Belarus (2001) | Indonesia (2003) | |
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 |
27 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*; note - with the implementation of decentralization on 1 January 2001, the 357 districts (regencies) have become the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services
note: following the 30 August 1999 provincial referendum for independence that was overwhelmingly approved by the people of Timor Timur and the October 1999 concurrence of Indonesia's national legislature, the name East Timor was adopted as the provisional name for the political entity formerly known as Propinsi Timor Timur; East Timor gained its formal independence on 20 May 2002 |
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: 29.7% (male 35,437,274; female 34,232,824)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 76,743,613; female 76,845,245) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 5,086,465; female 6,548,032) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 631 (2002) |
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: 153
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 46 914 to 1,523 m: 48 under 914 m: 43 (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: 478
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 450 (2002) |
Area | total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,919,440 sq km
land: 1,826,440 sq km water: 93,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly less than three times the size of 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. | Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago; it achieved independence from the Netherlands in 1949. Current issues include: alleviating widespread poverty, implementing IMF-mandated reforms of the banking sector, effecting a transition to a popularly-elected government after four decades of authoritarianism, addressing charges of cronyism and corruption, holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations, and resolving growing separatist pressures in Aceh and Papua. |
Birth rate | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.49 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $26 billion
expenditures: $30 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | Jakarta |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 54,716 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 | August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959 |
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 Indonesia
conventional short form: Indonesia local long form: Republik Indonesia local short form: Indonesia former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | Indonesian rupiah (IDR) |
Death rate | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1 billion (2000 est.) | $131 billion (2002 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 Ralph L. BOYCE
embassy: Jalan 1 Medan Merdeka Selatan 3-5, Jakarta 10110 mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, FPO AP 96520 telephone: [62] (21) 3435-9000 FAX: [62] (21) 385-7189 consulate(s) general: Surabaya |
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 SOEMADI Brotodiningrat
chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 775-5200 FAX: [1] (202) 775-5365 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee continues to meet regularly to survey and delimit land boundary; East Timor refugees delay return from camps in Indonesia; maritime delimitations with Australia and East Timor await further discussions; ICJ awarded Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia in 2002; Indonesian secessionists, squatters and illegal migrants create repatriation problems for Papua New Guinea |
Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $43 billion from IMF program and other official external financing (1997-2000) |
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. | Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, faces severe economic development problems stemming from secessionist movements and the low level of security in the regions; the lack of reliable legal recourse in contract disputes; corruption; weaknesses in the banking system; and strained relations with the IMF. Investor confidence will remain low and few new jobs will be created under these circumstances. In November 2001, Indonesia agreed with the IMF on a series of economic reforms in 2002, thus enabling further IMF disbursements. Negotiations with the IMF and bilateral donors continued in 2002. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, the build-up of the confidence of international donors and investors, and a strong comeback in the global economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) | 89.08 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) | 95.78 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 86.9%
hydro: 10.5% nuclear: 0% other: 2.5% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 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; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26% |
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 | Indonesian rupiahs per US dollar - 9,311.19 (2002), 10,260.8 (2001), 8,421.77 (2000), 7,855.15 (1999), 10,013.6 (1998) |
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 MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 23 July 2001) and Vice President Hamzah HAZ (since 26 July 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 23 July 2001) and Vice President Hamzah HAZ (since 26 July 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected separately by the People's Consultative Assembly or MPR for five-year terms; selection of president last held 23 July 2001; selection of vice president last held 26 July 2001; next election to be held in July 2004; in accordance with constitutional changes, the election of the president and vice president will be by direct vote of the citizenry election results: MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri elected president, receiving 591 votes in favor (91 abstentions); Hamzah HAZ elected vice president, receiving 340 votes in favor (237 against) note: the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR) plus 195 indirectly selected members; it meets every five years to elect the president and vice president and to approve broad outlines of national policy and also has yearly meetings to consider constitutional and legislative changes; constitutional amendments adopted in 2001 and 2002 provide for the MPR to be restructured in 2004 and to consist entirely of popularly-elected members who will be in the DPR and the new House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD); the MPR will no longer formulate national policy |
Exports | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber |
Exports - partners | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) | Japan 21.1%, US 13.2%, Singapore 9.4%, South Korea 7.2%, China 5.1%, Taiwan 4.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year; note - previously was 1 April - 31 March, but starting with 2001, has been changed to 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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $714.2 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 41% services: 42% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 5 00 S, 120 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | archipelago of more than 17,000 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 9 (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: 342,700 km
paved: 158,670 km unpaved: 184,030 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 26.7% (1999) |
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 | illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic use; possible growing role as transshipment point for Golden Triangle heroin |
Imports | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment; chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) | Japan 14.1%, Singapore 13.1%, US 8.5%, China 7.8%, South Korea 5.3%, Taiwan 5.1%, Australia 5.1% (2002) |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27 December 1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (2002 est.) |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | petroleum and natural gas; textiles, apparel, and footwear; mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood; rubber; food; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 38.09 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 43.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 32.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 200% (2000 est.) | 11.9% (2002 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) | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 24 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 48,150 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 Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); note - the Supreme Court is preparing to assume administrative responsibility for the lower court system, currently run by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; a separate Constitutional Court was invested by the president on 16 August 2003 |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 99 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 45%, industry 16%, services 39% (1999 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: 2,830 km
border countries: East Timor 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km |
Land use | arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 9.9%
permanent crops: 7.2% other: 82.9% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Byelorussian, Russian, other | Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; 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 House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (500 seats; 462 elected by popular vote, 38 are appointed military representatives until 2004 election when military seats expire; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 June 1999 (next to be held April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDI-P 37.4%, Golkar 20.9%, PKB 17.4%, PPP 10.7%, PAN 7.3%, PBB 1.8%, other 4.5%; seats by party - PDI-P 154, Golkar 120, PPP 58, PKB 51, PAN 35, PBB 14, other 30; note - subsequent to the election, there has been a change in the distribution of seats; the new distribution is: PDI-P 153, Golkar 120, PPP 58, PKB 51, PAN 35, PBB 13, other 32 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.94 years
male: 66.54 years female: 71.47 years (2003 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: 88.5% male: 92.9% female: 84.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 710 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,045,673 GRT/4,106,508 DWT
ships by type: bulk 42, cargo 400, chemical tanker 15, container 56, liquefied gas 3, livestock carrier 1, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 13, petroleum tanker 127, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 16, short-sea passenger 9, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 6 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1, Hong Kong 2, India 1, Japan 2, Malaysia 1, Monaco 3, Panama 1, Philippines 1, Singapore 11, South Korea 1, Switzerland 1, UK 2, US 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Army, Navy (including marines and naval air arm), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | $1 billion (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | 1.3% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 65,665,721 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 38,290,550 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
males: 2,213,727 (2003 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, 17 August (1945) |
Nationality | noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Indonesian(s)
adjective: Indonesian |
Natural hazards | NA | occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas | petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) | condensate 672 km; condensate/gas 125 km; gas 8,183 km; oil 7,429 km; oil/gas/water 66 km; refined products 1,329 km; water 72 km (2003) |
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] | Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA, chairman]; Federation of Functional Groups or Golkar [Akbar TANDJUNG, general chairman]; Indonesia Democracy Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri, chairperson]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB, chairman]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Amien RAIS, chairman]; Prosperous Justice Party or PKS [Hidayat NUR WAHID, chairman]; United Development Party or PPP (federation of former Islamic parties) [Hamzah HAZ, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) | 234,893,453 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | 27% (1999) |
Population growth rate | -0.15% (2001 est.) | 1.52% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Makassar, Palembang, Semarang, Surabaya |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (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: 6,458 km
narrow gauge: 5,961 km 1.067-m gauge (125 km electrified); 497 km 0.750-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998) |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age |
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: domestic service fair, international service good
domestic: interisland microwave system and HF radio police net; domestic satellite communications system international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 5,588,310 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 1.07 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 41 (1999) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.5 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 10.6% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | 21,579 km total
note: Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km |