Key facts
*  Currency: the rouble (or ruble). €1 = 40 roubles, £1 = 44 roubles. (March 2010)
*  GDP per capita 500,000 roubles (estimate for 2008) (equivalent of €12,573)
*  Russia finished 2008 with GDP growth of 6%, after 10 years of growth averaging 7% annually. Growth in 2008 came mainly from services and domestic manufacturing, rather than exports. During the 10 years since the financial crisis of 1998 poverty and unemployment has been declining steadily.
*  Employment (2008 data): industry: 27.4%, agriculture: 10.2%.
    Unemployment: 6.2%.

Some important industries
*  mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals
*  machinery from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles
*  defence production includes radar, missiles and advanced electronic components
*  shipbuilding
*  road and rail transport
*  agricultural machinery, tractors
*  electric power generating and transmitting equipment
*  medical and scientific instruments.
*  agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits, beef, milk.

Exports
*  natural gas exports: 173 billion cubic metres, world's largest exporter. (2007 data)
*  oil: 5.17 million barrels/day (2007), the world's 2nd largest exporter after Saudi Arabia
*  wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, wide variety of civilian and military equipment.
*  Leading export markets: Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belarus, Ukraine, China.