Inflation rate (consumer prices):NA%
Budget:revenues: $554.7 millionexpenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA(1998)
Agriculture - products:sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
Industries:sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction
Industrial production growth rate:NA%
Electricity - production:1.19 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 55.5% hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:1.107 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports:0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports:0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production:0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - consumption:18,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports:NA bbl/day
Oil - imports:NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production:0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:0 cu m (2003 est.)
Exports:$248.5 million f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%
Exports - partners:France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004)
Imports:$3.306 billion c.i.f. (2002)
Imports - commodities:manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery andtransportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
Imports - partners:France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004)
Debt - external:$NA
Economic aid - recipient:$NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.)
Currency (code):euro (EUR)
Currency code:EUR
Exchange rates:euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003),1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
Fiscal year:calendar year
Communications Reunion
Telephones - main lines in use:300,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular:579,200 (2004)
Telephone system:general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denisdomestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay networkinternational: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication toComoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius;satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber opticsubmarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europeand Asia
Radio broadcast stations:AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios:173,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001)
Televisions:127,000 (1997)
Internet country code:.re
Internet hosts:29 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):1 (2000)
Internet users:200,000 (2005)
Transportation Reunion
Airports:2 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways:total: 22,438 to 3,047 m: 1914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006)
Roadways:total: 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001)
Merchant marine:registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006)
Ports and terminals:Le Port
Military Reunion
Military branches:no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includesArmy, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005)
Military service age and obligation:18 years of age (2004)
Manpower available for military service:males age 18-49: 183,421females age 18-49: 185,606 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:males age 18-49: 142,578females age 18-49: 154,273 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:males age 18-49: 7,339females age 18-49: 7,007 (2005 est.)
Military - note:defense is the responsibility of France
Transnational Issues Reunion
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006
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@Romania
Introduction Romania
Background:The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries underthe suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured theirautonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adoptedthe new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of itsindependence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I andacquired new territories - most notably Transylvania - following theconflict. In 1940, Romania allied with the Axis powers andparticipated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three yearslater, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. Thepost-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist"people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. Thedecades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressiveand draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown andexecuted in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the governmentuntil 1996 when they were swept from power. Romania joined NATO inMarch of 2004 and completed accession talks with the European Union(EU) in December 2004; it is scheduled to accede to the EU in 2007.
Geography Romania
Location:Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria andUkraine
Geographic coordinates:46 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references:Europe
Area:total: 237,500 sq kmland: 230,340 sq kmwater: 7,160 sq km
Area - comparative:slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries:total: 2,508 kmborder countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km,Serbia 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km
Coastline:225 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunnysummers with frequent showers and thunderstorms
Terrain:central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldaviaon the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from theWalachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Black Sea 0 mhighest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m
Natural resources:petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, ironore, salt, arable land, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 39.49% permanent crops: 1.92% other: 58.59% (2005)
Irrigated land:30,770 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structureand climate promote landslides
Environment - current issues: soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans,Moldova, and Ukraine
People Romania
Population:22,303,552 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 15.7% (male 1,799,072/female 1,708,030)15-64 years: 69.6% (male 7,724,368/female 7,797,065)65 years and over: 14.7% (male 1,347,392/female 1,927,625) (2006est.)
Median age: total: 36.6 years male: 35.3 years female: 37.9 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:-0.12% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:10.7 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:11.77 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate:-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.06 male(s)/femaleunder 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/femaletotal population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 25.5 deaths/1,000 live birthsmale: 28.64 deaths/1,000 live birthsfemale: 22.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 71.63 yearsmale: 68.14 yearsfemale: 75.34 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate:1.37 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:6,500 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:350 (2001 est.)
Nationality:noun: Romanian(s)adjective: Romanian
Ethnic groups:Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002 census)
Religions:Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 86.8%,Protestant (various denominations including Reformate andPentecostal) 7.5%, Roman Catholic 4.7%, other (mostly Muslim) andunspecified 0.9%, none 0.1% (2002 census)
Languages:Romanian (official), Hungarian, German
Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and writetotal population: 98.4%male: 99.1%female: 97.7% (2003 est.)
