Belarus (2001) | Macau (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 |
none (special administrative region of China) |
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: 21.8% (male 52,262; female 48,439)
15-64 years: 70.9% (male 154,942; female 172,647) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 13,616; female 19,927) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | rice, vegetables |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 1 (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: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (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.) |
- |
Area | total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 25.4 sq km
land: 25.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987, Macau became the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 20 December 1999. China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be practiced in Macau and that Macau will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs. |
Birth rate | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.19 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $1.15 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion, including capital expenditures of $166 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | - |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 41 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 | Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution" |
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: Macau Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Macau local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese) |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | pataca (MOP) |
Death rate | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1 billion (2000 est.) | $1.5 billion (1998) |
Dependency status | - | special administrative region of China |
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 |
the US has no offices in Macau, and US interests are monitored by the US Consulate General in Hong Kong |
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 |
none (special administrative region of China) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $NA |
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. | Macau's economy two years after reversion to China remains one of the most open in the world, according to the World Trade Organization. The government collects no duty on imports and sets no restrictions on exports beyond those required by international agreements. The territory's net exports of goods and services account for 35% of GDP, with tourism and apparel exports as the mainstays. The territory therefore has been hit hard by the 2001 downturn in its key US and EU export markets. Tourism remained strong, however, driven by a surge in visitors from mainland China. In response to the expected contraction of the economy in 2002, the government has announced a stimulative income tax cut and public works program that will push the budget into deficit. China already has extended support by easing restrictions on travel to Macau and is proposing a China-Hong Kong-Macau free trade area. China's economic weight is increasingly felt, with the mainland now holding more than 50% of assets in the financial, real estate, and construction sectors. Mainlanders, however, have been excluded from bidding on the gambling industry licenses that Macau is offering to break up the territory's four-decade-old gambling monopoly. Gambling taxes account for up to 60% of revenue, and the government with Beijing's backing intends to revitalize the industry. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) | 1.476 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) | 1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) | 175 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 172.4 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 | NA |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | Chinese 95%, Macanese (mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry), Portuguese, other |
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 | patacas per US dollar - 8.033 (January 2002), 8.034 (2001), 8.026 (2000), 7.992 (1999), 7.979 (1998), 7.975 (1997); note - linked to the Hong Kong dollar at the rate of 1.03 patacas per Hong Kong dollar |
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 of China JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993)
head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of all five government secretaries, three legislators, and two businessmen elections: chief executive chosen by a 200-member selection committee for up to two five-year terms |
Exports | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | clothing, textiles, cement, electronics, cameras |
Exports - partners | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) | US 48%, EU 28%, China 10%, Hong Kong 7% (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 | light green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars: one large in center of arc and four smaller |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 25% services: 74% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 0.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 22 10 N, 113 33 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland |
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: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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) | $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs | clothing, textiles, yarn, minerals, electrical machinery, fuel, livestock |
Imports - partners | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) | China 41%, Hong Kong 15%, EU 10%, Taiwan 10%, Japan 6% (2000) |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (special administrative region of China) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | tourism, gambling, clothing, textiles, electronics, footwear, toys |
Infant mortality rate | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 200% (2000 est.) | -2% (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) | CCC, ESCAP (associate), IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
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) | The Court of Final Appeal in the Macau Special Administrative Region |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 218,000 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | restaurants and hotels 26%, manufacturing 20%, other services and agriculture 54% (2000 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: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km |
Land use | arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% note: "green areas" represent 22.4% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Byelorussian, Russian, other | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Portuguese 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 |
unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (27 seats; 10 elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by political bloc - Entertainment Industry 3, pro-democracy 2, pro-Beijing Labor Union 2, pro-Beijing Neighborhood Association 2, pro-business 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 81.78 years
male: 78.97 years female: 84.73 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% male: 93% female: 86% (1981 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | not specified |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999 |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | no regular indigenous military forces; responsibility for defense reverted to China on 20 December 1999; there is a local police force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 128,005 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 70,508 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union | National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 20 December 1999 is celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day |
Nationality | noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon SHARETSKY, chairman]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] | there are no formal political parties, however, there are civic associations that, for purposes of legislative voting, join together to form political blocs |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Catholic Church [Domingos LAM, bishop]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO, managing director]; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong, leader] |
Population | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) | 461,833 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.15% (2001 est.) | 1.75% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Macau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 0, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | 160,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
0 km |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Buddhist 50%, Roman Catholic 15%, none and other 35% (1997 est.) |
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: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | direct election 18 years of age, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies |
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: fairly modern communication facilities maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: NA international: HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 176,902 (November 2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 158,251 (November 2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 0 (receives Hong Kong broadcasts) (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | generally flat |
Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 6.5% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | none |