Kursk Region
The Kursk Region is a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and part of the Central Federal District.
Location
The Kursk Region is in the European part of the Russian Federation. In the north it borders the Bryansk Region, in the east it borders the Oryol and Lipetsk regions, in the south it borders the Voronezh and Belgorod regions and in the west it borders Ukraine. The Kursk Region comprises 28 districts and 5 cities under regional administration (Zheleznogorsk, Kursk, Kurchatov, Lgov and Shchigry).
Area
29,800 sq km
Capital
Kursk, located 536 km from Moscow\n
Main cities
Kursk, Zheleznogorsk, Kurchatov, Lgov, Shchigry
Climate
The region has a moderate continental climate. Average temperature in January is minus 8.6 degrees centigrade, in July 19.3 degrees centigrade.
Population
The population of the Kursk Region is 1,214,500 people, 553,900 male and 660,600 female. The urban population is 61.8%, the rural population is 38.2%. The economically active population is 719,900 people, of whom 598,200 people are employed. The unemployment rate is 8.6% according to the standards of the International Labour Organisation. The number of people older than the working age is 32% and the number of people younger than the working age is 11.2%. The birth rate is negative minus 10.9 per 1,000 people. The rate of immigration is negative minus 22.6% per 10,000 people.
Main natural resources
The primary natural resources of the Kursk Region are iron ore of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, dolomite, copper and nickel ore, bauxite, non-metallic materials for the construction industry, phosphate rock, peat and mineral water. Considerable oil deposits have been found in the region. The region has 3 million hectares of land, of which 2.3 million hectares are farm land. Black earth (70%) and grey forest soil prevail.
Industry accounts for 27.6% of the regional economy, the services sector - 27%, agriculture - 16.3%, construction - 7.7%, transport - 5.4%. The industry of the Kursk Region has 14 branches. The leading regional industry is electric power generation followed by the iron and steel sector, machine-manufacturing, metal-working and food processing (76.1% of industrial production). The region produces 48.0% of the total amount of fabric-ply belt in the country, 47.1% of cash registers, 28.2% of alkaline accumulators and batteries and 19.4% of iron ore extraction.The energy industry
The energy sector accounts for 31.7% of industrial output. The largest enterprises in the sector are the Kursk nuclear power plant and the Kurskenergo company (TETS-1) The Kursk nuclear power station (4000MW) is one of the most powerful in the Russian Federation.
The chemical and petrochemical industry
This industry accounts for 5.8% in industrial output. The main specialisation is rubber technical goods, chemical fibre, polymer and composite goods. The Kurskrezinotekhnika company is the leader in the region's chemical and petrochemical industry. It accounts for nearly 70% of the industry's output.
Machine-manufacturing
This industry accounts for 16.2% of industrial output. Regional enterprises specialise in the production of accumulators, bearings, automatisation devices, mobile power stations, prospecting and drilling equipment, parts for agricultural machines, walk-behind tractors, metal-cutting machines and press-forging machinery. The largest enterprises are Akkumulyator, Elevatormelmash, Kursk Bearing Company, Pribor and Elektroagregat. A considerable part of the industry's output is exported.
The ferrous industry
This industry accounts for 14.9% of industrial output. The largest plant is the Mikhailovsky Ore-Mining and Processing Plant or Mikhailovsky GOK (extraction of iron ore, production of iron-ore pellets and sintering ore and concentrate).
Forestry and wood industry
In forestry, wood-processing and the pulp-and-paper industry, 85% of the total output is concentrated in 10 enterprises including GOTEK, Izoplit and the Kursk Carton Factory.
The food industry
This industry specialises in meat and dairy products, canned fruit and vegetables, candy and sugar. It accounts for 13.3% of industrial output. The food and processing industries of the agro-industrial complex of the Kursk Region comprise more than 100 enterprises. The largest enterprises are Kurskmakaronprom, Konditer-Kursk, Konfi, Krasnaya Polyana, and the Kurskaya poultry factory.
Agriculture
Farm land constitutes 81.4% of the region's area, arable land - 64.8%. Grain, technical and feed crops are grown in the region. Cattle for meat and dairy products, as well as pigs and poultry are raised in the region. The farms in the region specialise in grain, sugar beet and feed crop cultivation.
The transport sector
The Kursk Region has a developed transport infrastructure.
Railway transport
The length of the railway system is more than 1,100 km.
Automobile transport
The route length of motorways is 9,100 km, of which 414 km are highways of federal importance.
Air transport
Flights are offered from Kursk Airport to Moscow, Anapa, Stepanavan in Armenia and Burgas in Bulgaria.
Pipeline transport
Six main gas pipelines and two oil pipelines cross the Kursk Region.
Foreign economic activity
Export to the CIS countries constitutes 30% of the total export, leaving 70% of exports to other countries. The main exports are ore, roller bearings, electric motors and generators and washing machines. The major trade partners are Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Argentina, Egypt and Kazakhstan. Imports from the CIS countries constitute 80% of the region's total imports, imports from other countries is 20%. The main products imported by the region are ferrous metals, synthetic rubber, pipes, plastic material and plastic products, harvesters, equipment to produce paper and carton and food products. The main import trade partners are Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia the United States, Turkey, Ukraine, France and Switzerland.
Small businesses
There are more than 8,100 small businesses in the Kursk Region. The number of people working in this sector is 24.2% of the region's workers. Foreign trade employment accounts for 44% of regional jobs. More than 25% of the workers in small businesses are employed in the industry and in construction. Small business accounts for about 10% of the industrial output in the region.
The region's problems and prospects
The industrial complex of the Kursk Region has a number of problems in its major areas of specialisation. The factors that promote the region's development are export production and fuel and energy facilities. Agriculture has good prospects. The black soil of the region is a major source of the region's economic development.
The Governor of the Kursk Region is Alexander Mikhailov.
The Speaker of the Kursk Duma is Alexander Kichigin.
