##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Belarus (2001) - Norway (2001)
Compare Belarus (2001) z Norway (2001)
| Belarus (2001) | Norway (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 |
19 provinces (fylker, singular - fylke); Akershus, Aust-Agder, Buskerud, Finnmark, Hedmark, Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Nordland, Nord-Trondelag, Oppland, Oslo, Ostfold, Rogaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Sor-Trondelag, Telemark, Troms, Vest-Agder, Vestfold |
| 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:
19.99% (male 462,673; female 437,514) 15-64 years: 64.91% (male 1,482,346; female 1,440,832) 65 years and over: 15.1% (male 282,307; female 397,768) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | barley, other grains, potatoes; beef, milk; fish |
| Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 103 (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:
67 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 28 (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:
36 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 31 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
324,220 sq km land: 307,860 sq km water: 16,360 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than New Mexico |
| 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. | Despite its neutrality, Norway was not able to avoid occupation by Germany in World War II. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. |
| Birth rate | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues:
$71.7 billion expenditures: $57.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | Minsk | Oslo |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers causing glaciers to grow; rainy year-round on west coast |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 21,925 km (includes mainland 3,419 km, large islands 2,413 km, long fjords, numerous small islands, and minor indentations 16,093 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 | 17 May 1814, modified in 1884 |
| 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:
Kingdom of Norway conventional short form: Norway local long form: Kongeriket Norge local short form: Norge |
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
| Death rate | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.83 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1 billion (2000 est.) | $0 (Norway is a net external creditor) |
| 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 Robin Chandler DUKE embassy: Drammensveien 18, 0244 Oslo mailing address: PSC 69, Box 1000, APO AE 09707 telephone: [47] (22) 44 85 50 FAX: [47] (22) 43 07 77 |
| 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 Knut VOLLEBAEK chancery: 2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6000 FAX: [1] (202) 337-0870 consulate(s) general: Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, and San Francisco |
| Disputes - international | none | territorial claim in Antarctica (Queen Maud Land); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.4 billion (1998) |
| 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. | The Norwegian economy is a prosperous bastion of welfare capitalism, featuring a combination of free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector (through large-scale state enterprises). The country is richly endowed with natural resources - petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals - and is highly dependent on its oil production and international oil prices; in 1999, oil and gas accounted for 35% of exports. Only Saudi Arabia exports more oil than Norway. Oslo opted to stay out of the EU during a referendum in November 1994. Growth picked up in 2000 to 2.7%, compared to the meager 0.8% of 1999, but may fall back in 2001. The government moved ahead with privatization in 2000, even proposing the sale of up to one-third of the 100% state-owned oil company Statoil. Despite their high per capita income and generous welfare benefits, Norwegians worry about that time in the next two decades when the oil and gas begin to run out. Accordingly, Norway has been saving its oil-boosted budget surpluses in a Government Petroleum Fund, which is invested abroad and now is valued at more than $43 billion. |
| Electricity - consumption | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) | 110.795 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) | 8.28 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) | 6.467 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) | 121.084 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
0.63% hydro: 99.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0.26% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point:
Norwegian Sea 0 m highest point: Galdhopiggen 2,469 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 | water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions |
| 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, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, 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: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | Norwegian (Nordic, Alpine, Baltic), Sami 20,000 |
| 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 | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.7784 (January 2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997), 6.4498 (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:
King HARALD V (since 17 January 1991); Heir Apparent Crown Prince HAAKON MAGNUS, son of the monarch (born 20 July 1973) head of government: Prime Minister Jens STOLTENBERG (since 17 March 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following parliamentary elections, the leader of the largest party or leader of a coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch with the approval of the Parliament |
| Exports | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $59.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | petroleum and petroleum products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, ships, fish |
| Exports - partners | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) | EU 73% (UK 17%, Germany 11%, Netherlands 10%, Sweden 9%), US 5% (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 | red with a blue cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $124.1 billion (1999 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
2% industry: 25% services: 73% (1999) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 2.7% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 62 00 N, 10 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked | about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in North Atlantic; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world; Norway is the only NATO member having a land boundary with Russia |
| Heliports | - | 1 (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:
91,180 km paved: 67,838 km (including 109 km of expressways) unpaved: 23,342 km (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
lowest 10%:
4.1% highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
| 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) | $35.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) | EU 66% (Sweden 15%, Germany 12%, UK 9%, Denmark 7%), US 10%, Japan (1999) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 7 June 1905 Norway declared the union with Sweden dissolved; 26 October 1905 Sweden agreed to the repeal of the union |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | petroleum and gas, food processing, shipbuilding, pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles, fishing |
| Infant mortality rate | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 3.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 200% (2000 est.) | 2.9% (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, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 13 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 970 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 Hoyesterett (justices appointed by the monarch) |
| Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 2.4 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | services 74%, industry 22%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 4% (1995) |
| Land boundaries | total:
3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
total:
2,515 km border countries: Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km |
| Land use | arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 27% other: 70% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Byelorussian, Russian, other | Norwegian (official)
note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; 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 |
modified unicameral Parliament or Storting which, for certain purposes, divides itself into two chambers (165 seats; members are elected by popular vote by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 September 1997 (next to be held 10 September 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor Party 35%, Center Party 7.9%, Conservative Party 14.3%, Christian People's Party 13.7%, Socialist Left Party 6%, Progress Party 15.3%, Liberal Party 4.4%, other parties 1.6%; seats by party - Labor Party 65, Center Party 11, Conservative Party 23, Christian People's Party 25, Socialist Left Party 9, Progress Party 25, Liberal Party 6, other parties 1 note: for certain purposes, the Parliament divides itself into two chambers and elects one-fourth of its membership to an upper house or Lagting |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
78.79 years male: 75.87 years female: 81.92 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: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden |
| Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
10 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 4 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total:
764 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,667,370 GRT/32,100,208 DWT ships by type: bulk 89, cargo 139, chemical tanker 114, combination bulk 9, combination ore/oil 37, container 15, liquefied gas 84, passenger 10, petroleum tanker 151, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 45, short-sea passenger 22, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 38 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Japan 1, Mexico 1, Sweden 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Norwegian Army, Royal Norwegian Navy (includes Coast Artillery and Coast Guard), Royal Norwegian Air Force, Home Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | $3.113 billion (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | 2.1% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,101,384 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
913,534 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 20 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
males:
27,341 (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 | Constitution Day, 17 May (1814); note - 17 May 1814 is the date of independence from Sweden, 7 June 1905 is the date Norway declared the union with Sweden was dissolved |
| Nationality | noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
noun:
Norwegian(s) adjective: Norwegian |
| Natural hazards | NA | rockslides, avalanches |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas | petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) | refined petroleum products 53 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] | Center Party [Odd Roger ENOKSEN]; Christian People's Party [Kiell Magne BONDEVIK]; Conservative Party [Jan PETERSEN]; Labor Party [Jens STOLTENBERG]; Liberal Party [Lars SPONHEIM]; Progress Party [Carl I. HAGEN]; Socialist Left Party [Kristin HALVORSEN] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) | 4,503,440 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | -0.15% (2001 est.) | 0.49% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Bergen, Drammen, Floro, Hammerfest, Harstad, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Larvik, Narvik, Oslo, Porsgrunn, Stavanger, Tromso, Trondheim |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 5, FM at least 650, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | 4.03 million (1997) |
| Railways | total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
total:
4,012 km standard gauge: 4,012 km 1.435-m gauge (2,530 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1998) |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Evangelical Lutheran 86% (state church), other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10% (1997) |
| 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:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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:
modern in all respects; one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in Europe domestic: Norway has a domestic satellite system; moreover the prevalence of rural areas encourages the wide use of cellular mobile systems instead of fixed wire systems international: 2 buried coaxial cable systems; 4 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - NA Eutelsat, NA Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Norway shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden) (1999) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 2.735 million (1998) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 2,080,408 (1998) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 360 (plus 2,729 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north |
| Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.81 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 3% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | 1,577 km (along west coast)
note: navigable by 2.4 m maximum draft vessels |
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