Australia (2002) | Belarus (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia | 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: 20.4% (male 2,046,052; female 1,949,725)
15-64 years: 67% (male 6,610,840; female 6,480,354) 65 years and over: 12.6% (male 1,078,506; female 1,381,315) (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, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 421 (2001) | 136 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 294
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 126 914 to 1,523 m: 134 under 914 m: 13 (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: 150
1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 116 under 914 m: 14 (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: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to a republic, was defeated in 1999. | 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 | 12.71 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $86.8 billion
expenditures: $84.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est. ) |
revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Canberra | Minsk |
Climate | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 25,760 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 | 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: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
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 | Australian dollar (AUD) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 7.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $176.8 billion (2001 est.) | $1 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependent areas | Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
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 Michael J. THAWLEY
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
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 | Australia-East Timor-Indonesia are working to resolve maritime boundary and sharing of seabed resources in "Timor Gap"; Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its continental shelf | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $894 million (FY99/00 ) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is another key factor behind the economy's strength. The stagnant economic conditions in major export partners and the impact of the worst drought in 100 years cast a shadow over prospects for 2003. | 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 | 188.49 billion kWh (2000) | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 202.68 billion kWh (2000) | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 90%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 0% other: 2% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter HOLLINGWORTH (since 29 June 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since 20 July 1999) cabinet: Cabinet Parliament nominates, from among its members, a list of candidates to serve as government ministers; from this list, the governor general makes the final selections for the Cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party |
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 | $66.3 billion (2002 est.) | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Developing countries 45.6%, Japan 19.7%, ASEAN 13.3%, EU 11.7%, US 9.7% (2001) | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars | 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 - $528 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 26% services: 71% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.6% (2002 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 27 00 S, 133 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer | landlocked |
Highways | total: 913,000 km
paved: 353,331 km (including 1,363 km of expressways) unpaved: 559,669 km (1996) |
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%: 2%
highest 10%: 25% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate | 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 | $68 billion (2002 est.) | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Developing countries 31.7%, EU 21.6%, US 18.9%, ASEAN 14.8%, Japan 13.0% (2001) | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) |
Independence | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2002 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2002 est.) | 200% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | 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) | 571 (2002) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 24,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) | 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 | 9.2 million (December 2001 ) | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 6.88%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 93.09% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, native languages | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
Legal system | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (150 seats - this is up from 148 seats in 2001 election; members elected by popular vote on the basis of preferential representation to serve three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 10 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 10 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 35, Australian Labor Party 28, Australian Democrats 8, Green Party 2, One Nation Party 1, Country Labor Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 82, Australian Labor Party 65, independent and other 3 |
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: 80 years
male: 77.15 years female: 83 years (2002 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: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Oceania | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,469,362 GRT/1,869,262 DWT
ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 5, chemical tanker 4, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 2, United Kingdom 2, United States 14 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Royal Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9.3 billion (FY01/02 est.) | $156 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY01/02) | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,013,406 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,321,387 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 142,686 (2002 est.) | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | 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: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian |
noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires | NA |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas |
Net migration rate | 4.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT]; Australian Labor Party [Simon CREAN]; Country Labor Party [leader NA]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; National Party [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Pauline HANSON] | 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 | Australian Monarchist League [leader NA]; Australian Republican Movement [leader NA] | NA |
Population | 19,546,792 (July 2002 est.) | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.96% (2002 est.) | -0.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 25.5 million (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified)
broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999 est.) |
total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11%, other 12.6% | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 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: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998) |
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 | 10.05 million (2000) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8.6 million (2000) | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 104 (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 1.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.3% (2002) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft) | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |