Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet Union generally operated with a positive trade balance and current account. During these decades, the USSR was the most powerful economy in the communist sphere, exporting approximately 600 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods, almost one hundred billion more than all Europe's other COMECON members combined. The majority of the Soviet Union's trade was within the COMECON sphere. However, external influences, particularly conflict in the Middle East and its effect on oil prices, did impact the USSR economically.
Balance of payments of the Soviet Union from 1970 to 1990
(in billion U.S. dollars)
Characteristic
Merchandise export
Merchandise import
Balance of trade
Invisibles
Current Account
1990
48.8
50.2
-1.4
-3.1
-4.3
1989
45.1
47.4
-2.3
-1.7
-4
1988
42.7
39.2
3.5
-1.2
2.3
1987
40.8
32.7
8.1
-1
7.1
1986
34.6
33.3
1.4
-0.6
0.4
1985
36.9
36.2
0.7
-0.7
0.1
1984
43.3
36.6
6.7
0
6.7
1983
44.2
38
6.2
-0.4
5.8
1982
43.4
39.1
4.3
-0.7
3.6
1981
39.1
39.9
-0.7
-0.9
-1.6
1980
38.2
34.8
3.4
-0.4
3
1979
30.9
26.7
4.2
0.1
4.3
1978
22.8
21.8
0.9
0
1
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Routledge. (December 31, 1993). Balance of payments of the Soviet Union from 1970 to 1990 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 29, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236683/soviet-union-balance-of-payments-cold-war/
Routledge. "Balance of payments of the Soviet Union from 1970 to 1990 (in billion U.S. dollars)." Chart. December 31, 1993. Statista. Accessed April 29, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236683/soviet-union-balance-of-payments-cold-war/
Routledge. (1993). Balance of payments of the Soviet Union from 1970 to 1990 (in billion U.S. dollars). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: April 29, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236683/soviet-union-balance-of-payments-cold-war/
Routledge. "Balance of Payments of The Soviet Union from 1970 to 1990 (in Billion U.S. Dollars)." Statista, Statista Inc., 31 Dec 1993, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236683/soviet-union-balance-of-payments-cold-war/
Routledge, Balance of payments of the Soviet Union from 1970 to 1990 (in billion U.S. dollars) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236683/soviet-union-balance-of-payments-cold-war/ (last visited April 29, 2025)
Balance of payments of the Soviet Union from 1970 to 1990 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph], Routledge, December 31, 1993. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1236683/soviet-union-balance-of-payments-cold-war/
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