Government Romania
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania
Government type:republic
Capital:name: Bucharestgeographic coordinates: 44 26 N, 26 06 Etime difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC duringStandard Time)daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends lastSunday in October
Administrative divisions:41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality*(municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud,Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi,Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati,Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov,Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare,Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea
Independence:9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire;independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin;kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881); 30 December 1947 (republicproclaimed)
National holiday:Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918)
Constitution:8 December 1991; revision effective 29 October 2003
Legal system:former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; isnow based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic
Suffrage:18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:chief of state: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004)head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu-TARICEANU (since 29December 2004)cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime ministerelections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term(eligible for a second term); election last held 28 November 2004,with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004(next to be held November-December 2009); prime minister appointedby the president with the consent of the Parliamentelection results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, AdrianNASTASE 48.77%
Legislative branch:bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat(137 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on aproportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and theChamber of Deputies or Camera Deputatilor (332 seats; members areelected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representationbasis to serve four-year terms)elections: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to beheld in November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November2004 (next expected to be held November 2008)election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party -PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party -PSD 44, PNL 30, PD 20, PRM 20, PC 11, UDMR 10, independents 2;Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR36.8%, PNL-PD 31.5%, PRM 13%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 111,PNL 66, PD 45, PRM 34, ex-PRM (Ciontu Group) 12, UDMR 22, PC 20, PIN(GUSA Group) 3, independent 1, ethnic minorities 18
Judicial branch:Supreme Court of Justice (comprised of 11 judges appointed forthree-year terms by the president in consultation with the SuperiorCouncil of Magistrates, which is comprised of the minister ofjustice, the prosecutor general, two civil society representativesappointed by the Senate, and 14 judges and prosecutors elected bytheir peers); a separate body, the Constitutional Court, validateselections and makes decisions regarding the constitutionality oflaws, treaties, ordinances, and internal rules of the Parliament; itis comprised of nine members serving nine-year terms, with threemembers each appointed by the president, the Senate, and the Chamberof Deputies
Political parties and leaders:Conservative Party or PC [Dan VOICULESCU], formerly Humanist Partyor PUR; Democratic Party or PD [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union ofHungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Partyor PNL [Calin Popescu-TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (GreaterRomanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social DemocraticParty or PSD [Mircea Dan GEOANA], formerly Party of Social Democracyin Romania or PDSR
Political pressure groups and leaders:various human rights and professional associations
International organization participation:ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ESA(cooperating state), EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM(guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN,UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG,UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires DanielaGITMANchancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851, 4852FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Nicholas F. TAUBMAN embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, US Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 200-3300 FAX: [40] (21) 200-3442 information office: Cluj-Napoca
Flag description:three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red;the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellowband has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, alsoresembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova
Economy Romania
Economy - overview:Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largelyobsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to thecountry's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishingthree-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets.Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity inconstruction, agriculture, and consumption have kept GDP growthabove 4%. An IMF standby agreement, signed in 2001, has beenaccompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficitreduction, and the curbing of inflation. The IMF Board approvedRomania's completion of the standby agreement in October 2003, thefirst time Romania has successfully concluded an IMF agreement sincethe 1989 revolution. In July 2004, the executive board of the IMFapproved a 24-month standby agreement for $367 million. IMF concernsabout Romania's tax policy and budget deficit led to a breakdown ofthis agreement in 2005. In the past, the IMF has criticized thegovernment's fiscal, wage, and monetary policies. Meanwhile,macroeconomic gains have only recently started to spur creation of amiddle class and address Romania's widespread poverty, whilecorruption and red tape continue to handicap the businessenvironment. Romanian government confidence in continuingdisinflation was underscored by its currency revaluation in 2005,making 10,000 "old" lei equal 1 "new" leu.
GDP (purchasing power parity):$181.8 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):$72.7 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:4.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):$8,100 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10.1% industry: 35% services: 54.9% (2004 est.)
