Ukraine Economy

Ukraine represents one of top thirty world economies, with below average per capita income, and above average economic growth.

In the Soviet times, the economy of the republic was the second largest in the Soviet Union, being an important industrial and agricultural component of country's planned economy. With the collapse of Soviet system, the country progressed toward a market economy, but the move was somewhat longer and more painful than the proponents of shock therapy were to advise.

In 1991, the government liberalized most prices in order to combat widespread product shortages, and was successful in overcoming the problem. In the same time, the government continued to subside the government-owned industries and agriculture by uncovered monetary emission. The loose monetary policies of early 1990s pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels. For the year 1993 Ukraine holds the world record for inflation in one calendar year. The prices stabilized only after the introduction of new currency, hryvnia in 1996.

The country was also slow in the implementation of structural reforms. Following independence, the government erected a legal framework for privatization. However, widespread resistance to reforms within the government and from a significant part of population soon stalled the reform efforts. A large number of governed-owned enterprises were exempt from the privatization process. Meantime, by 1999, the output had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level.

Since the late 1990s the government has pledged to reduce the number of government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. Outside institutions—particularly the IMF—have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms and have threatened to withdraw financial support. But reforms in some politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatizations are still lagging.

In early 2000s the economy showed strong export-based growth of 5% to 10%, with industrial production growing more than 10% per year. The growth was largely attributed to a surge in exports of metals and chemicals to China.

In 2005, the economic growth temporary slowed down due to unfavorable changes in terms of trade, as world energy prices went up and metal prices went down. In 2006, the economy is again experiencing above 5% growth. The growth was undergirded by strong domestic demand and growing consumer and investor confidence.

The current Ukrainian economy is a typical example of a post-soviet era developing economy. The World Bank classifies Ukraine as a lower middle-income state. Some significant issues are underdeveloped infrastructure and transportation, corruption and bureaucracy, and a lack of modern-minded professionals - despite the large number of universities. But the rapidly growing Ukrainian economy has a very interesting emerging market with a relatively big population, and large profits associated with the high risks.[4] The Ukrainian stock market grew up 10 times between 2000 and 2006, including the tremendous 341% growth in 2004, followed by 28% growth in 2005, and 24% growth in 2006.

The average nominal salary in Ukraine on November 2006 was 1103.9 UAH, which is around 170 EUR, according to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. For 2006, the Index of Economic Freedom of Ukraine was 3.24, rank 99 amongst 157 states.

The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural gas, and to a large extent depends on Russia as the only monopolistic energy supplier, although lately Ukraine has been trying to diversify its sources.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine

Slovakia Economy

Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The Slovak government made progress in 2001 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in the early 2000s, despite recession in key export markets.

Solid domestic demand boosted economic growth to 4.1% in 2002. Strong export growth, in turn, pushed economic growth to a still-strong 4.2% in 2003 and 5.4% in 2004, despite a downturn in household consumption. Multiple reasons entailed a GDP growth of 6% in 2005, the 4th highest rate in the EU (after the three Baltic states). The GDP growth is expected to reach at least 7.7% in 2006 (the year-to-year growth amounted to unexpected 9.8% in the 3th quarter, which helped to increase the overall year economy growth expectation to 7.7%), and 6.5% in 2007. The 9.8% growth came as a surprise to local analysts (6 % were expected), given that the big foreign investor Kia is going to launch its production only in late 2006.

Unemployment, rising from 14.9 % at the end of 1998 to 19.2% at the end of 2001 (seasonally adjusted harmonised rate) during the radical reforms introduced by the Slovak government since 1999, decreased again to some 12% (autumn 2006), but still remains among the highest ones in the EU.

Inflation dropped from an average annual rate of 12.0% in 2000 to just 3.3% in the election year 2002, but it rose again in 2003-2004 because of increases in taxes and regulated prices. It reached 3.7 % in 2005.

Slovakia plans to adopt the Euro currency on 1 January 2009 and has already entered the ERM II for this purpose (Slovak euro coins).

Slovakia is among the most attractive countries in the EU for foreign investors mainly because of its low labour costs (a 2005 survey by the prominent consultant firm Deloitte shows that Slovakia has the lowest labour costs in the European Union) and low tax rates. This issue has sparked criticism from some other EU countries, which accuse Slovak government of social and tax dumping. In recent years, Slovakia has been pursuing a policy of encouraging foreign investment. However, that has not shown any benefits so far in innovation capabilities within the country.

Despite a sufficient number of researchers and a solid secondary educational system, Slovakia (as well as some other post-communist countries) still faces many challenges in the field of modern knowledge economy. Within the EU, Slovakia ranks next to last on knowledge creation and last for innovation and entrepreneurship. The business and public R&D expenditures are deeply below EU average. World Bank urges Slovakia to upgrade information infrastructure and reform education system, OECD states that a stronger product market competition would help.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia

Russia Economy

Introduction
More than a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia is now trying to further develop a market economy and achieve more consistent economic growth. Russia saw its comparatively developed centrally planned economy contract severely for five years, as the executive and the legislature dithered over the implementation of reforms and Russia's aging industrial base faced a serious decline.


Crash
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia's first slight recovery, showing signs of open-market influence, occurred in 1997. That year, however, the Asian financial crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble. This was followed by a debt default by the government in 1998, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. Consequently, 1998 was marked by recession and an intense capital flight.


Recovery
Alexei Kudrin, Russian finance minister.Nevertheless, the economy started recovering in 1999. The recovery was greatly assisted by the weak ruble, which made imports expensive and boosted local production. Then it entered a phase of rapid economic expansion, the GDP growing by an average of 6.7% annually in 1999–2005 on the back of higher petroleum prices, a weaker ruble, and increasing service production and industrial output. The country is presently running a huge trade surplus, which has been helped by protective import barriers, and rampant corruption which ensures that it is almost impossible for foreign and local SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) to import goods without the help of local specialist import firms, such as the Russia Import Company. Some import barriers are expected to be abolished after Russia's accession to the WTO.

The recent recovery, made possible due to high world oil prices, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 and 2001 to advance lagging structural reforms, has raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for about 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Industrial military exports after undergoing sharp contraction is now the major non-commodity export. In recent years, however, the economy has also been driven by growing internal consumer demand that has increased by over 12% annually in 2000–2005, showing the strengthening of its own internal market.

The economic development of the country has been extremely uneven: the Moscow region contributes one-third of the country's GDP while having only a tenth of its population. GDP increased by 7.2% in 2004, 6.4% in 2005 and about 7% in 2006.


Recent economy
The country's GDP (PPP) soared to $1.5 trillion in 2004, making it the ninth largest economy in the world and the fifth largest in Europe. If the current growth rate is sustained, the country is expected to become the second largest European economy after Germany and the sixth largest in the world within a few years.

In 2005, according to the Federal Service of State Statistics, GDP reached $765 billion nominally (21.7 trillion rubles), equal to $1.6 trillion in international dollars (PPP; purchasing power parity). Inflation was 10.9% percent. Expenditures of the consolidated budget have reached 5942 billion rubles ($215 billion). The government plans to reduce the tax burden, although the time and scale of such a reduction remains undecided. However, some experts believe what official statistic underestimates Russian GDP by 28% because of inaccuracy of decades old statistical system (for example, it didn’t count small enterprises and whole sectors of new economy). IMSG estimated that nominal Russian GDP reached $970 billion in 2005.


1000 ruble note, depicting Yaroslavl.In 2005 Russia exported 241.3 billion dollars and imported 98.5 billion dollars. This means that Russia registered a trade surplus of 142.8 billion dollars in 2005, up about 33% from 2004's foreign trade surplus of $106.1 billion dollars.

It's estimated what direct foreign investment reach at least $23 billion in 2006.

On January 5, 2007 Russia's international reserves reached $303.9 billion nominally and projected to grow to $350–450 billion by the end of 2007 .

Thanks to high oil prices, Russian oil exports totaled $117 billion in 2005 while gas exports totaled $32 billion in the same year. That means that oil and gas made up 60% of total Russian exports in 2005.

