23 September 2009

Over the last few decades, the economy has become more service-oriented, not only in the European Union (EU27) and North America, but also in the region of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The rising importance of the service sector in the CIS region can be seen as one dimension of the shift from centrally planned to market economy. The economic and social changes in the 1990s have led to significant expansion of financial and business activities and also strengthened demand for personal and public services.

By 1996, the share of the service sector in GDP in the CIS region amounted to 52 % - some 16 percentage points behind the EU average - and over the next eleven years it gained another 5 percentage points. However, the aggregate figures do mask big differences among the CIS countries in service sector development. For instance, if during the above-mentioned period the share of services in GDP had changed rather little in Belarus, the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan; it had diminished markedly in Azerbaijan, where the boost in oil and gas production has outperformed the growth of services. At the same time, much larger shifts towards a service-based economy were recorded in the Republic of Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Source: UNECE Statistical Database

Note: 

* Data for 2008 refer to 2007. CIS aggregate includes ten countries in the chart.