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Compare Belarus (2001) - Japan (2001)

Compare Belarus (2001) z Japan (2001)

 Belarus (2001)Japan (2001)
 BelarusJapan
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
47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi
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:
14.64% (male 9,510,296; female 9,043,074)

15-64 years:
67.83% (male 43,202,513; female 42,790,187)

65 years and over:
17.53% (male 9,351,340; female 12,874,252) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish
Airports 136 (2000 est.) 173 (2000 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:
142

over 3,047 m:
8

2,438 to 3,047 m:
36

1,524 to 2,437 m:
38

914 to 1,523 m:
30

under 914 m:
30 (2000 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:
31

914 to 1,523 m:
4

under 914 m:
27 (2000 est.)
Area total:
207,600 sq km

land:
207,600 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total:
377,835 sq km

land:
374,744 sq km

water:
3,091 sq km

note:
includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly smaller than California
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. While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth.
Birth rate 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 10.04 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues:
$4 billion

expenditures:
$4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
revenues:
$441 billion

expenditures:
$718 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $84 billion (FY01/02 est.)
Capital Minsk Tokyo
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 29,751 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 May 1947
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:
none

conventional short form:
Japan
Currency Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) yen (JPY)
Death rate 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 8.34 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $1 billion (2000 est.) $NA
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-designate Howard H. BAKER, Jr.

embassy:
10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420

mailing address:
Unit 45004, Box 205, APO AP 96337-5004

telephone:
[81] (03) 3224-5000

FAX:
[81] (03) 3224-5856

consulate(s) general:
Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo

consulate(s):
Fukuoka, Nagoya
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 Shunji YANAI

chancery:
2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:
[1] (202) 238-6700

FAX:
[1] (202) 328-2187

consulate(s) general:
Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle

consulate(s):
Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands)
Disputes - international none islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands) claimed by China and Taiwan
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $9.1 billion (1999)
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 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. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met little success and were further hampered in late 2000 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots".
Electricity - consumption 27.647 billion kWh (1999) 947.038 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 2.62 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 7.1 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 24.911 billion kWh (1999) 1.018 trillion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
99.9%

hydro:
0.1%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel:
58.91%

hydro:
8.35%

nuclear:
30.31%

other:
2.43% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m

highest point:
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point:
Hachiro-gata -4 m

highest point:
Fujiyama 3,776 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 air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere
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-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% Japanese 99.4%, Korean 0.6% (1999)
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 yen per US dollar - 117.10 (January 2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996)
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:
Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)

head of government:
Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 24 April 2001)

cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the prime minister

elections:
none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet designates the prime minister; the constitution requires that the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority, therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister

note:
following the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro MORI, Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new president of the majority Liberal Democratic Party, and soon thereafter designated by the Diet to become the next prime minister
Exports $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $450 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals
Exports - partners Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) US 30%, Taiwan 7%, South Korea 6.4%, China 6.2%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2000 est.)
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 white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center
GDP purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $3.15 trillion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
13%

industry:
46%

services:
41% (1999 est.)
agriculture:
2%

industry:
35%

services:
63% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $24,900 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2000 est.) 1.3% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 36 00 N, 138 00 E
Geography - note landlocked strategic location in northeast Asia
Heliports - 16 (2000 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:
1,152,207 km

paved:
863,003 km (including 6,114 km of expressways)

unpaved:
289,204 km (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
4.9%

highest 10%:
19.4% (1993)
lowest 10%:
4.8%

highest 10%:
21.7% (1993)
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 -
Imports $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $355 billion (c.i.f., 2000)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, office machinery
Imports - partners Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) US 19%, China 14.5%, South Korea 5.4%, Taiwan 4.8%, Indonesia 4.3%, Australia 3.9% (2000 est.)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu)
Industrial production growth rate 5% (2000 est.) 5.3% (2000 est.)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods
Infant mortality rate 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 3.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 200% (2000 est.) -0.7% (2000 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) AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 (2000) 73 (2000)
Irrigated land 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) 27,820 sq km (1993 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 (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet)
Labor force 4.8 million (2000) 67.7 million (December 2000)
Labor force - by occupation industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% services 65%, industry 30%, agriculture 5%
Land boundaries total:
3,098 km

border countries:
Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
0 km
Land use arable land:
29%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
15%

forests and woodland:
34%

other:
21% (1993 est.)
arable land:
11%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
2%

forests and woodland:
67%

other:
19% (1993 est.)
Languages Byelorussian, Russian, other Japanese
Legal system based on civil law system modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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 Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (252 seats; one-half of the members elected every three years - 76 seats of which are elected from the 47 multi-seat prefectural districts and 50 of which are elected from a single nationwide list; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - 180 of which are elected from 11 regional blocks on a proportional representation basis and 300 of which are elected from 300 single-seat districts; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
House of Councillors - last held 12 July 1998 (next to be held NA July 2001); House of Representatives - last held 25 June 2000 (next to be held by June 2004)

election results:
House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 102, DPJ 47, JCP 23, Komeito 22, SDP 13, Liberal Party 12, independents 26, others 7; note - the distribution of seats as of February 2001 is as follows - LDP 112, DPJ 58, Komeito 24, JCP 23, SDP 13, Liberal Party 5, independents 7, others 10; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 233, DPJ 127, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, other 28; note - the distribution of seats as of February 2001 is as follows - LDP 239, DPJ 129, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, other 20
Life expectancy at birth total population:
68.14 years

male:
62.06 years

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

male:
77.62 years

female:
84.15 years (2001 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:
99% (1970 est.)

male:
NA%

female:
NA%
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
Map references Commonwealth of Independent States Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) contiguous zone:
24 NM

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
Merchant marine - total:
630 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,691,174 GRT/15,484,848 DWT

ships by type:
bulk 137, cargo 51, chemical tanker 15, combination bulk 22, combination ore/oil 3, container 22, liquefied gas 49, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 194, refrigerated cargo 15, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 6, vehicle carrier 56 (2000 est.)
Military branches Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $156 million (FY98) $43 billion (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2% (FY98) 0.96% (FY01)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
29,926,614 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
25,876,484 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age 18 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
86,396 (2001 est.)
males:
765,817 (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 Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)
Nationality noun:
Belarusian(s)

adjective:
Belarusian
noun:
Japanese (singular and plural)

adjective:
Japanese
Natural hazards NA many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas negligible mineral resources, fish
Net migration rate 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 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] Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA, leader, Naoto KAN, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman, Tadaaki ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president, Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president, Taku YAMASAKI, secretary general]; Liberal Party [Ichiro OZAWA, president, Hirohisa FUJII, secretary general]; New Conservative Party [Chikage OGI, president, Takeshi NODA, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Takako DOI, chairperson, Sadao FUCHIGAMI, secretary general]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) 126,771,662 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 22% (1995 est.) NA%
Population growth rate -0.15% (2001 est.) 0.17% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 190, FM 88, shortwave 24 (1999)
Radios 3.02 million (1997) 120.5 million (1997)
Railways total:
5,523 km

broad gauge:
5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000)
total:
23,670.7 km

standard gauge:
2,893.1 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified)

narrow gauge:
89.8 km 1.372-m gauge (89.8 km electrified); 20,656.8 km 1.067-m gauge (10,383.6 km electrified); 31 km 0.762-m gauge (3.6 km electrified) (1994)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)
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:
1.01 male(s)/female

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

total population:
0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 20 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:
excellent domestic and international service

domestic:
high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind

international:
satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999)
Telephones - main lines in use 2.313 million (1997) 60.381 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,167 (1997) 63.88 million (2000)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 7,108 (plus 441 repeaters; note - in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services) (1999)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland mostly rugged and mountainous
Total fertility rate 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) 1.41 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers 4.7% (2000)
Waterways NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems 1,770 km approximately

note:
seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas
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