Knowing the importance of oil and gas to the economy, a Stabilization Fund was formed by the government in January 2004. This fund takes in revenues from oil and gas exports and is designed to help offset oil market volatility. This fund was also set up in order to prevent the ruble from appreciating. The Stabilization Fund (SF) grew to $76.6 billion in November 2006. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said in October 2006 the fund will continue to increase over the coming years, and will exceed $149 billion by late 2007 and about $260.4 billion by the end of 2009. Russia is paying off its foreign debt mainly from the Stabilization Fund, which hit $76.9 billion as of July 1. Russia repaid the bulk of its outstanding debt to the Paris Club of Creditor Nations on August 18-21. The debt totaled $1.9 billion as of October 1, compared to $23.7 billion on July 1.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia, the monthly nominal average salary in June 2006 was about 10,975 rubles (about $408 nominally; about $740 PPP), 25.6 percent higher than in June 2005 and 7 percent more than in May 2006.

For the year of 2007, Russia's GDP is projected to grow to about $1.2 trillion nominally (31.2 trillion rubles) that would be about $2.3 trillion PPP and would make Russia the second largest economy in Europe.

Challenge
Some perceive the greatest challenge facing the Russian economy to be encouraging the development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in a business climate with a young and less-than-sufficient functional banking system. Few of Russia's banks are owned by oligarchs, who often use the deposits to lend to their own businesses. The 2005 Milken Institute's ratings place Russia at the 51st place in the world, out of 121 countries by the availability of capital.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank have attempted to kick-start normal banking practices by making equity and debt investments in a number of banks, but with very limited success.

However, about twenty-five of the biggest banks of Russia get entry into Top 1000 banks of the world by The Banker [13]. Many more Russian banks have very high international ratings by Moody's and Fitch, including "investment" level.

Other problems include disproportional economic development of Russia's own regions. While the huge capital region of Moscow is a bustling, affluent metropolis living on the cutting edge of technology with a per capita income rapidly approaching that of the leading Eurozone economies, much of the country, especially its indigenous and rural communities in Asia, lags significantly behind. Market integration is nonetheless making itself felt in some other sizeable cities such as Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, and Ekaterinburg, and recently also in the adjacent rural areas.

The arrest of Russia's wealthiest businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky on charges of fraud and corruption in relation to the large-scale privatizations organized under then-President Yeltsin, contrary to some expectations, has not caused most foreign investors to worry about the stability of the Russian economy. Most of the large fortunes currently in evidence in Russia are the product of either acquiring government assets at particularly low costs or gaining concessions from the government. Other countries have expressed concerns and worries at the "selective" application of the law against individual businessmen, though government actions have been received positively in Russia. Russia occupies 122th place among 157 countries in the Index of Economic Freedom.


Prospect
Tomsk State University.Encouraging foreign investment is also a major challenge due to legal, cultural, linguistic, economic and political peculiarities of the country. Nevertheless, there has been a significant inflow of capital in recent years from many European investors attracted by cheaper land, labor and higher growth rates than in the rest of Europe

Very high levels of education and societal involvement achieved by the majority of the population, including women and minorities, secular attitudes, mobile class structure, and better integration of various minorities into the mainstream culture set Russia far apart from the majority of the so-called developing countries and even some developed nations.

The country is also benefiting from rising oil prices and has been able very substantially to reduce its formerly huge foreign debt. However, equal redistribution of capital gains from the natural resource industries to other sectors is still a problem. Nonetheless, since 2003, exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market has strengthened considerably, largely stimulated by intense construction, as well as consumption of increasingly diverse goods and services. Yet teaching customers and encouraging consumer spending is a relatively tough task for many provincial areas where consumer demand is primitive. However, some laudable progress has been made in larger cities, especially in the clothing, food, and entertainment industries.

Additionally, some international firms are investing in Russia. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Russia had nearly $26 billion in cumulative foreign direct investment inflows during the period (of which $11.7 billion occurred in 2004).

