Russia's GDP Grew More Than Europe, but Less Than Asia

Russia's GDP grew by 1% in 2025. Is this a lot or a little? "NI" analyzed official data on the state of the Russian economy and found the answer to this question.

Official sources unequivocally state: Russia's economy grew by 1% by the end of 2025. A number that means little to people. Everything is understood in comparison: to assess whether the past year was successful or unsuccessful, it is necessary to have a reference point.

There have been periods in Russia's history that were better. For example, in 2023 and 2024, the economy grew by 4.1% and 4.9%, respectively. But, on the other hand, when a crisis strikes, GDP definitely goes into negative territory. In 2009, the economy lost 7.8%, in 2015 — 2%, in the COVID year of 2020 — 2.7%, in the sanctions year of 2022 — 1.2%.

Last year turned out to be average for Russia. A study on the state of industry confirms this. 15 sectors showed a decline in industrial production, while 19 showed successes. However, the losses among the unsuccessful ones are more significant, as the largest oil and gas and automotive enterprises were affected.

But what is much more important is Russia's position relative to other countries. If the global economy is heading for a cliff, then even 1% is a significant success. And vice versa.

2025 ended much better for Russia than for many European countries. High energy prices and an unprecedented tariff attack from the United States did their job.

For example, Germany's economy grew by 0.2% last year, Austria's by 0.3%, Finland and Italy's by 0.5%, and France's by 0.7%. Russia found itself in the same group as the more successful Mexico (growth of 1%) and Japan (growth of 1.1%). The United States, under the uneasy leadership of Donald Trump, by the way, did not stray far either: an increase of 2%. Ukraine also showed similar 2% growth — the West made efforts to pump the country with arms production.

But there is still room for improvement: some countries showed explosive growth in 2025. Traditionally, China performed well, growing by 4.8%, and India is also doing well — an increase of 6.6%. But they were not the most surprising.

Small Ireland, according to preliminary estimates from the IMF, showed GDP growth of 9.1%. Other sources promise even growth of 10.7–12.6%.

Are we witnessing the Irish economic miracle? Not quite. Previously, Ireland, thanks to its soft tax policy, became home to many international corporations. And in 2025, they rushed to ship more products to the U.S., including pharmaceuticals, before new tariffs from Donald Trump came into effect. It is possible that in 2026, Ireland's economy will also decline rapidly.

And if you are looking for sensational news, you should head to Central Asia. Tajikistan's GDP grew by 8.4% last year, while Kyrgyzstan's grew by 11.1%! And these are already confirmed data.

The Tajik economy was supported by remittances from labor migrants (especially from Russia) — they stimulated domestic demand. Judging by the changing picture of the presence of foreign specialists in the Russian Federation, this year we will stimulate domestic demand in India.

The rise in gold prices and increased investments also positively affected Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan became a major transit hub for goods supplied to the Russian Federation (last year alone, over 50,000 cars were customs cleared in Kyrgyzstan for buyers in Russia).