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The emergence of the world socialist system deprived Britain, West Germany, France and Italy, the four major capitalist countries of Europe, of many of their former 107 positions on the continent. The sphere of their political and economic domination in Europe narrowed considerably. Nevertheless, taken together the European capitalist countries still occupy an important place in the world system of economy, accounting for approximately a third of the aggregate world industrial output. They have accumulated vast gold reserves and their share in world trade is greater than that of the United States. Formerly colonial powers, major West European countries still retain important positions in the economy of a number of developing states.

THE UNITED KINGDOM

p The United Kingdom is still a major imperialist power, and British imperialism is still a formidable economic, political and military force. But in recent years Britain has been losing her former positions and has indeed lost much of the power she had once wielded.

p Britain was the first European country to take the road of capitalist development, and by the middle of the 19th century, due to a variety of causes, she was already claiming to be the "world’s workshop" and the world’s chief commercial power. By the beginning of the 20th century British colonial possessions accounted for a quarter of the world’s territory and population. The seizure and plunder of colonies was one of the principal sources of Britain’s wealth and power. In this field British colonialists had no equal.

p But the First and particularly the Second World wars seriously undermined Britain’s positions. She has long since relinquished her leading position in the capitalist world to a more powerful country, the United States, and now she has been pushed further into the background by Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany.

p The disintegration of the British colonial empire was a serious blow to British capitalism. Profits derived from the exploitation of colonies declined. The country’s revenues could not catch up with the colossal military expenditures arising from her participation in NATO and other aggressive imperialist blocs.

p Britain’s lag in industrial development lowered the ability 108 of British goods to compete on the world markets. Her share in the world export of manufactured goods diminished, and at the same time she began importing large amounts of diverse commodities. The British balance of payments became still more unfavourable.

p The weakening of British imperialism is being accompanied by a further deepening of social contradictions in the country.

p A powerful strike movement of the working people determined to improve their economic position is mounting in the British Isles and the popular struggle against the government’s imperialist policy is growing in scope and scale.

p The ruling circles are making desperate attempts to strengthen the country’s shaken domestic and international positions. In particular they are doing their utmost to negotiate Britain’s entry into the Common Market and thus strengthen her positions in Western Europe.

p The United Kingdom is a relatively small, island state. In area (244,000 sq.km.) it is almost as big as the FRG, but is half the size of France. It has a population of 56 million which puts it in second place in Western Europe after the FRG.

p In the historical, geographic and ethnographic respects the United Kingdom is not a homogeneous state. Scots, Welshmen, Irish and Ulstermen comprise 8,000,000 or oneseventh of its population. All of them speak English, but by no means all of them consider themselves English. The inhabitants of Ulster (Northern Ireland), which was forcibly annexed from Ireland and made part of the United Kingdom, are intensifying their struggle for national independence and reunification with their homeland.

p Likewise dissimilar are the levels of economic development in individual parts of the country whose national outskirts are economically backward areas.

p The United Kingdom is a capitalist state whose highly developed industry yields ten times as much national product as does its agriculture which can meet only 50 per cent of the domestic food requirements.

p Britain’s economy is largely dependent on foreign trade, since most of the industries manufacture goods for export. 109 At the same time the bulk of the industrial raw materials and large quantities of food are imported. For the volume of foreign trade turnover the United Kingdom ranks third after the United States and the FRG. The tonnage of her merchant marine is greater than that of the United States. Large quantities of cargo are carried by ships under the British flag plying the world ocean.

p The role of state capital has sharply increased in Britain’s post-war economy. It controls the railways and internal waterways, operates key branches of the fuel and power industry (coal, gas, electricity), enterprises of the armaments (including atomic) industry and the bulk of the capacities of the iron and steel industry. About a fifth of the country’s industry has been nationalised in the interests of monopoly capital.

p On the whole, however, key positions in the economy are in the hands of private capital. A hundred and eighty companies, of which 19 are among the 100 most influential monopolies of the capitalist world, dominate the British industry. The automobile, power, petrochemical and a number of other key industries are influenced by foreign, mainly US capital.

p Peculiar to the structure of the British industry is the sharp preponderance of manufacturing which accounts for over 90 per cent of the gross industrial product. The mining industry is relatively small, since Britain, with the exception of coal (170,000 million tons), has small mineral resources.

p Engineering is the leading and decisive industry which yields about a third of the total industrial output and accounts for 50 per cent of the value of British exports. But the comparatively high cost of the British engineering products prevents them from competing successfully on the world market.

p Among the recently established branches the electrical engineering and the electronic industries have moved into leading positions. Their biggest customer is the Ministry of Defence. Aircraft production and other branches of engineering are working on orders of the same ministry. Another developed branch is transport machine-building.

p Though the capacity of the British shipyards is smaller 110 than those of the United States, they have more orders and launch more ships.

p The iron and steel industry which uses considerable amounts of imported raw materials annually produces up to 28 million tons of steel and in this respect ranks fourth among the capitalist countries with only the United States, Japan and the FRG being ahead. Copper, lead, zinc, and tin are produced also primarily from imported raw materials.

p The chemical industry is a new and rapidly developing branch of the economy. Factories in Lancashire, South Wales and in other areas produce plastics, synthetic rubber, chemical fibre and other items.

p Petrochemistry and oil refining are also developing. There are a score of refineries which annually distil over 100 million tons of crude oil shipped from the Middle East and other parts of the world.

p Britain’s textile industry which was the biggest in the world prior to the First World War, has been curtailing production in recent years.

p Territorially industry is fairly evenly distributed throughout the country, but with varying degrees of concentration. In this respect an important place is occupied by Greater London (population 9 million)—capital of the United Kingdom, an industrial, commercial and financial centre and a world port.

p Midland is the country’s oldest centre of coal, metal and machine production. The industrial core of the region is Birmingham (transport and military machine-building); machine-building is the industrial specialisation of Coventry.

p Other important industrial cities are Manchester (textile industry) in Lancashire, Sheffield in Yorkshire, Newcastle in North England and Glasgow in Scotland. Glasgow ( population about 2 million with environs), is the second biggest city in the United Kingdom and a major shipbuilding and engineering centre.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are industrially backward and depressed regions. The economic decline hits hard at the working people there and in the country as a whole.

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FEDERAL REPUBLIC
OF GERMANY

p The Federal Republic of Germany is a country where state-monopoly capitalism has reached a high level of organisation. The economy of the FRG is based on the manufacturing and building industries, which create more than 90 per cent of the total value of the country’s gross national product. Agriculture meets 75 per cent of the domestic food requirements and the rest is imported.

p Concentration and centralisation of capital and the state’s extensive participation in key industries are an important feature of the FRG economy. Though the economy is already largely militarised, the reactionary forces are steering a course of further expanding the armaments production.

p Heavy industry is predominant. The coal, metallurgical, chemical, engineering and other branches of the heavy industry yield approximately 60 per cent of the total volume of industrial production. An important place in the industrial structure is occupied by the light and food industries manufacturing consumer goods for domestic consumption and particularly for export.

p The diversified engineering industry accounts for about a third of the total industrial output and approximately a half of her manufactured exports. The leading role is played by metallurgical, power, transport and other metal-intensive branches of the machine-building industry which has reached a particularly high level of development in the Ruhr and in other regions.

p The FRG turns out approximately 50 per cent less metalworking equipment than does the USA, but twice as much as Britain. At the same time the FRG has surpassed the USA by two times in the export of machine-tools, forge and press and other metal-working equipment, and has left Britain and other advanced capitalist countries far behind in this field.

p Industries in the south of the FRG and in North RhineWestphalia specialise in the production of electrical engineering and electronic equipment. The FRG holds first place in the capitalist world for the export of electrical engineering equipment and ranks third after the USA and Japan for the export of electronic production.

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p West Germany is a major automobile producer, and despite the competition of Japanese and other automobile firms, she exports more automobiles than any other capitalist country.

p Aircraft construction is being revived and rocket production, which is also a branch of the armaments industry, is being organised in Munich, Nuremberg and other cities. Shipyards are building warships and ships for the merchant marine. Other European countries which build more ships are Britain and Sweden. The FRG has advanced textile, machine- and tractor-building industries and industries manufacturing equipment for the chemical and other branches of production.

p The engineering industry and for that matter the economy of the FRG as a whole has a powerful iron and steel base. It produces more than 45 million tons of steel, or approximately 50 per cent of the aggregate steel output of the Common Market countries. The non-ferrous industry does not satisfy the country’s requirements because of a shortage of raw materials.

p West Germany’s aggregate output of lignite and coal (over 200 million tons a year) is greater than that of Britain, but the latter produces more coal (112 million tons). The Ruhr has been and still is West Germany’s principal source of coal. Though the annual oil output in the country does not exceed 8 million tons, the annual capacity of West Germany’s oil refineries has surpassed 127 million tons. The bulk of oil which is refined in Hamburg, the Ruhr and other parts of the country is imported from the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America. The weak spot of the FRG economy is the shortage of liquid fuel and many other raw materials.

p Power engineering has attained a high level of development on the basis of local coals and imported oil products. The output of electricity in 1970 amounted to 240,000 million kwh. The construction of a system of atomic power stations not only augments the country’s power potential but also promotes her military atomic power industry.

p The chemical industry is a key branch of production. In the capitalist world the FRG ranks third after the USA and Japan for the production of plastics, chemical fibre and other basic types of chemical products.

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p The territorial distribution of industry is extremely uneven: over 40 per cent of West Germany’s industrial potential is concentrated in Rhine-Westphalia which occupies a seventh of the country’s area. A particularly large number of industrial enterprises are concentrated in Essen, Dortmund, Diisseldorf, Duisburg, Wuppertal, Bochum and other cities in the Ruhr Basin.

p In the maritime northern district, the most important city is Hamburg (population 2 million with environs). It is the country’s biggest city and a major industrial centre and port. Other industrial centres in the north are Bremen and Hannover; in the southern part of the country Frankfort on the Main, Stuttgart, Munich and Nuremberg. There is no industry in Bonn, the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The militarisation of the West German economy is being accompanied by mounting activity of reactionary and revanchist forces.

FRANCE

p France occupies a place of her own in the modern world. Being a leading capitalist country she is trying to get rid of the patronage of the US monopolies and is pursuing a realistic national foreign policy. France withdrew from NATO’s military organisation and managed to have NATO staffs and military bases removed from her territory and, at the same time, remained a member of this aggressive bloc.

p The establishment of mutually advantageous relations with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries has been an important step in the independent policy pursued by France’s ruling circles. Soviet-French co-operation in the political, economic, scientific and technological and cultural spheres is expanding on a long-term basis.

p One of the oldest world powers, France, over a hundred years ago was second only to Britain for the level of economic development. Modern France ranks fifth among the major capitalist countries, though territorially she is the biggest West European country (552,000 sq. km.) and has a population of 50.5 million.

p Since the Second World War France’s economy 114 underwent substantial changes. The share of the heavy industry rose sharply and there has been a threefold increase in the volume of industrial production. Concentration of production and centralisation of capital have multiplied the power of the French monopolies. At the same time the state-monopoly sector has moved into important positions in the economy.

p France is a highly advanced industrial and agrarian capitalist country. Her share in the world economy has increased. France yields approximately 5 per cent of the total volume of the industrial output of the capitalist world.

p But as regards her overall economic potential, France is not only behind the USA, but also behind Japan, the FRG and Britain. They turn out a bigger volume of industrial production and export greater quantities of manufactured goods; they also have a higher level of concentration and specialisation of industrial and agricultural production.

p Industry, building included, which is the foundation of France’s economy, yields over 60 per cent of the national income. Manufactured articles account for about 50 per cent of the total value of the French exports. Heavy engineering is the key industry and important role is played by a highly developed consumer goods production.

p The French industry has a good metal ore base. Iron and steel production is a major branch of the heavy industry. Mainly in Lorraine and partly in the north of the country iron and steel is smelted from local iron ore at factories using imported coke. France annually produces some 24 million tons of steel. A tenth of this amount is electric steel produced at electrometallurgical plants in central and southern France.

p The favourable combination of rich deposits of bauxites and inexpensive hydroelectric power generated in the south of France has made it possible to raise the annual output of aluminium to 372,000 tons. Ranking third after the USA and Canada in the production of aluminium France shares this place with Japan, but is way ahead of the West European countries.

p Mechanical engineering, the core of the French industry, is developing on a stable metallurgical base. Key positions are held by transport machine-building, electrical engineering and armaments industries. The French armaments industry makes strategic bombers, ballistic missiles, nuclear 115 weapons, atom-powered submarines and other types of weapons and military equipment.

p The electrical engineering (electric traction machines, transformers and domestic electric appliances) are manufactured both for the home and foreign markets. There has been a marked increase in the production of electronic equipment, especially computors. The machine-building industry is now manufacturing equipment for atomic power stations in France and in a number of other countries.

p Automobile factories are an important component of the transport machine-building industry. In this field of production France shares fifth place with Britain among the biggest automobile-producing capitalist countries. The nationalised enterprises of the Renault firm account for about 40 per cent of the output and export of French automobiles.

p A major and long-established branch of the engineering industry is shipbuilding which is concentrated in Marseilles, Toulon, Bordeaux, Brest, Le Havre and other ports. For the volume of output the French aircraft industry ranks third after the USA and Britain in the capitalist world.

p The chemical and petrochemical industries have moved into leading positions since the war. Besides turning out mineral fertiliser, acids and other conventional chemical products they are increasing the production of plastics, synthetic fibre and rubber. The production of medicines is also stepped up.

p A weak link in France’s industry, and the economy as a whole, is her limited fuel and power base. There are relatively small reserves of coal and its quality is low. The proven deposits of oil and natural gas are likewise small. France, therefore, is importing more oil, mainly from the Middle East and North Africa, for her refineries which can process about 127 million tons of crude oil a year. France produces over 147,000 million kwh of electricity, most of which is generated by hydroelectric stations on the mountain rivers in the south of the country. In the field of atomic power engineering France holds a leading place in the world.

p France has a highly developed agriculture and for the volume of marketable farm produce occupies third place in the capitalist world after the United States and Canada. Beef cattle-breeding and dairy farming are practised 116 throughout the country. France holds first place in capitalist Europe for the production of meat, milk, eggs, wheat (over 14 million tons a year) and sugar beet (approximately 18 million tons). The principal wheat-growing areas are the North Plain and the Aquitaine basin, most of the grapes are grown in Languedoc. No other country in the world produces such an amount of the finest grape wines.

p A diversity of natural and economic conditions and the distinctive specialisation of some areas, makes it possible to divide France into a number of economic regions.

p The Paris industrial-agrarian region, the historical core of the French state, is its principal industrial, transport and commercial and financial centre. Paris, the capital of France (population over 9 million), has a large number of engineering, chemical, armaments and light and food industry enterprises. Vladimir Lenin had lived and worked for a time in Paris, whose working class has long-standing revolutionary traditions.

p Other highly developed industrial areas are the Northern Industrial Region with Lille as its centre and the Northeastern Industrial-Agrarian Region (metallurgical industry of Lorraine and the textile and chemical industries of Alsace). The Paris, Northern and Northeastern regions together occupying a quarter of the country’s territory, account for a half of her population and 60 per cent of her industrial potential.

p Industry and agriculture are highly developed in the Lyons or the Southeastern Industrial-Agrarian Region (centres Lyons and St. Etienne) and the Mediterranean AgrarianIndustrial Region. A prominent place in the agrarian Mediterranean region famed for its grapes and vegetables is occupied by Marseilles, a city with the second largest population in the country, an important industrial centre and France’s largest port. The French Riviera is a European resort area.

p The Massif Central (centre—Clermont-Ferrand), the Southwestern (Toulouse) and the Northwestern (Nantes) regions are economically less developed agrarian-industrial parts of France. The seaboard with the ports of Bordeaux, Nantes, Brest and Cherbourg is France’s "Atlantic embankment”. The communications handling France’s foreign economic ties take their beginning at these and other ports.

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p France’s foreign economic relations, just as the policy of her ruling circles, are directed towards strengthening her positions in the world. France still has colonies in some parts of Africa and Oceania.

On the domestic scene the monopolies are pursuing their offensive on the rights and interests of the working people. The working people are displaying growing unity of action in the class battles against state-monopoly capitalism, and the authority of the French Communist Party is mounting and asserting itself to an ever greater degree. The documents adopted at the 19th Party Congress in February 1970 stress that only a democratic economic reform, including the nationalisation of key industries and banks, coupled with other social measures can improve living standards of the French working people. The French Communist Party, a major political force, is guiding the people’s struggle for an advanced democracy that will open the road to socialism for France.

ITALY

p Just a few decades ago Italy was an impoverished, backward country. The domination of agrarians in the economy and the lack of rich sources of mineral raw materials and fuel in the country retarded her industrial and economic development.

p Nevertheless, the relative weakness of Italian imperialism did not in the least mean that it had moderate aggressive intentions. Writing about Italy Lenin noted that as far back as at the beginning of this century she had turned into a country that was oppressing other nations, a country of "a rude, repulsively reactionary and rapacious bourgeoisie”. It was this bourgeoisie that engendered fascism under which the aggressiveness and adventurism of the Italian militarism reached their apogee.

p Infirm as they were Italy’s positions in the system of imperialism became further weakened by her defeat in the Second World War, the loss of her North African colonies and the damage sustained by her economy in the war. Nevertheless, Italian monopolies, which had retained their power in the country thanks to the generous support of the US imperialism, not only restored, but also augmented their 118 economic potential. Today Italy which has an area of 302,000 sq. km. and a population of nearly 55 million occupies sixth place in the capitalist world for the volume of industrial production. The large monopolies and state associations holding key positions in the Italian economy are coming to play an increasingly important role in Western Europe and the capitalist world as a whole.

p Italy’s exports to capitalist countries include about 33 per cent of the total number of cars manufactured in the country, about 50 per cent of metal-cutting tools, a considerable number of tractors, diverse machines and other commodities.

p Italian monopolies are investing both in the economy of the young independent countries of Africa and Latin America and into the industry of advanced West European countries, members of the Common Market. Italian monopoly capital is becoming ever more closely intertwined with West German and US capital.

p The oil-refining and chemical production developing on imported oil and local natural gas have become the leading branches of the Italian industry. With machine-building as its core, the industrial production accounts for about a half of the total volume of the gross national product.

p Machine-building specialises in the production of motor vehicles and motorcycles, machine-tools, engines and electrotechnical and other items. About 90 per cent of the total number of motor vehicles are made at the Fiat Works in Turin.

p Italy has a large shipbuilding industry which is dominated by state-monopoly capital. The biggest shipyards are in Genoa. Other branches of the engineering industry manufacture locomotives, tractors, ball bearings, electrotechnical items and precision instruments. The aircraft industry is being restored with the assistance of West Germany.

p Italy now produces over 16 million tons of steel compared to a mere 2 million in 1948. The annual output of aluminium is somewhere in the vicinity of 150,000 tons (Northern Italy), zinc—112,000 tons and lead—58,000 tons. Mercury, of which 2,000 tons are annually produced in Tuscany, and other non-ferrous metals are exported to the western countries.

p Italy’s mineral fuel resources are inadequate. In 1968 a mere 1.5 million tons of oil were produced, but the capacity 119 of her oil refineries has been increased to 162 million tons. Crude oil for the refineries of Genoa, Naples, Livorno, Bari, Spezia, Ancona and other ports is imported from the countries of Africa and the Middle East.

p Italy gets her power supply from stations burning imported fuel and from hydroelectric and geothermal stations. Of the 117,000 million kwh of electricity that are annually produced 60 per cent is generated at hydroelectric and geothermal stations and the remainder at thermal stations burning gas or liquid fuel. There are operating atomic power stations and others are being built.

p The output of plastics, chemical fibre, synthetic rubber and other chemical products is growing.

p A considerable part of industrial production falls to the share of the textile industry, Italy’s oldest. The food industry is slightly behind the textile industry in the value of output. Italy ranks second to France in the production of wine and second to Spain in the production of olive oil.

p Prominent on Italy’s economic map is the industrialagrarian Northern Region, the agrarian-industrial Central Region and the agrarian Southern Region.

p Over two-thirds of the industrial proletariat are concentrated in the cities of the Northern Region which yields 75 per cent of the total output of hydroelectric power and ferrous metals, 66 per cent of the chemical goods and 80 per cent of the engineering output. Automobile factories are also located in that part of the country. The industrial triangle of Milan, Turin and Genoa is the region’s economic bulwark. Milan is Italy’s biggest industrial and commercial and financial centre; Turin is the second most important industrial city and Genoa is a city of shipbuilders and dock workers.

p Rome, Italy’s capital (population about 3 million), is situated in the central part of the country. The city’s economy is connected primarily with industries catering to the population and numerous tourists. Rome, with its monuments of ancient culture, just as other Italian cities, attracts millions of foreign tourists making tourism one of the country’s main sources of currency receipts.

p The Vatican City State, the residence of the Pope and the world centre of the Roman Catholic Church, is situated in Rome. Through the Catholic Church the Vatican exerts 120 political influence on bourgeois states in Europe, America and other parts of the world.

p The south of Italy, not counting Naples which is an engineering and oil-refining centre, is an impoverished, economically backward part of the country.

p Farming, chiefly horticulture, viticulture and gardening, is the principal branch of agriculture. Wheat and corn are cultivated, but Italy does not grow enough cereals and therefore imports them. There is also a shortage of animal products. From 33 to 50 per cent less meat, milk and eggs are consumed in Italy than in other advanced European countries.

p Over 50 per cent of the population are urban dwellers. Italian cities are famed for their magnificent monuments of ancient architecture created by the gifted Italian people and are known for striking social contrasts characteristic of capitalist society.

In few other West European countries have the workingclass movement and class battles attained such scope and intensity as in Italy.

NORTHERN EUROPE

p Finland and the Scandinavian countries lie in the Basin of the North Atlantic Ocean, the shortest ocean route between Europe and America. Icelandic, Norwegian and Danish ports are important links in the system of North Atlantic communications linking the American and European continents.

p Possessing a number of distinctive internal features, the countries of Northern Europe have much in common in the economic respect. All are advanced capitalist states in whose economy shipping, sea animal hunting and fishing are just as important as industry. For centuries closely connected with each other both economically and culturally, the peoples of these countries have a great deal in common as regards their ethnic composition and historical development, and certain features of a national character.

p Finland is a land of forests, lakes and stone. Forests cover over two-thirds of her area, and lakes connected with each other by short rivers abounding in rapids occupy about a 121 tenth of her territory. Finland’s hydroelectric-power resources are estimated at approximately 3 million kw. Vast timber resources are the country’s greatest wealth. There are proven deposits of iron, copper and nickel ores, and also gold, lead, zinc and other metals.

p More than 50 per cent of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. There is a preponderance of villages, particularly farmsteads. The cities are small and not very numerous. The biggest is Helsinki ( population over 530,000), the capital. Industrial workers comprise over 40 per cent of Finland’s gainfully employed population.

p Factory production and forestry account for about twothirds, and agriculture for an eighth, of the national income. A score of monopoly associations control the key branches of the economy which is largely working for export.

p The leading position is occupied by the timber, woodworking and pulp and paper industries. Over 40 million cu.m. of timber are felled annually and are used in the production of saw-timber, plywood, furniture, takedown standard houses, cellulose and cardboard. The only capitalist countries which export a greater quantity of timber products are Canada and Sweden.

p Engineering is geared mainly to the production of machines and plant for the woodworking industry. Shipbuilding concentrated in Helsinki and Turku is an important branch of the economy.

p Yielding from three to four million tons of milk annually, Finland’s highly developed dairy farming makes it possible to produce large quantities of butter and cheese. Farming does not fully meet the domestic food requirements.

p Finland’s policy of neutrality and her fruitful co- operation with the Soviet Union in the political, economic and cultural spheres, ensures her security and is fully in line with the national interests of the population.

p Sweden occupies first place in Northern Europe for size of territory (about 450,000 sq.km.) and population (more than 8 million), and the level of industrial development.

p Accounting for 80 per cent of the national income, Sweden’s advanced industry is her economic backbone. Agriculture is in a subordinate position. Large Swedish monopolies 122 are closely connected with other western monopoly associations.

p Sweden exports about 90 per cent of her iron ore, 50 per cent of the output of the woodworking industry, and over 25 per cent of engineering production. The bulk of the trade is conducted with West European capitalist countries and also with the United States which exerts considerable influence on the Swedish economy.

p Iron ore production is the largest exporting branch of Sweden’s heavy industry. Rich deposits in Central and Northern Sweden (Kiruna and Gallivare) annually yield a large quantity of iron ore which is almost wholly exported to the western countries, primarily to West Germany and Britain.

p The iron and steel factories of Central Sweden annually produce over five million tons of high-grade steel. Copper, aluminium, lead and other non-ferrous metals are produced in Central Sweden out of local and imported ores.

p The capital Stockholm (population 800,000) is Sweden’s biggest engineering centre. The output of electro-technical products, motor vehicles and centrifuges is concentrated in Stockholm and that of ball bearings and sea vessels in Goteborg. As a shipbuilding country Sweden ranks third in the world after Japan and West Germany. The production of motor vehicles, electronic computers and jet aircraft has been developing rapidly since the war.

p For the volume of felled timber Sweden stands at the same level as Finland, and is third after the USA and Canada for the production of paper and cardboard. The production of sulphuric acid and other chemicals is closely connected with the pulp and paper industry.

p Hydroelectric stations account for 96 per cent of the total amount of electricity generated in the country which annually produces over 60,000 million kwh of electricity. Oil and other mineral fuels are imported.

p Agriculture is intensive and highly marketable. Sweden exports butter, cheese, bacon and imports necessary quantities of cereals, flour and other foodstuffs.

p Norway is situated in the extreme northwest. Her coastline is edged with lofty cliffs and seamed with numerous deep and winding inlets (fjords) of the sea. Thanks to the warm Gulf Stream the seas washing the Norwegian coast 123 do not freeze. The most densely populated area is a narrow littoral lowland with a moderate ocean climate and numerous harbours.

p Rural inhabitants, making up 50 per cent of the country’s population, live for the most part on farms scattered throughout the lowlands. Norwegian cities, as those of the neighbouring Scandinavian countries, are small. Oslo, the capital, has 500,000 inhabitants.

p The most important branches of the Norwegian economy are those manufacturing goods for export: the timber and pulp and paper industries, electro-metallurgy and shipbuilding. Norway depends greatly on imported raw materials.

p The industry draws on the hydropower resources of the mountain rivers. Norway’s hydroelectric power resources are the biggest in Western Europe and greater than those of the USA and Canada. Norwegian power stations generate about 60,000 million kwh a year which are used to promote power-intensive branches of production. Electrometallurgical factories manufacture high-grade steels, ferroalloys and non-ferrous metals, including aluminium (over 530,000 tons a year). Engineering consists primarily of electrotechnical enterprises.

p The woodworking and pulp and paper industries which have an extensive raw materials base make large quantities of wood pulp, cellulose, paper and cardboard. A considerable part of the output, especially cellulose and paper, is exported.

p Norway has one of the world’s biggest fishing industry (annual output 2.6 million tons). Canned fish and herring are important items of export. She also accounts for approximately 40 per cent of the world whaling industry.

p After the United States, Britain and Liberia, Norway has the fourth biggest merchant marine (including foreign ships on the Norwegian register) in the world. The tonnage of the Norwegian merchant marine is close on 20 million registered tons. Ninety per cent of the Norwegian merchant marine is chartered by other countries. The principal shipyards are in Oslo, Bergen and other ports.

p Denmark, the smallest of the Scandinavian countries, occupies the peninsula of Jutland and approximately 500 islands in the Baltic straits. She also owns the Faroe Islands and Greenland (about 2.2 million sq. km.), the world’s 124 biggest island. The territory of Denmark can be regarded as a sort of bridge between Central and Northern Europe. Denmark controls the important Dresund, Kattegat and Skagerrak straits connecting the Baltic Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.

p Denmark occupies a rolling plain and has a temporate maritime climate. There is little mineral wealth and few forests. Most of the territory is either ploughland or meadows.

p Beef cattle-breeding and dairy farming are key branches of the economy. Denmark annually produced over five million tons of milk, over a million tons of meat and up to 100,000 tons of eggs. Agriculture is in the main subordinated to animal husbandry, but cannot fully supply it with fodder. Therefore, in addition to cereals and cereal preparations she imports large quantities of concentrated fodder. The food industry produces tens of thousands of tons of butter, cheese, canned meat and milk products, beet sugar, canned fish and other foodstuffs, exporting a large part of them to Britain, the FRG and other capitalist countries.

p The engineering industry manufactures equipment for the food industry. Shipbuilding (sea vessels) is highly developed. Industry, particularly metal-working and engineering, is concentrated in the capital Copenhagen (population 1.5 million with environs) and other cities.

p Iceland, a former Danish colony, occupies an island of the same name. The inhabitants are descendants of Norsemen who had migrated from Scandinavia. About a third of the population lives in the capital Reykjavik (80,000 inhabitants). The principal branch of the economy is fishing and fish processing. The annual fish catch is 1.2 million tons. Iceland is a major exporter of fish and fish products.

Cattle and sheep are raised in the country, and fodder, grain and other foodstuffs and also industrial commodities are imported.

CENTRAL EUROPE

p Though the combined area of the Central European capitalist countries is relatively small, their aggregate population is fairly big. Besides playing an important role in the 125 economy of Central Europe these countries are situated at the intersection of important international communications.

p The Netherlands, a developed industrial-agrarian country, was until recently a major colonial power. Prior to the Second World War the total area of her colonies was 62 times as great as that of her own and their population was eight times as large as that of the Netherlands. Today her colonies comprise Surinam (or Dutch Guiana) in South America and also some of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean (The Netherlands West Indies).

p More than a thousand kilometres of the Netherlands coast faces the North Sea. The mouths of the Rhine, Maas and Schelde lie within the territory of the Netherlands and are a natural outlet to the sea for the Central European states which are situated in their basins.

p It is hard to overestimate the role played by shipping and foreign trade in the Dutch economy whose principal branches are a highly developed industry and intensive agriculture. The value of the industrial output is four times as great as that of agriculture.

p Shipbuilding, electrical engineering, oil refining and food industries are the key branches of the Dutch industry which occupies a prominent place in world capitalist production. The Netherlands exports sea-going ships, turbines, generators, electric motors, communications equipment, radio and television equipment and household appliances.

p The aircraft and automobile industries have considerable capacities. The chemical and petrochemical industries have been progressing in recent years.

p The capital, Amsterdam (over 1 million inhabitants), is the principal industrial city, a European banking centre and a port. Rotterdam (the ocean gate of Western Europe) is a port of world importance and a major seat of industry.

p The main trend in agriculture is the breeding of highly productive cattle. Butter and cheese are produced in quantities twice exceeding the country’s domestic requirements. The sown area and cereal harvests are small, and grain and fodder are, therefore, imported.

p A large merchant marine ensures the overseas economic ties of both the Netherlands and many other countries.

p Belgium, just as the Netherlands, is conveniently located at the junction of Central Europe’s international 126 communications. Belgium is a highly advanced industrial state, whose industry, unlike that of the Netherlands, is much more developed than agriculture. This particularly applies to the engineering industry, although the light and food industries are also highly developed. Belgian economy depends greatly on world markets and overseas raw materials sources. Almost all Belgian industries use imported raw materials, and 80 per cent of the manufactured output is exported.

p In industry, which yields over 40 per cent of the gross national product, an important place is occupied by metallurgy whose annual production is over 11 million tons of pig iron and about 13 million tons of steel. Belgium is one of the largest producers of copper, zinc, cobalt and tin in Western Europe. Uranium, radium and other rare metals are imported from the developing countries and after being enriched are exported to world markets.

p Among the branches of the machine-building industry the most highly developed are electrical engineering, and the production of mining, metallurgical and transportation equipment. A prominent place in the chemical industry is occupied by the production of mineral fertiliser. Imported raw materials are used by the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. Belgium specialises in diamond cutting and is the world’s leading country in this field.

p The capital, Brussels (over 1 million inhabitants) is a large city and one of the country’s biggest machine- building, commercial and communications centres. Antwerp is the principal sea port and an important transport hub. Liege is the centre of the Belgian coal basin, iron and steel production and heavy engineering.

p Agriculture specialises primarily in beef cattle production and dairy farming for domestic consumption. Almost 50 per cent of the cereals consumed in the country is imported. The chief industrial crops are sugar beet, ilax, hops and tobacco.

p Belgium has the world’s most ramified road network. Internal waterways connect the country with the sea, and marine transport ensures her foreign economic ties.

p The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg is a small Central European state. It has an area of only 2,600 sq. km. and a population of 336,000, of whom about 80,000 live in the capital Luxemburg. The country has a highly developed 127 industry in which the leading place is held by ore extraction and iron and steel production. Luxemburg annually produces about 6 million tons of steel, which is more than is smelted in Spain or Brazil. Animal husbandry yields the greater share of agricultural production. On the whole the economy depends greatly on the monopolies of the leading Common Market countries.

p Over a hundred and fifty years have elapsed since Switzerland was guaranteed permanent neutrality. Its observance was largely instrumental in promoting the economic and cultural development of this country situated in the Alps. Transalpine railways and highways and also the Rhine link Switzerland with the countries of Western Europe.

p Millions of tourists from all parts of the world annually come to Switzerland which is famed for its mountain resorts. But however important the tourist industry may be, it is modern industry that is the foundation of the country’s economy. A very important role is played by the banking industry, the strongroom of world monopoly capital.

p Lacking local raw materials, the Swiss industry specialises in high quality commodities whose production requires small quantities of materials but masterly skill. Machinebuilding enterprises use imported and partly local highgrade metals.

p Switzerland makes more turbines, generators and other electrical equipment than does France, and exports as much equipment for metallurgical industries as Britain. She is the world’s’ biggest producer of watches (nearly 70 million a year).

p Among the long-established branches of production a prominent place is occupied by the textile and aluminium industries. Using imported bauxites and cheap hydroelectric power, Switzerland annually produces over 70,000 tons of aluminium. Her highly developed chemical industry manufactures fertiliser, plastics, dyes and medicines. Powerful Swiss chemical concerns have their enterprises in many capitalist countries. The petrochemical industry is developing on the basis of imported crude oil processed at local refineries.

p Swiss industry and the economy as a whole depends on electric power produced almost exclusively at hydroelectric 128 stations. The annual output of electricity exceeds 30,000 million kwh.

p Industry is fairly evenly concentrated in the cities. Zurich, Baden, Geneva and Basel are the principal industrial centres. Bern, the capital, ranks third after Zurich and Basel in industrial importance. Vladimir Lenin lived and worked in Bern, which was once a centre of the Russian revolutionary emigrants.

p Dairying is the main agricultural occupation. A part of the farm land is under orchards, vineyards and ^ vegetable gardens. But agriculture does not meet the country’s requirements in foodstuffs and most of them are, therefore, imported.

p Just as neighbouring Switzerland, Austria is a small mountainous country situated in the Eastern Alps and the Upper Danube basin. The rout of nazi Germany in the Second World War rid Austria of her anschluss with Germany and led to the revival of the Austrian state. Since 1955 the Republic of Austria is pursuing a policy of permanent neutrality which guarantees the development of her national economy and culture.

p Austria’s advanced industry accounts for 50 per cent of the national income. Her volume of industrial output is approximately the same as that of Belgium, the Netherlands or Sweden. In industry key positions are in the hands of state-monopoly capital.

p Engineering, the principal branch of production, specialises in electrical goods and appliances, motor vehicles and tractors, and electrical engineering, mining and metallurgical equipment.

p Austria has a developed iron and steel and non-ferrous industry. About 3 million tons of pig iron and almost 4 million tons of steel are annually produced from local raw materials. Austria produces more aluminium (over 100,000 tons a year) than Britain does. Other important branches of production are the chemical, timber and pulp and paper industries. The oil industry whose average annual output is approximately 3 million tons, meets Austria’s domestic requirements in this commodity. The bulk of the electricity whose annual output is close to 30,000 million kwh, is generated by hydroelectric power stations.

p Over 40 per cent of the industrial output is manufactured 129 at enterprises in Vienna (about 1.7 million inhabitants), the capital.

Agriculture, in which the leading role is played by beef cattle-breeding and dairying, almost fully provides the country with foodstuffs. Horticulture, viticulture and vegetable-growing are also widely practised.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

p Spain occupies about four-fifths of the Iberian Peninsula in the southwest of Europe. She is a large country rich in iron, copper, lead, zinc, tungsten, uranium and other minerals. Her mercury deposits are the biggest in the capitalist world.

p But for a long time now the backward social system and fascist dictatorship have been retarding her economic and cultural development. Only in recent years, primarily as a result of the increased inflow of foreign, chiefly US, capital into the country, her economy and above all industry have been showing signs of increased activity.

p Spain is an industrial-agrarian country. Engineering is evolving into an independent branch of production where key positions are occupied by shipbuilding, automobile, aircraft and machine-tool industries. Spain annually produces over 7 million tons of steel, 97,000 tons of aluminium and over 3,000 tons of mercury. A part of the metallurgical output goes to meet the country’s domestic needs, while mercury and some other metals are exported.

p The oil-refining industry is developing on the basis of imported crude oil. Its output goes to promote petrochemical production. Power engineering uses local coals, of which some 13 million tons are mined annually, and imported mineral fuel. The annual output of electricity is close to 40,000 million kwh, which is less than is generated in either Sweden or Norway.

p The capital, Madrid, and also Barselona, Bilbao and other cities are important industrial centres. Because of marketing difficulties the light and food industries are in a state of stagnation.

p Agriculture is backward. The low productivity of farming and animal husbandry is due to the survivals of feudal 130 relations and the low level of mechanisation. Spain, which is not selfsufficient in wheat, has extensive plantations of heatloving fruits, and exports large quantities of citrus fruits and olive oil.

p Portugal, which occupies the smaller part of the Iberian Peninsula, and Greece in the Balkan Peninsula are economically backward countries. The bulk of their population is engaged in agriculture. Their extensive farming and cattle raising cannot meet even the modest requirements of the population in food. The industry consists largely of factories processing agricultural raw materials.

Portugal’s distinguishing feature is that she is still a major colonial power. Her African colonies have a total area of more than 2 million sq. km. and an aggregate population of more than 13 million. Drawing on the assistance of the USA and other NATO countries in her efforts to put down the national liberation movement in Angola, Mozambique and other colonies, Portugal has herself fallen into great dependence on world imperialist powers.