Russia faces considerable income inequalities that hinder Russia's potential to become a more diversified economy.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia

Romania Economy

With a GDP per capita (PPP) of $9,446[11] in 2006, Romania is considered an upper-middle income economy[12] and has been part of the European Union since 1 January 2007. After the Communist regime was overthrown in late 1989, the country experienced a decade of economic instability and decline, led in part by an obsolete industrial base and a lack of structural reform. From 2000 onwards, however, the Romanian economy was transformed into one of relative macroeconomic stability, characterised by high growth, low unemployment and declining inflation. In 2004, GDP growth was 8.4%, one of the highest in Europe, even though this rate was halved in 2005, to 4.1%,[11] mainly due to floods in significant agricultural areas. For the first three quarters of 2006, the year-to-year growth was 7.8%.[13] Unemployment in Romania was at 5.0% in September 2006[14] which is very low compared to other middle-sized or large European countries such as Poland, France, Germany and Spain. Foreign debt is also comparatively low, at 20.3% of GDP.[15] Exports have increased substantially in the past few years, with a 25% year-on-year rise in exports in the first quarter of 2006. Romania's main exports are clothing and textiles, industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, metallurgic products, raw materials, cars, military equipment, software, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). Trade is mostly centred on the member states of the European Union, with Germany and Italy being the country's single largest trading partners. The country, however, maintains a large trade deficit, as it imports 37% more goods than it exports.

After a series of privatisations and reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, government intervention in the Romanian economy is somewhat lower than in other European economies.[16] In 2005, the liberal-democrat Tăriceanu government replaced Romania's progressive tax system with a flat tax of 16% for both personal income and corporate profit, resulting in the country having one of the lowest fiscal burdens in Europe, a factor which has contributed to the growth of the private sector. The economy is predominantly based on services, which account for 55% of GDP, even though industry and agriculture also have significant contributions, making up 35% and 10% of GDP, respectively. Additionally, 32% of the Romanian population is employed in agriculture and primary production, one of the highest rates in Europe.[15] Since 2000, Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becoming the single largest investment destination in Southeastern and Central Europe. Foreign direct investment was valued at $6.3 billion in 2005.[17] According to a 2006 World Bank report, Romania is currently ranked 49th out of 175 economies in the ease of doing business, scoring higher than other countries in the region such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.[18] Additionally, the same study judged it to be the world's second-fastest economic reformer in 2006.[19] The average gross wage per month in Romania is 1213 lei as of November 2006,[20] equating to €356.55 (US$460.80) based on international exchange rates and $765.78 based on purchasing power parity.[21]

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania

Moldova Economy

Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, Moldovan wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious economic liberalization effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the World Bank and the IMF to promote growth. Recent trends indicate that the communist government intends to reverse some of these policies, and recollectivise land while placing more restrictions on private business. The economy returned to positive growth, of 2.1% in 2000 and 6.1% in 2001. Growth remained strong in 2002, in part because of the reforms and because of starting from a small base. Further liberalization is in doubt because of strong political forces backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors.

Following the regional financial crisis in 1998, Moldova has made significant progress towards achieving and retaining macroeconomic and financial stabilization. It has, furthermore, implemented many structural and institutional reforms that are indispensable for the efficient functioning of a market economy. These efforts have helped maintain macroeconomic and financial stability under difficult external circumstances, enabled the resumption of economic growth and contributed to establishing an environment conducive to the economy’s further growth and development in the medium term. Despite these efforts, and despite the recent resumption of economic growth, Moldova still ranks low in terms of commonly-used living standards and human development indicators in comparison with other transition economies. Although the economy experienced a constant economic growth after 2000: with 2.1%, 6.1%, 7,8% and 6,3% between 2000 and 2003 (with a forecast of 8% in 2004), one can observe that these latest developments hardly reach the level of 1994, with almost 40% of the GDP registered in 1990. Thus, during the last decade little has been done to reduce the country’s vulnerability. After a severe economic decline, social and economic challenges, energy uprooted dependencies; Moldova continues to occupy one of the last places among the European countries according to the income per capita. In 2002 (Human Development Report 2004), in Moldova the registered GDP per capita was US $381 equivalent to US $ 1,470 PPP, which is 5.3 times lower that the world average (US $ 7,804). Moreover, GDP per capita is under the average of all regions in the world, including Sub-Saharan Africa (US $ 1,790 PPP). In 2004, about 40% of population were under the absolute poverty line and registered an income lower than US $ 2.15 -purchasing power equivalent- per day. Moldova is classified as medium human development and is placed on the 113 spot in the list of 177 countries. The value of the Human Development Index (0.681) is below the world average. Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP per capita: $ 2,500 in 2006.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova

Poland Economy

Since the fall of communism, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberalising the economy and today stands out as one of the most successful and open examples of the transition from a partially state-directed economy to a primarily privately owned market economy.

The privatisation of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms have allowed the development of an aggressive private sector, followed by a development of consumer rights organisations later on. Restructuring and privatisation of "sensitive sectors" (e.g., coal, steel, railways, and energy) has begun. The government plans to float 20 public companies on the stock market in the years 2007-2010, including parts of the coal industry. The biggest privatisations so far were a sale of Telekomunikacja Polska, a national telecom to France Telecom (2000) and an issue of 30% shares of the biggest Polish bank, PKO BP, on the Polish stockmarket (2004).

Poland has a large agricultural sector of private farms, that could be a leading producer of food in the European Union now that Poland is a member. Challenges remain, especially under-investment. Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Warsaw leads Central Europe in foreign investment [citation needed] and needs a continued large inflow. GDP growth had been strong and steady from 1993 to 2000 with only a short slowdown from 2001 to 2002. The prospect of closer integration with the European Union has put the economy back on track, with growth of 3.7% annually in 2003, a rise from 1.4% annually in 2002. In 2004 GDP growth equalled 5.4%, and in 2005 3.3%. Forecasted GDP for 2006 is 5.5 - 6.0%.In 2007 the government has set a target for gdp growth at 6.5%-7.0%. Recntly they replaced the head of the National Bank Lech Balcerowicz for Slawomir Skrzypek. At first the markets reacted scepticly and fell but now they have stabalised and have seen a sharp rise wuth the warsaw stock exchange breaking records.

Although the Polish economy is currently undergoing economic progress, there are many challenges ahead. The most notable task on the horizon is the preparation of the economy (through continuing deep structural reforms) to allow Poland to meet the strict economic criteria for entry into the European Single Currency. There is much speculation as to just when Poland might be allowed to join the Eurozone, although the best guess estimates put the entry date somewhere between 2009 and 2013 [citation needed]. For now, Poland is preparing to make the Euro its official currency (though it has not joined the ERM yet), and the Złoty will eventually be abolished from the Polish economy.

Since joining the European Union, many young Polish people have left their country to work in other EU countries because of high unemployment, which is the highest in the EU (13.6% in November 2006).[4]

Products Poland produces include clothes, electronics, cars (including luxury car Leopard), buses (Autosan, Jelcz SA, Solaris, Solbus), helicopters (PZL Świdnik), transport equipment, locomotives, planes (PZL Mielec), ships, military engineering (including tanks, SPAAG systems), medicines (Polpharma, Polfa, etc), food, chemical products etc.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland

Hungary Economy

Hungary continues to demonstrate economic growth as one of the newest member countries of the European Union (since 2004). The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Hungary gets nearly one third of all foreign direct investment flowing in to Central Europe. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totalling more than US$23 billion since 1989. The Hungarian sovereign debt's credit rating is BBB+ as of July 2006, making Hungary the only other country in the EU apart from Poland not to enjoy an A grade score. Inflation and unemployment have been on the rise in the past few years, and they are expected to rise further. Foreign investors' trust in the Hungarian Economy has declined, as they deem that the stringency measures planned in the 2nd half of 2006 are not satisfactory, their focus being mainly on increasing the income side rather than curbing government spendings. Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing are being addressed by the present government.

The Hungarian government has expressed a desire to adopt the euro currency in 2010. However, foreign analysts widely criticised that date as highly unrealistic given the current shape of the economy in relation to the Maastricht criteria; their assessments suggest that a date of 2013-2014 for Euro adoption is more realistic. Some analysts even go as far as to suggest that Romania and Bulgaria, who joined the EU in 2007, might beat Hungary to euro adoption.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary

Czech Republic Economy

One of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. Growth in 2000-2001 was led by exports to the European Union, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. The rate of corruption remains one of the highest among OECD countries.

