Belarus (2001) | Tonga (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 |
3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u |
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:
40.93% (male 21,739; female 20,916) 15-64 years: 54.99% (male 28,231; female 29,082) 65 years and over: 4.08% (male 1,912; female 2,347) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 6 (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:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (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:
5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
748 sq km land: 718 sq km water: 30 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | four 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. | The archipelago of "The Friendly Islands" was united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. It became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900. Tonga acquired its independence in 1970 and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It remains the only monarchy in the Pacific. |
Birth rate | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.59 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues:
$49 million expenditures: $120 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (FY96/97 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | Nuku'alofa |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 419 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 | 4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967 |
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 Tonga conventional short form: Tonga former: Friendly Islands |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | pa'anga (TOP) |
Death rate | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1 billion (2000 est.) | $62 million (1998) |
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 does not have an embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga |
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 |
Tonga does not have an embassy in the US; Ambassador Fetu'utolo TUPOU, resides in London; address: Embassy of the Kingdom of Tonga, c/o Tonga High Commission, 36 Molyneux Street, London W1H 6AB, telephone [44] (171) 724-5828, FAX [44] (171) 723-9074
consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $38.8 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. | Tonga has a small, open economy with a narrow export base in agricultural goods, which contributes 30% to GDP. Squash, coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are the main crops, and agricultural exports make up two-thirds of total exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. The industrial sector accounts for only 10% of GDP. Tourism is the primary source of hard currency earnings. The country remains dependent on sizable external aid and remittances from Tongan communities overseas to offset its trade deficit. The government is emphasizing the development of the private sector, especially the encouragement of investment, and is committing increased funds for health and education. Tonga has a reasonable basic infrastructure and well-developed social services. |
Electricity - consumption | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) | 32.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) | 35 million kWh (1999) |
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% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 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 results as more and more land is being cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors; overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations |
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, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | Polynesian, Europeans about 300 |
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 | pa'anga per US dollar - 1.9885 (January 2001), 1.7585 (2000), 1.5991 (1999), 1.4920 (1998), 1.2635 (1997), 1.2323 (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 Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965) head of government: Prime Minister Prince Lavaka ata ULUKALALA (since NA February 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister Tevita TOPOU (since NA January 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Privy Council that consists of the monarch and the Cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed for life by the monarch |
Exports | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $8 million (f.o.b., 1998) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | squash, fish, vanilla beans |
Exports - partners | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) | Japan 53%, US 18%, NZ 6%, Australia 6% (1997 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $225 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
30% industry: 10% services: 60% (1997) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 20 00 S, 175 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | archipelago of 170 islands (36 inhabited) |
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:
680 km paved: 184 km unpaved: 496 km (1996) |
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) | $69 million (f.o.b., 1998) |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) | NZ 30%, Australia 19%, US 11%, UK 11%, Japan 3% (1997 est.) |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 8.6% (FY98/99) |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | tourism, fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 14.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 200% (2000 est.) | 7% (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) | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 2 (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) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal (consists of the Privy Council with the addition of the chief justice of the Supreme Court) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 34,000 (FY96/97) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 65% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
24% permanent crops: 43% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 11% other: 16% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Byelorussian, Russian, other | Tongan, English |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on English law |
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 Assembly or Fale Alea (30 seats - 12 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex officio, nine for nobles selected by the country's 33 nobles, and nine elected by popular vote; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held NA March 1999 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote - pro-democratic 40%; seats - pro-democratic 5, traditionalist 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
68.25 years male: 65.83 years female: 70.78 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition:
can read and write Tongan and/or English total population: 98.5% male: 98.4% female: 98.7% (1996 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,626 GRT/29,468 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 2, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Tonga Defense Services (includes Royal Tongan Marines, Tongan Royal Guards, Maritime Force, Police); note - a new Air Wing which will be subordinate to the Defense Ministry is being developed |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 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, 4 June (1970) |
Nationality | noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
noun:
Tongan(s) adjective: Tongan |
Natural hazards | NA | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas | fish, fertile soil |
Net migration rate | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | Human Rights and Democracy Movement [Huliki WATAB, chairman, Viliami FUKOFUKA, president, 'Akilisi POHIVA, vice president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Pro-Democracy and Human Rights Movement [leader NA] |
Population | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) | 104,227 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.15% (2001 est.) | 1.79% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Neiafu, Nuku'alofa, Pangai |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | 61,000 (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.) | Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) |
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: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 8,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 302 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base |
Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 13.3% (FY96/97) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | none |