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Compare Belarus (2001) - Virgin Islands (2004)
Compare Belarus (2001) z Virgin Islands (2004)
| Belarus (2001) | Virgin Islands (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name
note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas |
| 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: 23.8% (male 13,116; female 12,770)
15-64 years: 66% (male 33,944; female 37,870) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 4,855; female 6,220) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle |
| Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 2 (2003 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: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 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.) |
- |
| Area | total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 352 sq km
land: 349 sq km water: 3 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | twice 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. | During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. |
| Birth rate | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.49 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $560
expenditures: NA (2003) |
| Capital | Minsk | Charlotte Amalie |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 188 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 | Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 |
| 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: United States Virgin Islands
conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies |
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | US dollar (USD) |
| Death rate | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1 billion (2000 est.) | NA |
| Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
| 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 |
none (territory of the US) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Valeriy TSEPAKLO chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (territory of the US) |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | NA |
| Economy - overview | Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by extremely high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. | Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment. |
| Electricity - consumption | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) | 957.9 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) | 1.03 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crown Mountain 474 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 | lack of natural freshwater resources |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
- |
| Ethnic groups | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | black 78%, white 10%, other 12%
note: West Indian 81% (49% born in the Virgin Islands and 32% born elsewhere in the West Indies), US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 4%, other 2% |
| 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 | the US dollar is used |
| 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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL reelected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (Democrat) 50.5%, John de JONGH 24.4% |
| Exports | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | refined petroleum products |
| Exports - partners | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) | US, Puerto Rico |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
| 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 | white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,200 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 18 20 N, 64 50 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked | important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean |
| 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: 856 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: the only US possession where driving on the left side of the road is practiced (2000) |
| 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) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs | crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials |
| Imports - partners | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) | US, Puerto Rico |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics |
| Infant mortality rate | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 200% (2000 est.) | 2.2% (2003) |
| 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) | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (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) | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) |
| Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 48,900 (2003 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (2003 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: 11.76%
permanent crops: 2.94% other: 85.29% (2001) |
| Languages | Byelorussian, Russian, other | English (official), Spanish, Creole |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on US laws |
| 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 Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 10, ICM 2, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held 2 November 2004); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) reelected |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.75 years
male: 74.91 years female: 82.82 years (2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | none |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
| Military branches | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | - |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
- |
| 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 | Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) |
| Nationality | noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | NA | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas | sun, sand, sea, surf |
| Net migration rate | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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] | Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) | 108,775 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | -0.15% (2001 est.) | -0.05% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 5, FM 11, shortwave 0 (2002) |
| Radios | 3.02 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.) | Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% |
| 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; note - island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
| 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: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: country code - 1-340; submarine cable and satellite communications; satellite earth stations - NA |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 69,400 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 41,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (2002) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land |
| Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.21 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 9.3% (2003 est.) |
| Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | - |
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