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Compare Belarus (2001) - Dominican Republic (2005)

Compare Belarus (2001) z Dominican Republic (2005)

 Belarus (2001)Dominican Republic (2005)
 BelarusDominican Republic
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
31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Baoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, Elias Pina, El Seibo, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, Sanchez Ramirez, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde
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: 32.9% (male 1,505,964/female 1,438,809)


15-64 years: 61.7% (male 2,815,544/female 2,703,012)


65 years and over: 5.4% (male 226,372/female 260,333) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs
Airports 136 (2000 est.) 31 (2004 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: 13


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 1 (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: 18


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3


914 to 1,523 m: 5


under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.)
Area total:
207,600 sq km

land:
207,600 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 48,730 sq km


land: 48,380 sq km


water: 350 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
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. Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin BALAGUER became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade.
Birth rate 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 23.28 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues:
$4 billion

expenditures:
$4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
revenues: $2.625 billion


expenditures: $3.382 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (2004 est.)
Capital Minsk Santo Domingo
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 1,288 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 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002
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: Dominican Republic


conventional short form: The Dominican


local long form: Republica Dominicana


local short form: La Dominicana
Currency Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) -
Death rate 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $1 billion (2000 est.) $7.745 billion (2004 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: Ambassador Hans H. HERTELL


embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo


mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500


telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171


FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437
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: Ambassador-designate Flavio Dario Espinal JACOBO


chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280


FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057


consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Disputes - international none increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find work
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $239.6 million (1995)
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. The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy which enjoyed GDP growth of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 85% of export revenues), but recovered slightly in 2004. Resumption of a badly needed IMF loan, slowed due to government repurchase of electrical power plants, is basic to the restoration of social and economic stability. Newly elected President FERNANDEZ in mid-2004 promised belt-tightening reform. His administration has passed tax reform and is working to meet preconditions for a $600 IMF standby arrangement to ease the country's fiscal situation.
Electricity - consumption 27.647 billion kWh (1999) 8.912 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 2.62 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 7.1 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 24.911 billion kWh (1999) 9.583 billion kWh (2002)
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: Lago Enriquillo -46 m


highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 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 water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation
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, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
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 Dominican pesos per US dollar - 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002), 16.952 (2001), 16.415 (2000)
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: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president


elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008)


election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ (PLD) 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez (PRD) 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA (PRSC) 8.7%
Exports $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) NA
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods
Exports - partners Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) US 80%, South Korea 2.1%, Canada 1.9% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
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 a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon
GDP purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
13%

industry:
46%

services:
41% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 10.7%


industry: 31.5%


services: 57.8% (2003)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2000 est.) 1.7% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 19 00 N, 70 40 W
Geography - note landlocked shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti
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: 12,600 km


paved: 6,224 km


unpaved: 6,376 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
4.9%

highest 10%:
19.4% (1993)
lowest 10%: 2.1%


highest 10%: 37.9% (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 transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions
Imports $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) 129,900 bbl/day (2003)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) US 48.1%, Venezuela 13.5%, Colombia 4.8%, Mexico 4.8% (2004)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 27 February 1844 (from Haiti)
Industrial production growth rate 5% (2000 est.) 2% (2001 est.)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco
Infant mortality rate 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 32.38 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 34.81 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 29.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 200% (2000 est.) 55% (2004 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) ACP, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 (2000) -
Irrigated land 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) 2,590 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) Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by a the National Judicial Council comprised of the President, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non-governing party member)
Labor force 4.8 million (2000) 2.3 million - 2.6 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% agriculture 17%, industry 24.3%, services and government 58.7% (1998 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: 360 km


border countries: Haiti 360 km
Land use arable land:
29%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
15%

forests and woodland:
34%

other:
21% (1993 est.)
arable land: 22.65%


permanent crops: 10.33%


other: 67.02% (2001)
Languages Byelorussian, Russian, other Spanish
Legal system based on civil law system based on French civil codes; undergoing modification in 2004 towards an accusatory system
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
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (150 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 May 2002 (next to be held May 2006)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 29, PLD 2, PRSC 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 73, PLD 41, PRSC 36
Life expectancy at birth total population:
68.14 years

male:
62.06 years

female:
74.52 years (2001 est.)
total population: 71.44 years


male: 69.94 years


female: 73.03 years (2005 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: 84.7%


male: 84.6%


female: 84.8% (2003 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti
Map references Commonwealth of Independent States Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 6 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: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,230 GRT/17,011 DWT


by type: cargo 3 (2005)
Military branches Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $156 million (FY98) $180 million (1998)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2% (FY98) 1.1% (1998)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
86,396 (2001 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, 27 February (1844)
Nationality noun:
Belarusian(s)

adjective:
Belarusian
noun: Dominican(s)


adjective: Dominican
Natural hazards NA lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas nickel, bauxite, gold, silver
Net migration rate 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -3.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) -
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] Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Vicente Sanchez BARET]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ATUN]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Foundation for Institution-Building (FINJUS)
Population 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) 8,950,034 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 22% (1995 est.) 25%
Population growth rate -0.15% (2001 est.) 1.29% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, Rio Haina, Santo Domingo
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios 3.02 million (1997) -
Railways total:
5,523 km

broad gauge:
5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000)
total: 1,743 km


standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge


note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076-m, 0.889-m, and 0.762-m gauges (2004)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Roman Catholic 95%
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female


total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age


note: members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote
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: NA


domestic: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network


international: country code - 1-809; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 2.313 million (1997) 901,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,167 (1997) 2,120,400 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 25 (2003)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed
Total fertility rate 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers 17% (2004 est.)
Waterways NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems -
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