Belarus (2001) | Nicaragua (2001) | |
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 |
15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento), 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur* |
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:
38.98% (male 976,087; female 941,141) 15-64 years: 58.08% (male 1,418,555; female 1,438,096) 65 years and over: 2.94% (male 62,963; female 81,551) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 182 (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:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (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:
171 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 145 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
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. | Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520s, Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990 and again in 1996 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
Birth rate | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues:
$734 million expenditures: $836 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | Managua |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 910 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 | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
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 Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | gold cordoba (NIO) |
Death rate | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1 billion (2000 est.) | $6.4 billion (2000 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 Oliver P. GARZA embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] (2) 662298, 666010, 666012, 666013, 666015, 666018, 666026, 666027, 666032, 666033 FAX: [505] (2) 669074 |
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 Alfonso ORTEGA Urbina chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
Disputes - international | none | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
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. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should remain moderate to high in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) | 2.265 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) | 20 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) | 2.349 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
67.26% hydro: 17.71% nuclear: 0% other: 15.03% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
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 | gold cordobas per US dollar - 12.96 (November 2000), 12.69 (2000 est.), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (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:
President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001); note - in July 1995 the term of the office of the president was amended to five years election results: Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (Liberal Alliance - ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 51.03%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 37.75%, Guillermo OSORNO (PCCN) 4.10%, Noel VIDAURRE (PCN) 2.26%, Benjamin LANZAS (PRONAL) 0.53%, other (18 other candidates) 4.33% |
Exports | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $631 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold |
Exports - partners | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) | US 37.7%, El Salvador 12.5%, Germany 9.8%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Spain 2.5%, France 2.1% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $13.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
31.6% industry: 22.8% services: 45.6% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | - |
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:
16,382 km paved: 1,818 km unpaved: 14,564 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 39.8% (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 | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) | US 34.5%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, Panama 6.9%, Venezuela 5.9%, El Salvador 5.5% (1999) |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 33.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 200% (2000 est.) | 11% (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) | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 880 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 or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 1.7 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (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:
1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 27% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Byelorussian, Russian, other | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | based on civil law system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 Alliance 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
69.05 years male: 67.1 years female: 71.11 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: 65.7% male: 64.6% female: 66.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
natural prolongation territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | $26 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,269,322 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
779,267 (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:
58,232 (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 | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
noun:
Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | NA | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.33 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 56 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] | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) | 4,918,393 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.15% (2001 est.) | 2.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | 1.24 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
- |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant |
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: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 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:
inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 140,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 7,911 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 20% plus considerable underemployment (1999 est.) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) |