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and
military manufactures
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries

Imports:
total value: $59.8 billion (1996)
commodities : machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines,
meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
partners: Europe, North Ame