[2] As a post-Soviet transition economy, Belarus rejected most privatisation efforts in favour of retaining centralised political and economic controls by the state.

Manufacturing became a pillar of its economy emphasising tractors, heavy trucks, oil processing, metal-cutting lathes, synthetic fibres, TV sets, semi-conductors and microchips.

The main branches of industry produce tractors and trucks, earth movers for use in construction and mining, metal-cutting machine tools, agricultural equipment, motorcycles, chemicals, fertilizer, textiles, and consumer goods.

[30] Analysis of foreign direct investment to Belarus between 2002 and 2007 shows that nearly 80% of FDI was geared into the service sector, while industrial concerns accounted for 20%.

[32] Other reasons for the crisis were strong governmental control in the economy, a discount rate lower than inflation and the budget deficit.

[46] In April 2015, Alexander Lukashenko signed a bill on "preventing freeloading practices" [ru] which introduced a fine on unemployed population, among other restrictions.

[48][49] Several categories of people were exempt from paying the fee: parents with a child under 7 years old, disabled persons, students, those who were officially registered as unemployed, etc.

Professor Victor Sayevich said in September 2020 that Belarus suffered a decline in economic figures of between 1.5% and 2%,[citation needed] whereas European countries sustained drops around 12%.

[58][62] In 2021, International Trade Union Confederation listed Belarus among top 10 worst countries for working people in the world (Global Rights Index).

[63] Reasons for worsening of the situation included state repression of independent union activity, arbitrary arrests and severe cases of limited or no access to justice.

This figure reflects a decline in the availability of imported inputs (especially crude oil and deliveries from Russia), a drop in investments, and decreased demand from Belarus's traditional export markets among the former Soviet republics.

Subsidization of agricultural sector in Belarus amounted to 1–2 percent of GDP in the form of direct government credits, advanced payments for the realization of state orders of major crops, at strongly negative interest rates.

[citation needed] The food processing industry in the country is led primarily by state concern Belgospischeprom and local municipal or regional owned production facilities.

[70] Beneficial terms of Russian oil and gas deliveries are behind a degree of economic dependence on Russia, Belarus' EAEU neighbour.

[71] According to some estimates, profits stemming from the low prices the country pays for Russian gas and oil -either consumed locally or processed and then re-exported- has occasionally accounted to up to 10% of national GDP.

The help of Power Machines Company, Atomstroyexport, Rosatom and Atommash was enlisted to erect in Shulniki, Grodno Region two pressurized water reactors of the AES-2006 type.

RUP-Oblenergo are set up on particular territory (the regional power systems cover the relevant geographic administrative units of Belarus).

[citation needed] All the activities related to prospecting, exploration and production of oil and associated gas in the country are carried out by the government-controlled concern Belneftekhim via its subsidiary, the unitary republic enterprise Belorusneft.

[citation needed] Belarus also has deposits of industrial diamonds, titanium, copper ore, lead, mercury, bauxite, nickel, vanadium, and amber.

[85][86] The latter company is a part of Sergey Romanovich's Niva-Holding empire of integrated engineering solutions for the mining industry, which employs 2,100 people in Soligorsk, Minsk, Mogilev and Urechye across several subsidiary organizations.

[88] The Мотавела [be] plant was located in the city of Minsk between 1945 and 2018, but beginning in 2013, the government started to question the will of ATEK Holdings, who had managed the company for a number of years.

[89] The government has been supportive of China's Belt and Road Initiative global infrastructure development strategy, leading to the inception in 2012 of the associated low-tax China–Belarus Industrial Park near Minsk National Airport planned to grow to 112 square kilometres (43 sq mi) by the 2060s.

[90][91] The Belarusian chemical industry specializes in extracting value from the Russian oil products which transit through the country's pipelines to Germany and the west.

Synthetic polymers like nylon, viscose, acrylic, polyester and polyethylene are produced from this stream as well as household chemical products.

[97] Spirits and liquors are produced at the eight distilleries of the Joint Stock Company «Minsk kristall»,[98] which in turn is managed by the state-run Belgospishcheprom concern.

[106] In the last two decades Belarusian IT turned into a major tech hub in Europe, it made up 5.5% of the country's GDP and exported up to $2 billion (€1.69bn) worth of software.

[107] The nation-wide opposition crackdown led by the authorities after 2020 protests resulted in significant decline of the previously booming IT sector because most tech specialists fled the country.

[123] The main partners in the field of international tourism are countries of the former Soviet Union, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

[31] Belarus has established ministries of energy, forestry, land reclamation, and water resources and state committees to deal with ecology and safety procedures in the nuclear power industry.

[131] He also accused several workers of state factories of gathering information about the ways used to circumvent the sanctions, and he threatened them with imprisonment.