Russia

Russia: strong, sustained growth, 1988–2025

The 1991 Soviet collapse triggered a severe 1990s depression and hyperinflation; 2000s oil-driven growth was later disrupted by Western sanctions after 2014 and especially after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which also disrupted data reporting. Between 1988 and 2025, Russia's GDP per capita grew from $3,778 to $17,547 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 4.2% — strong, sustained growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 1.0% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 5.8 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 15.6% to 3.1% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 30.6% to 58.9% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 67.0 to 73.4 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 44.4% to 60.4%, while the urban population share grew from 69.9% to 75.3%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 13.78 to 13.98 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 45.4 to 33.0; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 6.2% to 0.1%.