Uncomfortably high fiscal deficit is becoming a problem.

Moves to complete banking, telecommunications, and energy privatization will add to foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth.

The country is scheduled to fully implement the Schengen Agreement and therefore abolish the border controls with all of its neighbors (Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia) as of 31 December 2007.

The Czech government has expressed a desire to adopt the euro currency in 2010, but its introduction is only in the early planning stages and there are growing doubts whether budget deficit will not force postponement. More likely dates are 2011 or 2012.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic

Bulgaria Economy

Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically after 1989 with the loss of the market of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) member states, to which the Bulgarian economy had been closely tied. The standard of living fell by about 40%, but it regained pre-1990 levels in June 2004. In addition, UN sanctions against Yugoslavia and Iraq took a heavy toll on the Bulgarian economy. The first signs of recovery emerged in 1994 when the GDP grew and inflation fell. During 1996, however, the economy collapsed due to lack of international economic support and an unstable banking system. Since 1997 the country has been on the path to recovery, with GDP growing at a 4 – 5% rate, increasing FDI, macroeconomic stability and EU membership.


Mall of Sofia with the only IMAX cinema in the Balkans
Tourism has always been a big industry in the country, and still booming: one of the 130 hotels in Slanchev Bryag, one of the most popular resorts in Eastern EuropeThe former government, elected in 2001, pledged to maintain the fundamental economic policy objectives adopted by its predecessor in 1997, i.e., retaining the Currency Board, practising sound financial policies, accelerating privatisation, and pursuing structural reforms. Economic forecasts for 2005 and 2006 predict continued growth in the Bulgarian economy. The annual year-on-year GDP growth for 2005 and 2006 is expected to total 5.3% and 6.0%, respectively. Industrial output for 2005 is forecast to rise by 11.9% year-on-year, and for 2006 — by 15.2% year-on-year. Unemployment for 2005 is projected at 11.5% and for 2006 — at about 9%. As of 2006 the GDP structure is: agriculture- 8.0%; industry-26,1%; services- 65.9%.

Agricultural output has decreased since 1989 but production is growing in the recent years. Farming is more important than stock-breeding. The prevalence of mechanisation is higher than most other Eastern European countries but there is lack of modern equipment. There are more than 150,000 tractors, 10,000 combines, alongside aeroplanes and other equipment. Production of the most important crops is: wheat-4,120,000 t; sunflower- 1,080,000 t; maize- 2,120,000 t; grapes- 500,000 t; tobacco- 79,000 t; tomatoes- 530,000 t; barley- 1,180,000 t; potatoes- 650,000 t; peppers- 213,000 t; cucumbers- 110,000 t; cherries- 75,000 ; watermelons- 420,000 t; cabbage- 340,000 t; apples- 150,000 t; plums-150,000 t; strawberries- 52,000 t.

Industry is of great importance for the economy. Although Bulgaria is not very rich in reserves of coal, oil, and gas, the country is a major producer of electricity and the most important exporter in the whole region due to the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant with a total capacity of 3,760 MW. A second plant, the Belene Nuclear Power Plant with a capacity of 2,000 MW is under construction. There is a $1,400,000,000 project for construction of an additional 670 MW for the 500 MW Maritza Iztok 1 TPP (see Energy in Bulgaria).

The production of steel and pig iron is concentrated in Kremikovtsi and Pernik. There is also a third metallurgical base in Debelt. In production of steel and steel products per capita the country is first in the Balkans.

Ferrous metallurgy is very important. The largest refineries for lead and zinc are in Plovdiv (the biggest refinery between Italy and the Ural mountains), Kurdzhali and Novi Iskar; for copper in Pirdop and Eliseina; for aluminium in Shumen. In production of many metals per capita, Bulgaria is first in South Eastern Europe and among the first in Europe and the world.

