Afghanistan (2001) | Belarus (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 30 provinces (velayat, singular - velayat); Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol; note - there may be two new provinces of Nurestan (Nuristan) and Khowst | 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name
note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.2% (male 5,775,921; female 5,538,836) 15-64 years: 55.01% (male 7,644,242; female 7,106,568) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 394,444; female 353,046) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
17.93% (male 947,820; female 908,210) 15-64 years: 68.21% (male 3,428,920; female 3,631,290) 65 years and over: 13.86% (male 473,992; female 959,962) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | opium poppies, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, karakul pelts | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 45 (2000 est.) | 136 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
10 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
33 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
35 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
total:
103 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 65 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Afghanistan was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1979. The USSR was forced to withdraw 10 years later by anti-communist mujahidin forces supplied and trained by the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others. Fighting subsequently continued among the various mujahidin factions, but the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban movement has been able to seize most of the country. In addition to the continuing civil strife, the country suffers from enormous poverty, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread land mines. | After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord. |
Birth rate | 41.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Kabul | Minsk |
Climate | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | none | 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Islamic State of Afghanistan; note - the self-proclaimed Taliban government refers to the country as Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan conventional short form: Afghanistan local long form: Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form: Afghanestan former: Republic of Afghanistan |
conventional long form:
Republic of Belarus conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: none former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | afghani (AFA) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 17.72 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.5 billion (1996 est.) | $1 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US embassy in Kabul has been closed since January 1989 due to security concerns | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KOZAK embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; note - embassy operations suspended 21 August 1997
consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Valeriy TSEPAKLO chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | support to Islamic militants worldwide by some factions; question over which group should hold Afghanistan's seat at the UN | none |
Economic aid - recipient | US provided about $70 million in humanitarian assistance in 1997; US continues to contribute to multilateral assistance through the UN programs of food aid, immunization, land mine removal, and a wide range of aid to refugees and displaced persons | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked country, highly dependent on farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats). Economic considerations have played second fiddle to political and military upheavals during two decades of war, including the nearly 10-year Soviet military occupation (which ended 15 February 1989). During that conflict one-third of the population fled the country, with Pakistan and Iran sheltering a combined peak of more than 6 million refugees. In early 2000, 2 million Afghan refugees remained in Pakistan and about 1.4 million in Iran. Gross domestic product has fallen substantially over the past 20 years because of the loss of labor and capital and the disruption of trade and transport; severe drought added to the nation's difficulties in 1998-2000. The majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food, clothing, housing, and medical care. Inflation remains a serious problem throughout the country. International aid can deal with only a fraction of the humanitarian problem, let alone promote economic development. In 1999-2000, internal civil strife continued, hampering both domestic economic policies and international aid efforts. Numerical data are likely to be either unavailable or unreliable. Afghanistan was by far the largest producer of opium poppies in 2000, and narcotics trafficking is a major source of revenue. | Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by extremely high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
Electricity - consumption | 480.6 million kWh (1999) | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 90 million kWh (1999) | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 420 million kWh (1999) | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
35.71% hydro: 64.29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Nowshak 7,485 m |
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification | soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25%, Hazara 19%, minor ethnic groups (Aimaks, Turkmen, Baloch, and others) 12%, Uzbek 6% | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | afghanis per US dollar - 4,700 (January 2000), 4,750 (February 1999), 17,000 (December 1996), 7,000 (January 1995), 1,900 (January 1994), 1,019 (March 1993), 850 (1991); note - these rates reflect the free market exchange rates rather than the official exchange rate, which was fixed at 50.600 afghanis to the dollar until 1996, when it rose to 2,262.65 per dollar, and finally became fixed again at 3,000.00 per dollar in April 1996 | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,180 (yearend 2000), 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (second quarter 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
Executive branch | on 27 September 1996, the ruling members of the Afghan Government were displaced by members of the Islamic Taliban movement; the Islamic State of Afghanistan has no functioning government at this time, and the country remains divided among fighting factions
note: the Taliban have declared themselves the legitimate government of Afghanistan; however, the UN still recognizes the government of Burhanuddin RABBANI; the Organization of the Islamic Conference has left the Afghan seat vacant until the question of legitimacy can be resolved through negotiations among the warring factions; the country is essentially divided along ethnic lines; the Taliban controls the capital of Kabul and approximately two-thirds of the country including the predominately ethnic Pashtun areas in southern Afghanistan; opposing factions have their stronghold in the ethnically diverse north |
chief of state:
President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Vladimir YERMOSHIN (since 18 February 2000); First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Mikhail DEMCHUK (since 14 July 2000), Mikhail KHORSTOV (since 27 November 2000), Valeriy KOKOREV (since 23 August 1994), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15% |
