Stavropol Territory
Located in the centre of the Pre-Caucasian territory between Europe and Asia, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, the Stavropol Territory is part of the North Caucasus Federal District and borders eight Russian regions.
The Stavropol Territory has an area of 66,200 square kilometres. Its administrative centre is Stavropol.
The area includes 4 natural (semi-desert, steppe, forest-steppe and mountains) and climatic zones (hot-dry, mixed-dry, mixed-humid and humid). Agricultural land makes up 87.8% of the region's territory, while 1.7% is forest land and 1.8% is water.
The Stavropol Territory is rich in natural resources, like gas, oil, rare earth metals, construction materials and mineral water.
As many as 118 nationalities and 25 ethnic groups live in the Stavropol Territory, including 81.6% Russians, 5.9% Armenians and 1.7% Ukrainians. As of 1 August 2012, the territory has a population of 2,788,700 people.
The bulk of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, a protected ecological resort, is located in the Stavropol Territory. It is the only place in the world, where 130 mineral springs of 30 different types are found in a relatively small area.
The Stavropol Territory is the largest producer of mineral fertilizers and synthetic sapphires in Europe. The region is the leading manufacturer of polymer and glass products and the biggest producer of bottled mineral water .
The largest companies of the region include Arnest, Nevinomyssky Azot, Energomera, Monokristall and Stavrolen.
Agriculture is a leading sector of the regional economy. Any kind of crops can be cultivated there. Grain crops, like wheat, are especially popular. This year’s harvest was characterised by a number of negative factors, such as an abnormally cold winter and an unusually dry spring. Over 4.2 million tonnes of grain were harvested.
The gross regional product for 2011 amounted to 363 billion roubles, which is 14.3% higher than in 2010, in actual prices. The average annual growth of the gross regional product (103.9%) for the last five years is 1% higher that the average GDP growth rate in Russia.
Trade, manufacturing, agriculture, transport and communication are the main industries that account for the gross regional product.
The volume of GRP in 2011 amounted to 130,000 roubles per capita, which is 14.2% over last year’s.
The volume of industrial production in 2011 amounted to 418,216,300 roubles (104.4%). After eight months of this year, the region reached a 100.2% rate (144,548,600 roubles).
In 2011, investment into the fixed capital amounted to 106.7 billion roubles (a growth of 9.7%). Foreign investment amounted to 553.8 million US dollars (growth of 7.6 times). The growth rate for the first eight months of 2012 is 109.1%.
The average nominal wage in 2011 was 16,241 roubles (an 11.7% increase), a 3.4% increase in real wages. For the first seven months of 2012 the average nominal wage was 17,346 roubles (a 15.8% increase) and a 13% increase in real wages.
The official unemployment rate in 2011 was 1.8% (2% in 2010). At the end of August 2012, the official unemployment rate was 1.4%, compared to 1.7% in August 2011.
The social-economic development programme of the Stavropol Territory for 2010-2015 is being implemented in the region. As part of the programme, 21 projects in agriculture, as well as manufacturing, chemical and other key industries have already been implemented, creating over 1,400 jobs.
