##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Albania (2002) - Belarus (2001)
Compare Albania (2002) z Belarus (2001)
| Albania (2002) | Belarus (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Qarku i Beratit, Qarku i Dibres, Qarku i Durresit, Qarku i Elbasanit, Qarku i Fierit, Qarku i Gjirokastres, Qarku i Korces, Qarku i Kukesit, Qarku i Lezhes, Qarku i Shkodres, Qarku i Tiranes, Qarku i Vlores | 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: 28.8% (male 528,678; female 493,531)
15-64 years: 64% (male 1,094,034; female 1,175,024) 65 years and over: 7.2% (male 111,524; female 142,050) (2002 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 | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 11 (2001) | 136 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002) |
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: 8
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
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: 28,748 sq km
land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | In 1990 Albania ended 44 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as corrupt governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, a dilapidated infrastructure, widespread gangsterism, and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged local elections in 2001 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but identified serious deficiencies which should be addressed through reforms in the Albanian electoral code. | 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 | 18.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $697 million
expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $368 million (2002 est.) |
revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
| Capital | Tirana | Minsk |
| Climate | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 362 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote | 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: Republic of Albania
conventional short form: Albania local long form: Republika e Shqiperise local short form: Shqiperia former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania |
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 | lek (ALL) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
| Death rate | 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $784 million (2000) | $1 billion (2000 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James F. JEFFREY
embassy: Rruga Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing address: U. S. Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Washington, DC 20521-9510 telephone: [355] (4) 247285 FAX: [355] (4) 232222 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Fatos TARIFA
chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342 |
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 | the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders in the Kosovo region of Serbia and Montenegro and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia while continuing to seek regional cooperation; many Albanians illegally transit neighboring states to emigrate to western Europe | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | ODA: $315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000 est.) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Poor and backward by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to revive economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from abroad of $400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy. Agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought and the need to modernize equipment and consolidate small plots of land. Severe energy shortages are forcing small firms out of business, increasing unemployment, scaring off foreign investors, and spurring inflation. The government plans to boost energy imports to relieve the shortages. | 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 | 5.378 billion kWh (2000) | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 100 million kWh (2000) | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 1.072 billion kWh (2000) | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 4.738 billion kWh (2000) | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 | Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Gypsy, Serb, and Bulgarian) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization) |
Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Exchange rates | leke per US dollar - 140.16 (November 2001), 143.71 (2000) 137.69 (1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997); note - leke is the plural of lek | 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 | chief of state: President of the Republic Alfred MOISIU (since 24 July 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Fatos NANO (since 31 July 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Alfred MOISIU elected president; People's Assembly vote by number - total votes 116, for 97, against 19 |
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 | $340 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | Italy 71%, Greece 12%, Germany 7%, Yugoslavia 3% (2001) | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center | 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 - $14 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49%
industry: 27% services: 24% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2002 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 20 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) | landlocked |
| Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
| Highways | total: 18,000 km
paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 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 | increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a far lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens | 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 | $1.5 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Italy 32%, Greece 26%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 2% (2001) | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) |
| Independence | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | 38.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2002 est.) | 200% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 10 (2001) | 4 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 3,400 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) | 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 | 1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000 est.) | 4.8 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 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: 21.09%
permanent crops: 4.45% other: 74.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (140 seats; 100 are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote for four-year terms)
elections: last held 24 June with subsequent rounds on 8 July, 22 July, 29 July, 19 August 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 41.5%, PD and coalition allies 36.8%, NDP 5.2%, PSD 3.6%, PBDNJ 2.6%, PASH 2.6%, PAD 2.5%; seats by party - PS 73, PD and coalition allies 46, NDP 6, PSD 4, PBDNJ 3, PASH 3, PAD 3, independents 2 |
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: 72.1 years
male: 69.27 years female: 75.14 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Europe | Commonwealth of Independent States |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,423 GRT/20,837 DWT
ships by type: cargo 7, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Honduras 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $56.5 million (FY02) | $156 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.49% (FY02) | 1.2% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 888,086 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 727,406 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 35,792 (2002 est.) | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) | 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: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian |
noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought | NA |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas |
| Net migration rate | -1.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 196 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1996) | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
| Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Party or PASH [Lufter XHUVELI]; Albanian National Front (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Shptim ROQI]; Albanian Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Albanian Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albania Workers Party) [Fatos NANO, chairman]; Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Zef BUSHATI]; Democratic Alliance or PAD [Nerltan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Group of Reformist Democrats [Leonard NDOKA]; Legality Movement Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIA]; Liberal Union Party or PBL [Teodor LACO]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Genc POLLO]; OMONIA [Vagjelis DULES]; Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQUIRI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI]; Unity for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vasil MELO, chairman] | 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 | NA | NA |
| Population | 3,544,841 (July 2002 est.) | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 30% (2001 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.06% (2002 est.) | -0.15% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | 1 million (2001) | 3.02 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 447 km
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001 est.) |
total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
| Religions | Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice |
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 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 | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: Albania has the poorest telephone service in Europe with fewer than two telephones per 100 inhabitants; it is doubtful that every village has telephone service
domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for every village; in 1992, following the fall of the Communist government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used it to build fences international: inadequate; international traffic carried by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece |
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 | 120,000 (2001) | 2.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 250,000 (2001) | 8,167 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 2.27 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 17% officially (2001 est.); may be as high as 30% (2001) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
| Waterways | 43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |
NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |
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