A compendium of statistical data, updated from the original sources in both East and West, on production, consumption, standards of living, foreign trade, finance, and energy in the countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, this statistical handbook gives ready and systematic access to economic and foreign trade data that otherwise is widely scattered in original sources and published in a multitude of foreign languages. Trade flows from and to the countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the world markets and within the CMEA area are covered by systematic and analytical statistics compiled from the most recent original sources.The highly specialized information contained in this, the fifth updated edition of Comecon Data, originates from three distinct groups of sources: official statistical yearbooks and periodicals published by the member-countries of COMECON and the statistical yearbook of the CMEA secretariat (supplemented by publications of Yugoslavia, an associate but not a member of that body); data published by international organizations -- the United Nations, ECE, OECD, IMF, the World Bank, etc; and Western sources. Comparability with previous editions is preserved by repeating the sequence and numbering of the table headings, and quick reference is facilitated by the detailed list of tables and alphabetical index. To academic, political, and economic analysts in need of measurable facts underlying the daily flood of controversial news and views that dominate the interplay of forces on the world political stage, the sober statistical data presented here will offer solid, in-depth information. The only comparable work, which contains some of the information here assembled is published in Russian only.
