Russia Facts

Political

• Russia is currently the President of the G8 Group of industrialised democracies and one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

• Russia is currently the Chair of the Council of Europe and co-operates closely with the EU through the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

• Russia is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Community and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, made up of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

• Russia is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the alliance of 11 former Soviet Republics.

• Russia is one of seven confirmed nuclear powers and is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

• Russia is a member of the six-nation multilateral talks charged with engaging North Korea.

• Russia ratified the Kyoto Protocol in November 2004.

Economic

• Russia’s GDP reached US$ 1.7 trillion in 2005 making it the ninth largest economy in the world. If the current growth rate is sustained, Russia is expected to become the second largest European economy after Germany (US$2.3 trillion) and the sixth largest in the world within a few years.

• In his 2003 state of the nation address, President Putin set the ambitious goal of doubling the country's GDP within 10 years.

• Russia ended 2005 with its seventh straight year of growth, averaging 6.4% annually since 1998. Russia has the fastest economic growth rate in the G8.

• Russia is the world’s largest producer of natural gas (587 billion cu m) and the world’s second largest producer of oil (9,150,000 barrels a day).

• Russia's international reserves equal US$250.6 billion (June 2006). If current trends continue, Russia will have the world's third largest gold and foreign currency reserves by the end of 2006.

• On 30 June 2006, Russia announced that it will repay its entire US $21.3 billion of debt to the Paris Club by September 2006, representing the largest prepayment ever made to Paris Club creditors. Russia remains a major creditor within the Paris Club.

• On 1 July 2006, Russia lifted all currency controls, allowing the rouble to become fully convertible.
• Russia has the fifth largest mobile phone usage in the world (74.4 million in 2004) and has the twelfth largest internet usage (23.7 million in 2005). Both sectors forecast to see significant growth over the next ten years.

• UK exports to Russia are worth £1.8 billion – their highest ever level (UK Trade & Investment).

Geographical

• Russia is the largest country in the world, covering approximately 17,075,200 sq km, and bordering fourteen countries in Europe, Central Asia and the Far East.

• With a population of 142,894,000, Russia is the eighth most populous country in the world, and the second most populous country in the G8 (July 2006 est.)