About 14% of the total industrial production is related to machine building and 24% of the people are employed in this field. Its importance decreased since 1989 but is growing again now. Electronics and electrical equipment production is very well developed. The largest centres are Sofia, Plovdiv and the area around, Botevgrad, Stara Zagora, Varna and many others. These plants produce household appliances, computers, CDs, telephones, medical and scientific equipment. Many of the factories producing transportation equipment do not work with full capacity. There are plants producing trains (Burgas, Dryanovo), trams (Sofia), trolleys (Dupnitsa), buses (Botevgrad), trucks (Shumen), motocars, automotive assembly plant in Lovech. The main centre of agricultural machinery is Ruse. Shipbuilding is concentrated in Varna, Burgas and Ruse. Arms production is mainly developed in central Bulgaria (Kazanlak, Sopot, Karlovo).

The property market has been boosted recently by foreigners seeking additional homes. These buyers come from right across Europe but the largest number are British, encouraged by comparatively cheap property and because the country is more accessible through low cost air travel.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria

Belarus Economy

The Belarusian economy remains about 80% state-controlled, as it has been since Soviet times. The country is relatively stable, economically, but depends to a large extent on raw material supplies from its close ally Russia. Industry and agriculture remain largely in state hands. Belarus is therefore one of the very few state-capitalistic national economies remaining. Agriculture is dominated by collective farming, with the major sub-sectors the cultivation of potatoes and cattle breeding. Historically important branches of industry include textiles and wood processing. After 1965, creation of heavy industry and mechanical engineering (tractors, refrigerators) significantly strengthened the country's development. Within the Soviet Union, Belarus was one of the most industrially developed republics. Economically, Belarus engages itself in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Eurasian Economic Community and Union with Russia. After 1990, with the introduction of free market structures into the former Soviet Union, industrial production plunged. However, economic growth returned in 1996 and in 2001 Belarus was first of CIS countries to reach 1990 levels of industrial production and agricultural production. Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2005 was $79.13 billion (estimate), which equates to an annual income of approximately $7,700 dollar per head. In 2005 GDP increased by about 8-9%, with the inflation rate averaging about 8%. According to the UN, average monthly income grew from 20 United States dollars to 225 USD during the last 10 years.

The unemployment rate, according to Belarusian government statistics, was about 2% in 2005. However, foreign experts have suggested that the real rate is probably higher. More controversial is the decision to abandon the Belarusian ruble (BYR) in favor of the Russian ruble (RUB), starting on January 1, 2008, according to Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.[27]

The Belarusian economy is impacted by the political situations inside the republic. The impact is mostly felt in the form of sanctions against the country or the leadership of Belarus. For example, the European Union adopted Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 on 18 May 2006. The Regulation provided for a freeze on the funds of President Lukashenko and between 30 to 35 high-level officials of Belarus. The sanctions also provided for travel bans for the aforementioned leaders. The sanction was imposed by the EU after the nation-block declared that the 19 March 2006 elections were fraudulent and for the crackdown on opposition groups.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus

Info about Est European Country - I

As a cultural and ethnic concept, the term Eastern Europe was defined by 19th century German nationalists to be synonymous with "Slavic Europe", as opposed to Germanic (Western) Europe [citation needed]. This concept was re-enforced during the years leading up to World War II and was often used in a racist terminology to characterize Eastern/Slavic culture as being backwards and inferior to Western/Germanic culture, language, and customs (see Mein Kampf). Eastern Europe would then refer to the imaginary line which divided predominantly German lands from predominantly Slavic lands. The dividing line has thus changed over time as a result of the World Wars, as well as numerous expulsions and genocides.

As the ideological division of the Cold War has now disappeared, the cultural division of Europe between Western Christianity, on the one hand, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Islam, on the other, has reemerged. It follows the so-called Huntington line of "clashing civilizations" corresponding roughly to the eastern boundary of Western Christianity in the year 1500. This line runs along what are now the eastern boundaries separating Norway, Finland, Estonia and Latvia from Russia, continues east of Lithuania, cuts in northwestern Ukraine, swings westward separating Transylvania from the rest of Romania, and then along the line now separating Slovenia and Croatia from the rest of ex-Yugoslavia. In the Balkans this line coincides with the historic border between the Hungarian Kingdom (later Habsburg) and Ottoman empires, whereas in the north it marks the then eastern boundaries of Kingdom of Sweden and Teutonic Order, and the subsequent spread of Lutheran Reformation. The peoples to the west and north of the Huntington line are Protestant or Catholic; they shared most of the common experiences of Western European history -- feudalism, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution.