Labor force: 9.31 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 31.6% industry: 30.7% services: 37.7% (2004)
Unemployment rate:7.7% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line:At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers 12% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 27.6% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:28.8 (2003)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):9% (2005)
Investment (gross fixed):24.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget:revenues: $29.97 billionexpenditures: $31.37 billion; including capital expenditures of $2.2billion (2005 est.)
Public debt:20.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products:wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes;eggs, sheep
Industries:textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining,timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, foodprocessing, petroleum refining
Industrial production growth rate:1.9% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production:57 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 62.5% hydro: 27.6% nuclear: 9.9% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:37.5 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports:3.3 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports:380 million kWh (2003)
Oil - production:119,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:212,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports:NA bbl/day
Oil - imports:163,000 bbl/day bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:500 million bbl (yearend 2004)
Natural gas - production:13.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:18.8 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports:0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - imports:5.9 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:300 billion cu m (yearend 2004)
Current account balance:$-8.2 billion (2005)
Exports:$31.2 billion f.o.b. (2005)
Exports - commodities:textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery andequipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products
Exports - partners:Italy 19.4%, Germany 14%, Turkey 7.9%, France 7.4%, UK 5.5%,Hungary 4.1%, US 4.1% (2005)
Imports:$41 billion f.o.b. (2005)
Imports - commodities:machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile andproducts, basic metals, agricultural products
Imports - partners:Italy 15.5%, Germany 14%, Russia 8.3%, France 6.8%, Turkey 4.9%,China 4.1% (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:$21.6 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external:$35.68 billion (2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:$3.3 billion in committed EU pre-accession aid (2004-06)
Currency (code):leu (ROL) is being phased out in 2006; "new" leu (RON) wasintroduced in 2005 due to currency revaluation: 10,000 ROL = 1 RON
Currency code:ROL
Exchange rates:lei per US dollar - 3 (2005), 3 (2004), 3 (2003), 3 (2002), 3 (2001)
Fiscal year:calendar year
Communications Romania
Telephones - main lines in use:4.391 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:13.354 million (2005)
Telephone system:general assessment: rapidly improving domestic and internationalservice, especially in wireless telephonydomestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; liberalization in2003 is transforming telecommunications; there has been 20% growthin fixed lines with a penetration rate of 58% of households;nation-wide wireless service is growing even faster with four majorproviders and a penetration rate of 32%international: country code - 40; satellite earth station - 10(Intelsat 4); digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operatein Bucharest (2005)
Radio broadcast stations:AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios:7.2 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions:5.25 million (1997)
Internet country code:.ro
Internet hosts:57,470 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):38 (2000)
Internet users:4.94 million (2005)
Transportation Romania
Airports: 61 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways:total: 25over 3,047 m: 42,438 to 3,047 m: 91,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways:total: 361,524 to 2,437 m: 2914 to 1,523 m: 11under 914 m: 23 (2006)
Heliports:1 (2006)
Pipelines:gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2006)
Railways:total: 11,385 kmstandard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge (3,888 km electrified)broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gaugenarrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2005)
Roadways:total: 198,817 kmpaved: 60,043 km (including 228 km of expressways)unpaved: 138,774 km (2003)
Waterways:1,731 kmnote: includes 1,075 km on Danube River, 524 km on secondarybranches, and 132 km on canals (2005)
Merchant marine:total: 23 ships (1000 GRT or over) 198,767 GRT/246,732 DWTby type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 15, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2,petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1foreign-owned: 1 (Italy 1)registered in other countries: 48 (Georgia 11, North Korea 11, Malta9, Panama 9, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Syria 3, unknown 4)(2006)
Ports and terminals:Braila, Constanta, Galati, Tulcea
Military Romania
Military branches:Land Forces, Naval Forces, Romanian Air Force (Fortele AerienneRomane, FAR), Special Operations (2006)
Military service age and obligation: all military inductees (including women) are volunteers who contract for an initial five-year term of service; subsequent voluntary service contracts are for successive three-year terms until the age of 36; minimum age for voluntary military service is 18 (2006)
Manpower available for military service:males age 20-49: 5,061,984females age 20-49: 4,975,427 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:males age 20-49: 3,932,579females age 20-49: 4,076,288 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:males age 18-49: 172,093females age 20-49: 165,547 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:$985 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:2.47% (2002)
