Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / Belarus (2001) - Burma (2004) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Belarus (2001) - Burma (2004)

Compare Belarus (2001) z Burma (2004)

 Belarus (2001)Burma (2004)
 BelarusBurma
Administrative divisions 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
7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)

divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon)

states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State
Age structure 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.)
0-14 years: 27.6% (male 6,023,874; female 5,774,055)


15-64 years: 67.5% (male 14,317,308; female 14,504,500)


65 years and over: 4.9% (male 927,570; female 1,172,889) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products
Airports 136 (2000 est.) 79 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways 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.)
total: 9


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 5


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways 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.)
total: 69


over 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 16


914 to 1,523 m: 20


under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.)
Area total:
207,600 sq km

land:
207,600 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 678,500 sq km


land: 657,740 sq km


water: 20,760 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly smaller than Texas
Background 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. Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and is currently under house arrest. In December 2004, the junta announced it was extending her detention for at least an additional year. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed.
Birth rate 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 18.64 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues:
$4 billion

expenditures:
$4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
revenues: $7.9 billion


expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97)
Capital Minsk Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon)
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 1,930 km
Constitution 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition
Country name 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
conventional long form: Union of Burma


conventional short form: Burma


local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar)


local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw


former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma


note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
Currency Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) kyat (MMK)
Death rate 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 12.16 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $1 billion (2000 est.) $6.011 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US 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
chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Carmen M. MARTINEZ


embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521)


mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546


telephone: [95] (1) 379 880, 379 881


FAX: [95] (1) 256 018
Diplomatic representation in the US 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
chief of mission: vacant


chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044


FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046


consulate(s) general: New York (UN)
Disputes - international none despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; groups in Burma and Thailand express concern over China's construction of 13 hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in Yunnan Province; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep out Indian Nagaland insurgents
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $127 million (2001 est.)
Economy - overview 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. Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls and abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. A crisis in the private banking sector in early 2003 followed by economic moves against Burma by the United States, the European Union, and Japan - including a US ban on imports from Burma and a Japanese freeze on new bilateral economic aid - further weakened the Burmese economy. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. Better relations with foreign countries and relaxed controls at home are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism. In February 2003, a major banking crisis hit the country's 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. In July and August 2003, the United States imposed a ban on all Burmese imports and a ban on provision of financial services, hampering Burma's ability to obtain foreign exchange. As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit outside of government contracts.
Electricity - consumption 27.647 billion kWh (1999) 5.709 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 2.62 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 7.1 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 24.911 billion kWh (1999) 6.139 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
99.9%

hydro:
0.1%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m

highest point:
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m


highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m
Environment - current issues soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Environment - international 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
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Exchange rates 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 kyats per US dollar - 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001), 6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999)


note: these are official exchange rates; unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2003 from 100 kyat/US dollar to nearly 1000 kyat/US dollar
Executive branch 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%
chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)


head of government: Prime Minister, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October 2004)


cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC); the SPDC oversees the cabinet


elections: none
Exports $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs Clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice
Exports - partners Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) Thailand 31.5%, US 10.2%, India 9.3%, China 5.8%, Japan 4.8% (2003)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 April - 31 March
Flag description 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 red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, 14 white five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 7 administrative divisions and 7 states
GDP purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $74.53 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
13%

industry:
46%

services:
41% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 57.2%


industry: 9.6%


services: 33.1% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2000 est.) -0.5% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 22 00 N, 98 00 E
Geography - note landlocked strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
Heliports - 1 (2003 est.)
Highways 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)
total: 28,200 km


paved: 3,440 km


unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
4.9%

highest 10%:
19.4% (1993)
lowest 10%: 2.8%


highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)
Illicit drugs 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 world's second largest producer of illicit opium (potential production in 2003 - 484 metric tons, down 23% due to eradication efforts and alternate development; cultivation in 2003 - 47,130 hectares, a 39% decline from 2002); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls
Imports $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs Fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products
Imports - partners Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) China 31.1%, Singapore 22.3%, Thailand 15.1%, South Korea 6.3%, Malaysia 4.8%, Japan 4.3% (2003)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 4 January 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 5% (2000 est.) NA
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement
Infant mortality rate 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 68.78 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 74.78 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 62.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 200% (2000 est.) 49.7% (2003 est.)
International organization participation 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) ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 (2000) -
Irrigated land 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) 15,920 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch 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) remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive
Labor force 4.8 million (2000) 22.14 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries total:
3,098 km

border countries:
Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
total: 5,876 km


border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
Land use arable land:
29%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
15%

forests and woodland:
34%

other:
21% (1993 est.)
arable land: 15.19%


permanent crops: 0.97%


other: 83.84% (2001)
Languages Byelorussian, Russian, other Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Legal system based on civil law system has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch 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
unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by junta to convene


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60
Life expectancy at birth total population:
68.14 years

male:
62.06 years

female:
74.52 years (2001 est.)
total population: 56.01 years


male: 54.22 years


female: 57.9 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
98%

male:
99%

female:
97% (1989 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 85.3%


male: 89.2%


female: 81.4% (2002)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Map references Commonwealth of Independent States Southeast Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine - total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 384,529 GRT/608,609 DWT


by type: bulk 8, cargo 18, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1


foreign-owned: Germany 6, Japan 4 (2004 est.)
Military branches Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $156 million (FY98) $39 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2% (FY98) 2.1% (FY97)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 12,450,884


females age 15-49: 12,457,077 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 6,609,995


females age 15-49: 6,595,611 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
86,396 (2001 est.)
males: 441,333


females: 440,914 (2004 est.)
National holiday 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 Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
Nationality noun:
Belarusian(s)

adjective:
Belarusian
noun: Burmese (singular and plural)


adjective: Burmese
Natural hazards NA destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Net migration rate 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders 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] National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (progovernment) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders NA National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile); Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (progovernment, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary]
Population 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) 42,720,196


note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 22% (1995 est.) 25% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate -0.15% (2001 est.) 0.47% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Pathein, Rangoon, Sittwe, Tavoy
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 1, FM 1 (2004)
Radios 3.02 million (1997) -
Railways total:
5,523 km

broad gauge:
5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000)
total: 3,955 km


narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Sex ratio 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.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female


total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system 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
general assessment: barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair


domestic: NA


international: country code - 95; satellite earth station - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat
Telephones - main lines in use 2.313 million (1997) 357,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,167 (1997) 66,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 2 (2004)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Total fertility rate 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.08 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers 4.2% (2003)
Waterways NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems 12,800 km (2004)
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.