Nizhny Novgorod Region
The Nizhny Novgorod Region is located in the centre of European Russia. The region's total area is 76,900 square kilometres. The population is 3.3 million. The city of Nizhny Novgorod, located 439 kilometres from Moscow, is the region's administrative centre.
The Nizhny Novgorod Region is a large transportation hub. The total route length of its motorways is 18,900 kilometres, and railways over 1,200 kilometres.
There are over 1,100 kilometres of navigable waterways in the region. Via the Volga River, its tributary, the Oka River, and a canal network, regional waterways are connected to Moscow, St Petersburg and all the seas around Russia's European coasts (the Baltic, White, Azov, Black and Caspian seas).
Among Russia's regions, the Nizhny Novgorod Region is one of the most economically developed. It is one of the country's largest industrial centres, with a high percent of the processing industry. The region ranks sixth in terms of industrial output. Almost half of Russia's buses and trucks and over 20% of its steel pipes are produced in the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
In 2011, the most significant growth was reported by the following industrial sectors: motor vehicle production (up 17.2%), oil products (14.4%), and the chemical industry (16.9%). Agricultural production grew 22.1%.
The region's economy is also determined by a large number of military industrial enterprises supported by authoritative educational institutions. According to independent experts' estimates, the region is ranked fourth in Russia (after Moscow, St Petersburg and the Moscow Region) in terms of innovation potential.
There are 90 research institutions in the region, including four institutes and two branches of Moscow institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 66 industry research institutes (including the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre – the National Research Institute of Experimental Physics). The region ranks fourth in Russia in terms of the number of employees engaged in research and development.
The region's largest companies are GAZ Group, the Vyksa Steel Works, the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant, Arzamas Machinery Plant, Sibur-Neftekhim, LUKoil Nizhnegordnefteorgsintez and the Pavlovo Bus Factory.
Small and medium-sized businesses, representing over 30% of all employed people in the region, make a significant contribution to the region's economy. The Nizhny Novgorod Region is included in Russia's ten leading regions in terms of small business development. The official unemployment level in the region is 0.9%.
In 2011, 10,318 residential buildings were built in the region, with a total space of 1.5 million square metres (1.4% more than in 2010). The region ranks 11th in terms of the number of new buildings built.