Transnational Issues Romania
Disputes - international:Romania and Ukraine have taken their dispute overUkrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Seamaritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania also opposesUkraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube borderthrough Ukraine to the Black Sea; Hungary amended the status lawextending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungariansin Romania, to which Romania had objected
Illicit drugs:major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting theBalkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound forWestern Europe; although not a significant financial center, role asa narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering which occursvia the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos
This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006
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@Russia
Introduction Russia
Background:Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was ableto emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15thcenturies) and to gradually conquer and absorb surroundingprincipalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynastycontinued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific.Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the BalticSea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19thcentury, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia.Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I ledto widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire andto the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communistsunder Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR.The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communistrule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens ofmillions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in thefollowing decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV(1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika(restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but hisinitiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics.Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build ademocratic political system and market economy to replace the strictsocial, political, and economic controls of the Communist period.While some progress has been made on the economic front, recentyears have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN andthe erosion of nascent democratic institutions. A determinedguerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya and threatens todestabilize the North Caucasus region.
Geography Russia
Location:Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part ofEurope), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the NorthPacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates:60 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references:Asia
Area:total: 17,075,200 sq kmland: 16,995,800 sq kmwater: 79,400 sq km
Area - comparative:approximately 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:total: 20,096.5 kmborder countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China(southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland1,340 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km,Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 280.5 km, Mongolia3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 232 km, Ukraine1,576 km
Coastline:37,653 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nmexclusive economic zone: 200 nmcontinental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in muchof European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in thepolar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigidin Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool alongArctic coast
Terrain:broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forestand tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern borderregions
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 mhighest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m
Natural resources:wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, naturalgas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timbernote: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinderexploitation of natural resources
Land use: arable land: 7.17% permanent crops: 0.11% other: 92.72% (2005)
Irrigated land:46,000 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment todevelopment; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes andearthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods andsummer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of EuropeanRussia
Environment - current issues:air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electricplants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal,and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts;deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improperapplication of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimesintense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination fromtoxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks ofobsolete pesticides
Environment - international agreements:party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, AirPollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, AntarcticTreaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, ShipPollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whalingsigned, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94
Geography - note:largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorablylocated in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite itssize, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (eithertoo cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El'brus is Europe'stallest peak
People Russia
Population:142,893,540 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 14.2% (male 10,441,151/female 9,921,102)15-64 years: 71.3% (male 49,271,698/female 52,679,463)65 years and over: 14.4% (male 6,500,814/female 14,079,312) (2006est.)
