Voronezh Region - Society and Economy
General Characteristics
The Voronezh Region occupies the territory in the Central European part of Russia with the area of 52.2 thousand kilometers (0.3% of the Russian Federation territory and 8.0% of the Central Federal District).
Based on the population density, the area can be attributed to the densely populated ones: the population density amounts to 43.5 people per square kilometer (the number is 8.3 for Russia in general and 57.1 for the Central Federal District).
The population of the Voronezh Region in the beginning of 2009 amounted to 2270.0 thousand people, or 1.6% of the population of Russia and 6.2% of the population of the CFD. Based on the population, the Voronezh Region holds the 22nd position among the Russian regions and the 3rd position among the CFD subjects. The share of the urban population within the entire region’s population amounts to 63.3%. The share of the rural population is significantly higher than the average Russian and CFD level (36.7%, 26.9% and 19.3%, correspondingly).
The labor resources in the region in 2008 on average amounted to 1414.2 thousand people, or 62.3% of the entire region’s population. The basic share of the region’s labor resources (75.3%) are those engaged in economy – 1064.7 thousand people.
The number of economically active population in 2008 amounted to 1124.7 thousand people, or 49.5% of the entire region’s population (the 3rd place in the CFD), 94.7% of them being actively employed.
The average age of those employed is 40.4 years (in the Russian Federation as a whole it is 39.7 years, in the CFD it is 40.5 years). The structure of the employed population based on the education level: 25.9% - those having higher education (the 3rd place in the CFD), 36.1% - those with the complete secondary (general) education, and 23.1% - those with the intermediate vocational education.
Priority Trends of the Region’s Economic Development
The priority trends of the Voronezh Region economic development were defined by the local Act No 114-OZ as of November 20, 2007 “On the Voronezh Region social and economic development strategy in the long-term perspective”. Based on the strategy, the Program of Economic and Social Development for the period 2007-2011 was developed and is currently being implemented (upon approval by the Voronezh Region Act No 113-OZ as of November 20, 2007). The region’s economic development perspectives have been determined by the regional specifics of the industrial specialization and correspond to the general federal goals of the state policy.
The region’s strategic goal in the economic development sphere is “the improvement of the region’s economy competitiveness in conditions of transfer to the new economy".
The basic goals of the authorities and management in the course of its implementation:
Creation of the innovation activities infrastructure;
Development and realization of the new industrial and agricultural policy.
The basic sectors of the Voronezh Region economy, reproducing the added value in premium amount, are manufacture and processing of agricultural products, high-technology industrial production, trading and service sphere, transportation and logistics complex.
The vector on account of which the competitiveness of the regional economy can be restored is, first and foremost, the agriculture and food industry. Within the structure of the Voronezh Region economy the industry plays the dominant role (it accounts for 23 to 25% of the gross regional product, and about 30% of taxes are collected in this sphere). At the same time, the unique agricultural, climatic and soil resources of the region ensure a relatively high level of the agricultural development. The outcome of combination of these two factors is the preferential industrial specialization in manufacturing of foodstuffs, the share of which amounts to about 40% of the entire volume of products of the region’s processing industry.