Economy of the CIS
The largest market in the CIS region is Russia, with its gross domestic product (GDP) estimated at almost 1.78 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. To compare, Ukraine's and Kazakhstan's economies are nearly nine times smaller. In terms of GDP per capita at PPP, the leading economies are Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. However, Kazakhstan's GDP per capita at PPP is forecast to exceed Russia's in 2023 as the Russian economy is projected to shrink under Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine. Russia's economic decline might also negatively affect other CIS countries. For instance, Kyrgyzstan receives most of its remittances from Russia. At the same time, Armenia and Georgia could benefit from immigration from Russia, as the immigrants are often highly educated and bring capital to their economies.China is one of the major origins of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the CIS region. As of mid-2022, China's foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in the CIS exceeded 67 billion U.S. dollars. Furthermore, the mutual FDI stock of the CIS countries stood at 44.6 billion U.S. dollars, with Russia being the main investment source. Regarding foreign trade, China and Russia are the leading trade partners of most countries in the region. For instance, Uzbekistan exported the highest value of goods to China, at over 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.