Median age: total: 38.4 years male: 35.2 years female: 41.3 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:-0.37% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:9.95 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:14.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate:1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.06 male(s)/femaleunder 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/femaletotal population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live birthsmale: 17.43 deaths/1,000 live birthsfemale: 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 67.08 yearsmale: 60.45 yearsfemale: 74.1 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate:1.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:1.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:860,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:9,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:noun: Russian(s)adjective: Russian
Ethnic groups:Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census)
Religions:Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006est.)note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has largepopulations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacyof over seven decades of Soviet rule
Languages:Russian, many minority languages
Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and writetotal population: 99.6%male: 99.7%female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Government Russia
Country name:conventional long form: Russian Federationconventional short form: Russialocal long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiyalocal short form: Rossiyaformer: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Government type:federation
Capital:name: Moscowgeographic coordinates: 55 45 N, 37 35 Etime difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC duringStandard Time)daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends lastSunday in Octobernote: Russia is divided into eleven time zones
Administrative divisions:48 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respublik,singular - respublika), 9 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov,singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 7 krays (krayev, singular - kray), 2federal cities (singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast(avtonomnaya oblast')oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod,Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga,Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma,Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk,Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel,Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara,Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula,Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh,Yaroslavl'republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan(Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya(Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas),Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista),Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk),Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola),Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya](Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)autonomous okrugs: Aga Buryat (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenk(Tura), Khanty-Mansi, Koryak (Palana), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Taymyr[Dolgano-Nenets] (Dudinka), Ust'-Orda Buryat (Ust'-Ordynskiy),Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)krays: Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk,Permskiy, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'federal cities: Moscow (Moskva), Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg)autonomous oblast: Yevrey [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)note: administrative divisions have the same names as theiradministrative centers (exceptions have the administrative centername following in parentheses)
Independence:24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
Constitution:adopted 12 December 1993
Legal system:based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage:18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (actingpresident 31 December 1999-6 May 2000, president since 7 May 2000)head of government: Premier Mikhail Yefimovich FRADKOV (since 5March 2004); First Deputy Premier Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV(since 14 November 2005), Deputy Premiers Aleksandr DmitriyevichZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004) and Sergey Borisovich IVANOV (since 14November 2005)cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed ofthe premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected otherindividuals; all are appointed by the presidentnote: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that providesstaff and policy support to the president, drafts presidentialdecrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; aSecurity Council also reports directly to the presidentelections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term(eligible for a second term); election last held 14 March 2004 (nextto be held March 2008); note - no vice president; if the presidentdies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, isimpeached, or resigns, the premier serves as acting president untila new presidential election is held, which must be within threemonths; premier appointed by the president with the approval of theDumaelection results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN reelected president;percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 71.2%, NikolayKHARITONOV 13.7%, other (no candidate above 5%) 15.1%
Legislative branch:bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of theFederation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000,members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials ineach of the 88 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays,republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities ofMoscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and theState Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; currently elected byproportional representation from party lists winning at least 7% ofthe vote; members are elected by direct, popular vote to servefour-year terms)elections: State Duma - last held 7 December 2003 (next to be heldin December 2007)election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by partiesclearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share ofthe 225 party list seats - United Russia 37.1%, CPRF 12.7%, LDPR11.6%, Motherland 9.1%; seats by party - United Russia 222, CPRF 53,LDPR 38, Motherland 37, People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, SPS 2, other7, independents 65, repeat election required 3; composition as of 1July 2006 - United Russia 309, CPRF 45, LDPR 35, Motherland 29,People's Party 12, independents 18, vacant 2
Judicial branch:Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Supreme Arbitration Court;judges for all courts are appointed for life by the FederationCouncil on the recommendation of the president
Political parties and leaders:A Just Russia or JR [Sergei MIRONOV] (formed from the merger ofthree small political parties: Motherland Party (Rodina),Pensioner's Party, and Party of Life); Communist Party of theRussian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; LiberalDemocratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir VolfovichZHIRINOVSKIY]; People's Party [Gennady RAIKOV]; Union of RightForces or SPS [Nikita BELYKH]; United Russia or UR [BorisVyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy AlekseyevichYAVLINSKIY]
Political pressure groups and leaders:NA
International organization participation:APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC,CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer),MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC(observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UNSecurity Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE,UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708 FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William J. BURNS embassy: Bolshoy Deviatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721 telephone: [7] (495) 728-5000 FAX: [7] (495) 728-5090 consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
Economy Russia
Economy - overview:Russia ended 2005 with its seventh straight year of growth,averaging 6.4% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Althoughhigh oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble are important driversof this economic rebound, since 2000 investment and consumer-drivendemand have played a noticeably increasing role. Real fixed capitalinvestments have averaged gains greater than 10% over the last fiveyears, and real personal incomes have realized average increasesover 12%. During this time, poverty has declined steadily and themiddle class has continued to expand. Russia has also improved itsinternational financial position since the 1998 financial crisis,with its foreign debt declining from 90% of GDP to around 31%.Strong oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase itsforeign reserves from only $12 billion to some $180 billion atyearend 2005. These achievements, along with a renewed governmenteffort to advance structural reforms, have raised business andinvestor confidence in Russia's economic prospects. Nevertheless,serious problems persist. Economic growth slowed to 5.9% for 2005while inflation remains high. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timberaccount for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerableto swings in world prices. Russia's manufacturing base isdilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is toachieve broad-based economic growth. Other problems include a weakbanking system, a poor business climate that discourages bothdomestic and foreign investors, corruption, and widespread lack oftrust in institutions. In addition, a string of investigationslaunched against a major Russian oil company, culminating with thearrest of its CEO in the fall of 2003 and the acquisition of thecompany by a state owned firm, have raised concerns by someobservers that President PUTIN is granting more influence to forceswithin his government that desire to reassert state control over theeconomy. State control has increased in the past year with a numberof large acquisitions. Most fundamentally, Russia has made littleprogress in building the rule of law, the bedrock of a modern marketeconomy.
GDP (purchasing power parity):$1.584 trillion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):$740.7 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:6.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):$11,000 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5.4% industry: 37.1% services: 57.5% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 74.22 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 10.3% industry: 21.4% services: 68.3% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate:7.6% plus considerable underemployment (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line:17.8% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.7% highest 10%: 38.7% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:40 (2002)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):12.7% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):18.1% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget:revenues: $176.7 billionexpenditures: $125.6 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA(2005 est.)
Public debt:12.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products:grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk
Industries:complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal,oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building fromrolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles;defense industries including radar, missile production, and advancedelectronic components, shipbuilding; road and rail transportationequipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery,tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating andtransmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumerdurables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate:4% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production:931 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 66.3% hydro: 17.2% nuclear: 16.4% other: 0.1% (2003)
Electricity - consumption:811.5 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports:24 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports:14 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production:9.15 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:2.8 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:5.15 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:75,000 bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves:69 billion bbl (2003 est.)
Natural gas - production:587 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:402.1 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports:157.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports:12 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:47.57 trillion cu m (2003)
Current account balance:$84.25 billion (2005 est.)
Exports:$245 billion (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities:petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and woodproducts, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian andmilitary manufactures
Exports - partners:Netherlands 10.3%, Germany 8.3%, Italy 7.9%, China 5.5%, Ukraine5.2%, Turkey 4.5%, Switzerland 4.4% (2005)
Imports:$125 billion (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities:machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar,semifinished metal products
Imports - partners:Germany 13.6%, Ukraine 8%, China 7.4%, Japan 6%, Belarus 4.7%, US4.7%, Italy 4.6%, South Korea 4.1% (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:$182.2 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external:$215.3 billion (2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million innon-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million (2000est.)
Currency (code):Russian ruble (RUR)
Currency code:RUR
Exchange rates:Russian rubles per US dollar - 28.284 (2005), 28.814 (2004), 30.692(2003), 31.349 (2002), 29.169 (2001)
Fiscal year:calendar year
Communications Russia
Telephones - main lines in use:40.1 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:120 million (2005)
Telephone system:general assessment: the telephone system underwent significantchanges in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensedto offer communication services; access to digital lines hasimproved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mailservices are improving; Russia has made progress toward building thetelecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy;however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfieddomestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from SaintPetersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; thetelephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digitalinfrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, areavailable in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services arestill outdated, inadequate, and low densityinternational: country code - 7; Russia is connected internationallyby three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in severalcities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls;satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik,Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems
Radio broadcast stations:AM 323, FM 1,500 est., shortwave 62 (2004)
Radios:61.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:7,306 (1998)
Televisions:60.5 million (1997)
Internet country code:.ru; note - Russia also has responsibility for a legacy domain".su" that was allocated to the Soviet Union, and whose legal statusand ownership are contested by the Russian Government, ICANN, andseveral Russian commercial entities
