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Compare Belarus (2001) - Ecuador (2002)
Compare Belarus (2001) z Ecuador (2002)
| Belarus (2001) | Ecuador (2002) | |
 |  | |
| 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 |
22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe |
| 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: 35.4% (male 2,415,764; female 2,337,095)
15-64 years: 60.2% (male 4,007,495; female 4,090,957) 65 years and over: 4.4% (male 276,482; female 319,701) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp |
| Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 205 (2001) |
| 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: 61
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
| 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: 144
914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 113 (2002) |
| Area | total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than Nevada |
| 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. | The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. |
| Birth rate | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.47 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $5.6 billion
expenditures: planned $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | Minsk | Quito |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,237 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 | 10 August 1998 |
| 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: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | US dollar (USD) |
| Death rate | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.36 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1 billion (2000 est.) | $14 billion (2001) (2001) |
| 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 Kristie Anne KENNEY
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
| 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 Ivonne A-BAKI
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $120 million (2001) (2001) |
| 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. | Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Because the country exports primary products such as oil, bananas, and shrimp, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. Ecuador joined the World Trade Organization in 1996, but has failed to comply with many of its accession commitments. The aftermath of El Nino and depressed oil market of 1997-98 drove Ecuador's economy into a free-fall in 1999. The beginning of 1999 saw the banking sector collapse, which helped precipitate an unprecedented default on external loans later that year. Continued economic instability drove a 70% depreciation of the currency throughout 1999, which forced a desperate government to "dollarize" the currency regime in 2000. The move stabilized the currency, but did not stave off the ouster of the government. Gustavo NOBOA, who assumed the presidency in January 2000, has managed to pass substantial economic reforms and mend relations with international financial institutions. Ecuador completed its first standby agreement since 1986 when the IMF Board approved a 10 December 2001 disbursement of $96 million, the final installment of a $300 million standby credit agreement. |
| Electricity - consumption | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) | 9.667 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) | 10.395 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 25%
hydro: 75% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 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; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Galapagos Islands |
| 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% |
| 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 | sucres per US dollar - 25,000.0 (January 2002), 25,000.0 (2001), 24,988.4 (2000), 11,786.8 (1999), 5,446.6 (1998), 3,988.3 (1997)
note: on 13 March 2000, the National Congress approved a new exchange system whereby the US dollar was adopted as the main legal tender in Ecuador for all purposes; on 20 March 2000, the Central Bank of Ecuador started to exchange sucres for US dollars at a fixed rate of 25,000 sucres per US dollar; since 30 April 2000, all transactions are denominated in US dollars |
| 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 Lucio GUTIERREZ (since 15 January 2003); Vice President Alfredo PALACIO (since 15 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lucio GUTIERREZ (since 15 January 2003); Vice President Alfredo PALACIO (since 15 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term (no reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: results of the 24 November 2002 runoff election - Lucio GUTIERREZ elected president; percent of vote - Lucio GUTIERREZ 54.3%; Alvaro NOBOA 45.7% |
| Exports | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $4.8 billion (2001 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | petroleum, bananas, shrimp, coffee, cocoa, cut flowers, fish |
| Exports - partners | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) | US 38%, Peru 6%, Chile 5%, Colombia 5%, Italy 3% (2000) |
| 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 | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $39.6 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 25% services: 64% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 4.3% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 2 00 S, 77 30 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
| 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: 43,197 km
paved: 8,165 km unpaved: 35,032 km (2001) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 34% (1995) (1995) |
| 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 | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; dollarization may raise the volume of money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents |
| Imports | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $4.8 billion (2001 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, raw materials, fuels; consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) | US 25%, Colombia 13%, Japan 8%, Venezuela 8%, Brazil 4% (2000) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 5.1% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal work, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, lumber |
| Infant mortality rate | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 33.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 200% (2000 est.) | 22% (2001 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) | CAN, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 31 (2001) |
| Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 8,650 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 (new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court) |
| Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 3.7 million (urban) |
| Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (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: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
| Land use | arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.69%
permanent crops: 5.15% other: 89.16% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Byelorussian, Russian, other | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) |
| Legal system | based on civil law 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 National Congress or Congreso Nacional (123 seats; 20 members are popularly elected at-large nationally to serve four-year terms; 103 members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 May 1998 (next to be held 20 October 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DP 32, PSC 27, PRE 24, ID 18, P-NP 9, FRA 5, PCE 3, MPD 2, CFP 1; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.61 years
male: 68.79 years female: 74.57 years (2002 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: 90.1% male: 92% female: 88.2% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru |
| Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | South America |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands
territorial sea: 200 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 239,876 GRT/393,680 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 3, liquefied gas 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 23, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Chile 1, Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | $720 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | 3.4% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,468,678 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,337,944 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
males: 132,978 (2002 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 (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) |
| Nationality | noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
| Natural hazards | NA | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) | crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km |
| 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] | Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos]; Ecuadorian Conservative Party or PCE [Jacinto JIJON Y CAMANO]; Independent National Movement or MIN [Eliseo AZUERO]; Pachakutik-New Country or P-NP [Miguel LLUCO]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Pascual DEL CIOPPO] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Leonidas IZA, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS] |
| Population | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) | 13,447,494 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | 70% (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.15% (2001 est.) | 1.96% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, San Lorenzo |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) |
| Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | 5 million (2001) |
| Railways | total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
total: 965 km
narrow gauge: 965 km 1.067-m gauge (2000 est.) |
| 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters |
| 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: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 1,115,272 (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 384,000 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.05 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 14%; note - widespread underemployment (2001 est.) |
| Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | 1,500 km |
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