However, during the 10-year period from 1999 to 2008, Russia enjoyed significant GDP growth, led by the export of commodities. During this period, Russian became the world’s largest natural gas and second largest oil exporter. The Russian economy was one of the hardest hit by the global economic crisis since 2008. Its GDP fell by 8 percent in 2009, but has since recovered by growing 4 percent, due largely to high oil prices in 2010. Russia’s oil and gas sector accounts for about 25 percent of its GDP and a third of all its exports. Russia consumes about 5 percent of its oil and exports the rest.