Internet hosts:1,979,924 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):300 (June 2000)
Internet users:23.7 million (2005)
Transportation Russia
Airports: 1,623 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways:total: 616over 3,047 m: 512,438 to 3,047 m: 1981,524 to 2,437 m: 130914 to 1,523 m: 100under 914 m: 137 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways:total: 1,007over 3,047 m: 92,438 to 3,047 m: 161,524 to 2,437 m: 75914 to 1,523 m: 127under 914 m: 780 (2006)
Heliports:52 (2006)
Pipelines:condensate 122 km; gas 156,285 km; oil 72,283 km; refined products13,658 km (2006)
Railways:total: 87,157 kmbroad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified)narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island)note: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier lines serveindustries (2005)
Roadways:total: 871,000 kmpaved: 738,000 km (including 29,000 km of expressways)unpaved: 133,000 kmnote: includes public and departmental roads (2004)
Waterways:102,000 km (including 33,000 km with guaranteed depth)note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, WhiteSea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea (2005)
Merchant marine:total: 1,178 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,080,341 GRT/6,287,784 DWTby type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 46, cargo 743, chemicaltanker 25, combination ore/oil 38, container 13, passenger 12,passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 219, refrigerated cargo 54, rollon/roll off 15, specialized tanker 5foreign-owned: 100 (Belgium 4, Canada 1, Cyprus 2, Estonia 1,Germany 2, Greece 1, Latvia 2, Malta 4, Norway 1, Switzerland 7,Turkey 63, Ukraine 11, US 1)registered in other countries: 465 (Antigua and Barbuda 6, Bahamas6, Belize 36, Bulgaria 1, Cambodia 105, Comoros 4, Cyprus 53,Dominica 2, Finland 1, Georgia 28, North Korea 1, Liberia 77, Malta70, Marshall Islands 1, Mongolia 13, Panama 7, Saint Kitts and Nevis5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 29, Sierra Leone 1, Tuvalu 2,Ukraine 1, Vanuatu 1, Venezuela 1, unknown 14) (2006)
Ports and terminals:Anapa, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Novorossiysk,Rostov-na-Donu, Saint Petersburg, Taganrog, Vanino, Vostochnyy
Military Russia
Military branches:Ground Forces (SV), Navy (VMF), Air Forces (VVS); Airborne Troops(VDV), Strategic Rocket Troops (RVSN), and Space Troops (KV) areindependent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the threebranches
Military service age and obligation: Russia has adopted a mixed conscript-contract force; 18-27 years of age; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; length of compulsory military service is two years; plans call for reduction in mandatory service to 18 months in 2007 and to one year by 2008; 30% of Russian army personnel were contract servicemen at the end of 2005; planning calls for volunteer servicemen to compose 70% of armed forces by 2010, with the remaining servicemen consisting of conscripts; as of November 2006, the Armed Forces had more than 60 units manned with contract personnel totalling over 78,000 contract privates and sergeants; 88 Ministry of Defense units have been designated as permanent readiness units and are expected to become all-volunteer by end 2007; these include most air force, naval, and nuclear arms units, as well as all airborne and naval infantry units, most motorized rifle brigades, and all special forces detachments (2006)
Manpower available for military service:males age 18-49: 35,247,049females age 18-49: 35,986,426 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:males age 18-49: 21,049,651females age 18-49: 29,056,021 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:males age 18-49: 1,286,069females age 18-49: 1,244,264 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:NA
Transnational Issues Russia
Disputes - international: in 2005, China and Russia ratified the treaty to divide up the islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun Rivers, representing the final portion of their centuries-long border disputes; the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting all but small, strategic segments of the land boundary and the maritime boundary; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed equidistance boundaries in the Caspian seabed but the littoral states have no consensus on dividing the water column; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia (Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following the Second World War but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands; in May 2005, Russia recalled its signatures to the 1996 border agreements with Estonia (1996) and Latvia (1997), when the two Baltic states announced issuance of unilateral declarations referencing Soviet occupation and ensuing territorial losses; Russia demands better treatment of ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still conforming, as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, to strict Schengen border rules; delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine is complete, but states have renewed discussions on demarcation; the dispute over the maritime boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions; discussions toward economic and political union with Belarus advance slowly; Kazakhstan and Russia boundary delimitation ratified November 2005 and demarcation is underway; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea