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Compare Belarus (2001) - Swaziland (2002)

Compare Belarus (2001) z Swaziland (2002)

 Belarus (2001)Swaziland (2002)
 BelarusSwaziland
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
4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni
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: 45.5% (male 254,573; female 256,677)


15-64 years: 51.9% (male 281,645; female 301,071)


65 years and over: 2.6% (male 12,027; female 17,612) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
Airports 136 (2000 est.) 18 (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


2,438 to 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.)
total: 17


914 to 1,523 m: 7


under 914 m: 10 (2002)
Area total:
207,600 sq km

land:
207,600 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 17,363 sq km


land: 17,203 sq km


water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly smaller than New Jersey
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. Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy.
Birth rate 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 39.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues:
$4 billion

expenditures:
$4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
revenues: $448 million


expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02 )
Capital Minsk Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime varies from tropical to near temperate
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted
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 Swaziland


conventional short form: Swaziland
Currency Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) lilangeni (SZL)
Death rate 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 23.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $1 billion (2000 est.) $336 million (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 James D. McGEE


embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane


mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane


telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445


FAX: [268] 404-5959
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 Mary Madzandza KANYA


chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683


FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059
Disputes - international none Swaziland continues to press South Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-Natal province that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $104 million (2001)
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. In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. Prospects for 2002 are strengthened by the country's status as a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative.
Electricity - consumption 27.647 billion kWh (1999) 900.66 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 2.62 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 7.1 billion kWh (1999) 564 million kWh


note: supplied by South Africa (2000)
Electricity - production 24.911 billion kWh (1999) 362 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
99.9%

hydro:
0.1%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 56%


hydro: 44%


nuclear: 0%


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

highest point:
Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m


highest point: Emlembe 1,862 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 limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
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, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% African 97%, European 3%
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 emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808 (January 2002), 8.4933 (2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni
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 MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)


head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996)


cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch
Exports $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $702 million f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit
Exports - partners Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%, Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 April - 31 March
Flag description red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears the Belarusian national ornament in red three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally
GDP purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
13%

industry:
46%

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


industry: 43%


services: 47% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2000 est.) 2.5% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 26 30 S, 31 30 E
Geography - note landlocked landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
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: 3,800 km


paved: 1,064 km


unpaved: 2,736 km (2002)
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) $850 million f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - partners Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (2000)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 6 September 1968 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 5% (2000 est.) 3.7% (FY95/96)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel
Infant mortality rate 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 109.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 200% (2000 est.) 7.5% (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) ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 (2000) 6 (2001)
Irrigated land 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) 690 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) High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch
Labor force 4.8 million (2000) NA
Labor force - by occupation industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% NA
Land boundaries total:
3,098 km

border countries:
Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
total: 535 km


border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km
Land use arable land:
29%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
15%

forests and woodland:
34%

other:
21% (1993 est.)
arable land: 9.77%


permanent crops: 0.7%


other: 89.53% (1998 est.)
Languages Byelorussian, Russian, other English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
Legal system based on civil law system based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)


elections: House of Assembly - last held 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2003)


election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round
Life expectancy at birth total population:
68.14 years

male:
62.06 years

female:
74.52 years (2001 est.)
total population: 37 years


male: 36.35 years


female: 37.66 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: 78.3%


male: 78%


female: 78.4% (1999 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa
Map references Commonwealth of Independent States Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military branches Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $156 million (FY98) $20 million (FY01/02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2% (FY98) 4.75% (FY00/01)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 253,510 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 146,805 (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 Independence Day, 6 September (1968)
Nationality noun:
Belarusian(s)

adjective:
Belarusian
noun: Swazi(s)


adjective: Swazi
Natural hazards NA drought
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
Net migration rate 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 0 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] political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations - Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) 1,123,605


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 22% (1995 est.) NA%
Population growth rate -0.15% (2001 est.) 1.63% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr none
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios 3.02 million (1997) 170,000 (1999)
Railways total:
5,523 km

broad gauge:
5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000)
total: 297 km


narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge


note: includes 71 km which are not in use (2001)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30%
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: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female


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


65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age
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: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system


domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay


international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 2.313 million (1997) 38,500 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,167 (1997) 45,000 (2001)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
Total fertility rate 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers 34% (2000 est.)
Waterways NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems none
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