The 1995 and 2004 enlargements arguably brought the European Union's eastern border up to the boundary between Western and Eastern Orthodox civilizations. Most of Europe's historically Protestant and Roman Catholic countries (with the exception of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Croatia, and the various European microstates) were now EU members, while most of Europe's historically Eastern Orthodox countries (with the exception of Greece and Cyprus) were outside the EU. This is, however, temporary, as the 2007 accession of Bulgaria and Romania, both predominantly Eastern Orthodox and located in Southeastern Europe, is going to shift the EU's borders further east to reach the west coast of the Black Sea.

A view that Europe is divided strictly into the West and the East is considered pejorative by many in the nominally eastern countries. For example, many people in Estonia, Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic or Slovenia may feel the label stigmatizing in comparison with countries that successfully have asserted their belonging to "the West" despite their equally, or more, "eastern" location — and history as parts of Imperial Russia (Finland) or Eastern Orthodoxy (Greece). Czechs, for instance, will often point out that Prague is significantly west of Vienna, but Austria is never categorized as Eastern Europe.

On the other hand, the approbative term "New Europe" has been coined by neoconservative Americans to describe those former Eastern-Bloc countries which disavow the antipathy towards the politics of the United States that is common in Western Europe

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europe

Info about Est European Country

The region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Central Europe and Russia. This contemporary delineation is more commonly used to identify the region since the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact

A diverse area of land stretching from east to west as follows:
- its eastern limit is either the Ural Mountains within Russia or from the Pacific coast of the Russian Far East
- its western limit is the boundary between the European Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States (sometimes excluding Kaliningrad).
Politically, "Eastern Europe" may in fact cover all of northeastern Eurasia, since Russia is one single transcontinental geopolitical entity. Cyprus is also frequently taken to be a European state, although geographically it is in Asia. The same approach is also sometimes taken with the post-Soviet states of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus.

The boundaries of Eastern Europe can be subject to considerable overlap and fluctuation depending on the context they are used in, which makes differentiation difficult. As is also true of continents, regions are only social constructs and should not be understood as physical features defined by abstract, neutral criteria.

In recent years, with the spreading of the European Union, many countries in Eastern Europe have sharply increased their economies, quality of life and cities. This has also boosted tourism, the film industry, and even, to a lesser extent, immigration.

In many outdated sources, the term "Eastern Europe" still encompasses most, or all, such European countries that until the end of the Cold War (around 1989) were Communist states or countries under Soviet influence, i.e., the former "Eastern Bloc". The majority of people in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia often consider their countries to be part of Central Europe rather than Eastern Europe, while many sources, especially in English-speaking countries continue to classify these countries as Eastern Europe.

As a term, the origins of "Eastern Europe" are fairly recent. For many years serfdom and reactionary autocratic governments persisted long after those things faded in the West. It was always a very vague notion, however, and many countries in the region did not fit the stereotypical view.

More recently, the term "Eastern Europe" has been used to refer to all European countries that were previously ruled by Communist regimes - the so-called "Eastern Bloc". The idea of an "Iron Curtain" separating "Western Europe" and Soviet-controlled "Eastern Europe" was dominant throughout the period of Cold War which followed the Second World War. This dualism failed to account fully for some exceptions, as Yugoslavia and Albania were Communist states outside Moscow's control. In recent years, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991), the term "Eastern Europe" is sometimes used to identify a region, in effect retroactively, as consisting only of those European countries that were parts of the Soviet Union itself.

Info from - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europe

New blog for business

Today I start esteuropeanbusiness blog. Here you will find informations about business from Est Europe, informations like: new websites for business, ad classifieds, companies from Eastern Europe, etc.

Eastern Europe country are: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine.