Service sector (services) key features of Russia and Azerbaijan

The presented article gives a general description of the sphere of non-material production of Russia and Azerbaijan, which is based on the key macroeconomic indicators. The internal heterogeneous structure of the sector is also illustrated, structural features of the service sector and its individual segments in both countries are revealed. The objectivity and adequacy of the sphere characteristics of non-material production of Russia and Azerbaijan is based on intercountry comparisons. Macroeconomic indicators of main developed countries (the USA, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom), the BRICS countries and the former Soviet republics serve as a background for the illustration of the service sectors of Russia and Azerbaijan. It is too early to refer Russia and Azerbaijan to post-industrial countries, even considering only one economic parameter - the structure of the economy. Considering the gross value added (GVA) of the service sector per capita in current prices and the GVA of the service sector per capita in constant 2010 prices, Russia and Azerbaijan lag behind the leading economies of the world, some BRICS countries and even some former republics of USSR. In this regard, the study of the sphere of intangible production is not so popular in Russia and Azerbaijan, as the economic background for the actualization of these studies has not been yet created.