Location
The Chuvash Republic is located in the central part of Russia, on the right bank of the Volga River. It is bordered by the Nizhny Novgorod Region to the west, the Republic of Mari El to the north, the Republic of Tatarstan to the east, the Ulyanovsk Region to the south and the Republic of Mordovia to the south-west. The Chuvash Republic comprises 317 municipal entities, including 21 municipal districts, 5 urban districts and 291 cities, towns and villages, 7 of which are classified as urban and 284 as rural.
Area
18,300 square kilometres.
Capital
Cheboksary
Population
As of January 1, 2009, the population of the Chuvash Republic was 1,279,400, 738,000 (57.7%) of which lived in urban areas and 541,100 (42.3%) of which lived in rural areas. The average population density was 69.7 people per square kilometre. According to the 2002 national census, the republic was home to representatives of 97 nationalities and nine ethnic groups.
Economic development
The Chuvash Republic's economy is dominated by industry, which accounts for more than half of all economic activity. Manufacturing accounts for 77% of the republic's industry, producing and distributing energy, natural gas and water makes up 22.6% and mining accounts for 0.4%.
The republic's industry provides about 55% of tax revenues and over 75% of the balanced finance result, employing over 30% of the local working population.
Food products account for 17.6% of all goods produced by manufacturing industries, electrical, electronic and optical equipment for 15.9%, machinery and equipment for 15.5%, transport facilities for 12.5%, chemical products for 11.7%, manufacturing output and metallurgical products for 9.5% and textiles and clothing for 5.5%.
The construction sector in the Chuvash Republic accounts 10.3% of the gross regional product, involving over 2,100 enterprises and companies of different types and employing 40,000 people.
In 2009, residents of the Chuvash Republic earned a total of 144.8 billion roubles. The average monthly income for the same year was 9,433.4 roubles per person.
In the first ten months of last year, industrial production fell by 31% as compared to corresponding period in 2008, construction fell by 42.8%, retail sales by 2.5% and real incomes by 1.4%.
The republic's consumer price index for goods and services rose by 5.6% from December 2008 to October 2009, while Russia's overall index rose by 8.1% during the same period. This is considerably less than during the first ten months of 2008, when the consumer price index for the Chuvash Republic rose by 12.8%. The Chuvash Republic has the lowest consumer price index in the Volga Federal District.
As of October 1, 2009, local businesses' overdue accounts payable amounted to 3.34 billion roubles, or 6.1% of businesses' total debt. The same number for October 1, 2008 was 4.4%. Thirty percent of the region's businesses were unprofitable.
Agriculture
The agricultural sector is a significant part of the local economy. Major crops include potatoes, vegetables, grain, as well as industrial crops such as rapeseed, hemp, sugar beets and crops grown for fodder. Hops are traditionally grown in the republic, which accounts for 70% of all hops-growing land in Russia.
The republic also produces milk, meat and eggs.