Exports | $80 million (does not include opium) (1996 est.) | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Germany, India, UK, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) |
Fiscal year | 21 March - 20 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a gold emblem centered on the three bands; the emblem features a temple-like structure with Islamic inscriptions above and below, encircled by a wreath on the left and right and by a bolder Islamic inscription above, all of which are encircled by two crossed scimitars
note: the Taliban uses a plain white flag |
red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
53% industry: 28.5% services: 18.5% (1990) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 N, 65 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | landlocked |
Heliports | 3 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
21,000 km paved: 2,793 km unpaved: 18,207 km (1998 est.) |
total:
63,355 km paved: 60,567 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 2,788 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | world's largest illicit opium producer, surpassing Burma (potential production in 1999 - 1,670 metric tons; cultivation in 1999 - 51,500 hectares, a 23% increase over 1998); a major source of hashish; increasing number of heroin-processing laboratories being set up in the country; major political factions in the country profit from drug trade | limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe |
Imports | $150 million (1996 est.) | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, food and petroleum products; most consumer goods | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | FSU, Pakistan, Iran, Japan, Singapore, India, South Korea, Germany | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) |
Independence | 19 August 1919 (from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, and cement; handwoven carpets; natural gas, oil, coal, copper | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 147.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 200% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 30,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | upper courts were non-functioning as of March 1995 (local Shari'a or Islamic law courts are functioning throughout the country) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) |
Labor force | 10 million (2000 est.) | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 15%, services 15% (1990 est.) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
5,529 km border countries: China 76 km, Iran 936 km, Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km |
total:
3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 3% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
Legal system | a new legal system has not been adopted but all factions tacitly agree they will follow Shari'a (Islamic law) | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | non-functioning as of June 1993 | bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
46.24 years male: 46.97 years female: 45.47 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 31.5% male: 47.2% female: 15% (1999 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Asia | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | NA; note - the military does not exist on a national basis; some elements of the former Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Border Guard Forces, National Police Force (Sarandoi), and tribal militias still exist but are factionalized among the various groups | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $156 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
6,645,023 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
3,561,957 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 22 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
252,869 (2001 est.) |
males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 19 August (1919) | Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | noun:
Afghan(s) adjective: Afghan |
noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts | NA |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas |
Net migration rate | 11.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products - Uzbekistan to Bagram and Turkmenistan to Shindand; natural gas 180 km | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Taliban (Religious Students Movement) [Mullah Mohammad OMAR]; United National Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan or UNIFSA [Burhanuddin RABBANI, chairman; Gen. Abdul Rashid DOSTAM, vice chairman; Ahmad Shah MASOOD, military commander; Mohammed Yunis QANUNI, spokesman]; note - made up of 13 parties opposed to the Taliban including Harakat-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Movement of Afghanistan), Hizb-i-Islami (Islamic Party), Hizb-i-Wahdat-i-Islami (Islamic Unity Party), Jumaat-i-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Afghan Society), Jumbish-i-Milli (National Front), Mahaz-i-Milli-i-Islami (National Islamic Front) | Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon SHARETSKY, chairman]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Australia, US, and elsewhere have organized politically; Mellat (Social Democratic Party) [leader NA]; Peshawar, Pakistan-based groups such as the Coordination Council for National Unity and Understanding in Afghanistan or CUNUA [Ishaq GAILANI]; tribal elders represent traditional Pashtun leadership; Writers Union of Free Afghanistan or WUFA [A. Rasul AMIN] | NA |
Population | 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.) | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects the continued return of refugees from Iran |
-0.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7 (6 are inactive; the active station is in Kabul), FM 1, shortwave 1 (broadcasts in Pushtu, Dari, Urdu, and English) (1999) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 167,000 (1999) | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
24.6 km broad gauge: 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi; 15 km 1.524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya |
total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 84%, Shi'a Muslim 15%, other 1% | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | NA; previously males 15-50 years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
very limited telephone and telegraph service domestic: in 1997, telecommunications links were established between Mazar-e Sharif, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kabul through satellite and microwave systems international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) linked only to Iran and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); commercial satellite telephone center in Ghazni |
general assessment:
the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 29,000 (1996)
note: there were 21,000 main lines in service in Kabul in 1998 |
2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | at least 10 (one government run central television station in Kabul and regional stations in nine of the 30 provinces; the regional stations operate on a reduced schedule; also, in 1997, there was a station in Mazar-e Sharif reaching four northern Afghanistan provinces) (1998) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 5.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | 1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001) |
NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |