Russia Population growth rate: -0.33% (1999 est.) Birth rate: 9.64 births/1,000 population (1999 est.) Death rate: 14.96 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.) Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources Natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula Environment—…showed first 75 words of 594 total…

…showed last 75 words of 594 total…est.) Infant mortality rate: 43.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.) GDP—real growth rate: 3.2% (1998 est.) Population below poverty line: 22.6% (1995 est.) Labor force—by occupation: government 29.5%, agriculture 22%, construction and public works 16.2%, industry 13.6%, commerce and services 13.5%, transportation and communication 5.2% (1989) Industrial production growth rate: -4% (1997 est.) Telephone system: domestic: good service in north but sparse in south; domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic earth stations are planned) Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc