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Compare Belarus (2001) - Kazakhstan (2002)

Compare Belarus (2001) z Kazakhstan (2002)

 Belarus (2001)Kazakhstan (2002)
 BelarusKazakhstan
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
14 provinces (oblystar, singular - oblys) and 3 cities* (qala, singular - qalasy); Almaty Oblysy, Almaty Qalasy*, Aqmola Oblysy (Astana), Aqtobe Oblysy, Astana Qalasy*, Atyrau Oblysy, Batys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oral), Bayqongyr Qalasy*, Mangghystau Oblysy (Aqtau), Ongtustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Shymkent), Pavlodar Oblysy, Qaraghandy Oblysy, Qostanay Oblysy, Qyzylorda Oblysy, Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblysy (Oskemen), Soltustik Qazaqstan Oblysy (Petropavlovsk), Zhambyl Oblysy (Taraz)


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk)
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: 26% (male 2,212,985; female 2,141,392)


15-64 years: 66.5% (male 5,393,281; female 5,731,288)


65 years and over: 7.5% (male 434,879; female 827,694) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk grain (mostly spring wheat), cotton; wool, livestock
Airports 136 (2000 est.) 449 (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: 28


over 3,047 m: 6


2,438 to 3,047 m: 14


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


under 914 m: 3 (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: 421


over 3,047 m: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 18


1,524 to 2,437 m: 45


914 to 1,523 m: 101


under 914 m: 246 (2002)
Area total:
207,600 sq km

land:
207,600 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 2,717,300 sq km


land: 2,669,800 sq km


water: 47,500 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly less than four 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. Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; achieving a sustainable economic growth outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.
Birth rate 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 17.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues:
$4 billion

expenditures:
$4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
revenues: $4.2 billion


expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital Minsk Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked); note - Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 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 adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993
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 Kazakhstan


conventional short form: Kazakhstan


local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy


local short form: none


former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) tenge (KZT)
Death rate 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 10.69 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $1 billion (2000 est.) $11.6 billion (2001 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 Larry C. NAPPER


embassy: 99/97A Furmanova Street, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan 480091


mailing address: American Embassy Almaty, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7030


telephone: [7] (3272) 63-39-21, 50-76-23, 50-76-27 (emergency number)


FAX: [7] (3272) 50-62-69
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 Kanat B. SAUDABAYEV


chancery: 1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036


telephone: [1] (202) 232-5488


FAX: [1] (202) 232-5845


consulate(s): New York
Disputes - international none Kazakhstan is working rapidly with China and Russia to delimit its large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; signed bilateral agreement with Russia delimiting the Caspian Sea seabed, but littoral states are far from any multilateral agreement on dividing the waters and seabed regimes - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; border largely delimited with Uzbekistan, but unresolved dispute remains over sovereignty of two border villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and the regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; disputes with Kyrgyzstan over providing water and hydropower to Kazakhstan
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $610 million in US assistance programs, 1992-2000
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. Kazakhstan, the largest of the former Soviet republics in territory, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. It also is a large agricultural - livestock and grain - producer. Kazakhstan's industrial sector rests on the extraction and processing of these natural resources and also on a growing machine-building sector specializing in construction equipment, tractors, agricultural machinery, and some defense items. The breakup of the USSR in December 1991 and the collapse in demand for Kazakhstan's traditional heavy industry products resulted in a short-term contraction of the economy, with the steepest annual decline occurring in 1994. In 1995-97, the pace of the government program of economic reform and privatization quickened, resulting in a substantial shifting of assets into the private sector. Kazakhstan has enjoyed double-digit growth in 2000-01 thanks largely to its booming energy sector, but also to economic reform, good harvests, and foreign investment. The opening of the Caspian Consortium pipeline in 2001, from western Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to the Black Sea, substantially raises export capacity. Astana has embarked upon an industrial policy designed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the oil sector by developing light industry.
Electricity - consumption 27.647 billion kWh (1999) 48.336 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 2.62 billion kWh (1999) 50 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 7.1 billion kWh (1999) 3.102 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 24.911 billion kWh (1999) 48.692 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
99.9%

hydro:
0.1%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 86%


hydro: 14%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m

highest point:
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m


highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 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 radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges throughout the country pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices
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: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%, Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (1999 census)
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 tenge per US dollar - 151.14 (January 2002), 146.74 (2001), 142.13 (2000), 119.52 (1999), 78.30 (1998), 75.44 (1997)
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 Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991)


head of government: Prime Minister Imangali TASMAGAMBETOV (since 28 January 2002)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 10 January 1999, a year before it was previously scheduled (next to be held NA 2006); note - President NAZARBAYEV's previous term was extended to 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30 April 1995; prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president


election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 81.7%, Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN 12.1%, Gani KASYMOV 4.7%, Engels GABBASSOV 1.5%


note: President NAZARBAYEV expanded his presidential powers by decree: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda at his discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities
Exports $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $10.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs oil and oil products 52.8%, ferrous metals 12.9%, machinery, chemicals, grain, wool, meat, coal (2000)
Exports - partners Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) Russia 19.5%, China 7.3%, Germany 6.2% (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 sky blue background representing the endless sky and a gold sun with 32 rays soaring above a golden steppe eagle in the center; on the hoist side is a "national ornamentation" in gold
GDP purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $98.1 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
13%

industry:
46%

services:
41% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 10%


industry: 30%


services: 60% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2000 est.) 12.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 48 00 N, 68 00 E
Geography - note landlocked landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome
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: 189,000 km


paved: 108,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)


unpaved: 80,900 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
4.9%

highest 10%:
19.4% (1993)
lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 27% (2001)
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 illicit cultivation of cannabis for CIS markets, as well as limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra (for the drug ephedrine); limited government eradication of illicit crops; transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia and the rest of Europe
Imports $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $8.2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs machinery and parts 29.5%, energy and fuels 11.3%, electrical equipment 8.8%, vehicles 8.7%, ferrous metals 6.4% (2000)
Imports - partners Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) Russia 48.7%, Germany 6.6%, US 5.5% (2000)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 5% (2000 est.) 11.4% (2001 est.)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, iron and steel, tractors and other agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials
Infant mortality rate 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 58.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 200% (2000 est.) 8.5% (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) AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 (2000) 10 (with their own international channels) (2001)
Irrigated land 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) 23,320 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 (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members)
Labor force 4.8 million (2000) 8.4 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (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: 12,012 km


border countries: China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km
Land use arable land:
29%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
15%

forests and woodland:
34%

other:
21% (1993 est.)
arable land: 11.23%


permanent crops: 0.05%


other: 88.72% (1998 est.)
Languages Byelorussian, Russian, other Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
Legal system based on civil law system based on civil law 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 Parliament consists of the Senate (39 seats - previously 47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, two from each of the 14 oblasts, the capital of Astana, and the city of Almaty, to serve six-year terms) and the Majilis (77 seats; 10 out of the 77 Majilis members are elected from the winning party's lists; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms)


elections: Senate - (indirect) last held 17 September 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005); Majilis - last held 10 and 24 October and 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: note - the election results are for the old Senate structure; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 16 seats up for election in 1999, candidates nominated by local councils; Majilis - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Otan 23, Civic Party 13, Communist Party 3, Agrarian Party 3, People's Cooperative Party 1, independents 34; note - most independent candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other pro-government institutions
Life expectancy at birth total population:
68.14 years

male:
62.06 years

female:
74.52 years (2001 est.)
total population: 63.38 years


male: 58.02 years


female: 69.01 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: 98.4%


male: 99.1%


female: 97.7% (1999 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Central Asia, northwest of China
Map references Commonwealth of Independent States Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Merchant marine - total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,064 GRT/646 DWT


ships by type: roll on/roll off 1


note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: United States 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Naval Force, Border Service, Republican Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure $156 million (FY98) $173 million (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2% (FY98) 1% (Ministry of Defense expenditures) (FY01)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 4,545,168 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 3,629,219 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
86,396 (2001 est.)
males: 163,628 (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 Republic Day, 25 October (1990)
Nationality noun:
Belarusian(s)

adjective:
Belarusian
noun: Kazakhstani(s)


adjective: Kazakhstani
Natural hazards NA earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium
Net migration rate 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -6.16 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 2,850 km; refined products 1,500 km; natural gas 3,480 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] Agrarian Party [Romin MADINOV]; Alash [Sabet-Kazy AKATAY]; AZAMAT "Citizen" Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV, and Galym ABILSEITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV, first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN, first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [a union of opposition parties, movements, and NGOs which includes Communists, RNPK, Orleu "Development" Movement, Pokoleniye "Generation" Pensioners' Movement, Labor Movement, Association of Independent Mass Media of Central Asia, and the Tabighat "Nature" Ecological Movement]; Labor and Worker's Movement [Madel ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu "Development" Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; Otan "Fatherland" [Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye [Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress of Kazakhstan of NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative Party of Kazakhstan [Umirzak SARSENOV]; Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan or RNPK [Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN]; Socialist Party [Petr SVOIK]; United Democratic Party (a new party not yet registered) [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Adil-Soz [Tamara KALEYEVA]; Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan [Galymzhan ZHAKIYANOV, Uraz ZHANDOSOV, Nurzhan SUBKHANBERDIN, Mukhtar ABLYAZOV, Zhanat YERTLESOVA, Bulat ABILOV, cofounders]; Kazakhstan International Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director]
Population 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) 16,741,519 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 22% (1995 est.) 26% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate -0.15% (2001 est.) 0.1% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr Aqtau (Shevchenko), Atyrau (Gur'yev), Oskemen (Ust-Kamenogorsk), Pavlodar, Semey (Semipalatinsk)
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 60, FM 17, shortwave 9 (1998)
Radios 3.02 million (1997) 6.47 million (1997)
Railways total:
5,523 km

broad gauge:
5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000)
total: 13,601 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines


broad gauge: 13,601 km 1.520-m gauge (3,661 km electrified) (2001)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 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: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.53 male(s)/female


total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly

domestic:
local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational

international:
Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
general assessment: service is poor; equipment antiquated


domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile cellular systems are available in most of Kazakhstan


international: international traffic with other former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave radio relay; with other countries by satellite and by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat
Telephones - main lines in use 2.313 million (1997) 1.92 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,167 (1997) 400,000 (2001)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 12 (plus nine repeaters) (1998)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia
Total fertility rate 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.12 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers 10% (2001 est.)
Waterways NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems 3,900 km


note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers
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