Belarus (2002) | Angola (2007) | |
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 |
18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.7% (male 2,706,276/female 2,654,338)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 3,339,114/female 3,225,121) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 149,414/female 189,333) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish |
Airports | 136 (2001) | 232 (2007) |
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 (2002) |
total: 31
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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 (2002) |
total: 201
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 69 (2007) |
Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. | Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. While President DOS SANTOS had pledged to hold legislative elections in 2007, he has since announced that legislative elections will be held in 2008, with Presidential elections planned for 2009. A specific election timetable has yet to be established. |
Birth rate | 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 44.51 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $14.07 billion
expenditures: $10.78 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | name: Luanda
geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 14 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,600 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 | adopted by People's Assembly 25 August 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: none former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | - |
Death rate | 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 24.81 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $770 million (2001 est.) | $10.66 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. 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 Cynthia EFIRD
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: US Embassy Luanda, US Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (222) 64-1000 FAX: [244] (222) 64-1232 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. 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 Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKITI
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston, New York |
Disputes - international | boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding | many Cabindan separatists have returned to the province from exile since the 2006 ceasefire and peace agreement; concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam at Popavalle (Popa Falls) along the Angola-Namibia border |
Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) (1995) | $441.8 million (2005) |
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 high inflation and persistent trade deficits, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, retroactive application of new business regulations, and arrests of "disruptive" businessmen and factory owners. 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. | Angola's high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, with record oil prices and rising petroleum production. Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about half of GDP and 90% of exports. Increased oil production supported 12% growth in 2004, 19% growth in 2005, and nearly 14% growth in 2006. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. Remnants of the conflict such as widespread land mines still mar the countryside even though an apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of the people, but half of the country's food must still be imported. In 2005, the government started using a $2 billion line of credit from China to rebuild Angola's public infrastructure, and several large-scale projects were completed in 2006. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy kwanzas out of circulation. This policy became more sustainable in 2005 because of strong oil export earnings; it has significantly reduced inflation. Although consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to about 13% in 2006, the stabilization policy has put pressure on international net liquidity. To fully take advantage of its rich national resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to implement government reforms and to reduce corruption. The government has made little progress on reforms recommended by the IMF, such as promoting greater transparency in government spending, and continues to be without a formal monitoring agreement with the institution. Corruption, especially in the extractive sectors, is a major challenge facing Angola. |
Electricity - consumption | 26.78 billion kWh (2000) | 2.201 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 4.15 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 24.66 billion kWh (2000) | 2.585 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 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 | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, 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 Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% |
Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles | kwanza per US dollar - 80.4 (2006), 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004), 74.606 (2003), 43.53 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001) 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; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001 (next election to be held by September 2006); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4% |
chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed prime minister on 6 December 2002 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term) under the 1992 constitution; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president |
Exports | $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton |
Exports - partners | Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000) | US 38%, China 34.2%, Taiwan 5.8%, France 4.9%, Chile 4.1% (2006) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13%
industry: 42% services: 45% (2000) |
agriculture: 9.6%
industry: 65.8% services: 24.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.1% (2001 est.) | 16.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 12 30 S, 18 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay | the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Highways | total: 98,200 km
paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
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; lax money-laundering and banking regulations | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states, particularly South Africa |
Imports | $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods |
Imports - partners | Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000) | US 15.3%, Portugal 15%, South Korea 10.1%, China 8.8%, Brazil 8.2%, South Africa 6.7%, France 6.2% (2006) |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.4% (2001 est.) | 13.5% (2004) |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing, brewing, tobacco products, sugar; textiles; ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 184.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 196.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 171.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 46.1% (2001 est.) | 13.3% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, 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, AU, COMESA, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPEC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 800 sq km (2003) |
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 and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 6.444 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 85%
industry and services: 15% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 97.12% (2005) |
Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, other 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, other 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.28 years
male: 62.3 years female: 74.56 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 37.63 years
male: 36.73 years female: 38.57 years (2007 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: 67.4% male: 82.9% female: 54.2% (2001 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,865 GRT/8,825 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1) registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 6) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Angolan Armed Forces (FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MdG), Angolan National Air Force (FANA) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | 5.7% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 86,396 (2002 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, 11 November (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
Natural hazards | NA | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium |
Net migration rate | 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) | gas 235 km; liquid petroleum gas 122 km; oil 867 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; 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 Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Anatol LIABEDZKA]; 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 or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] | Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA (largest opposition party) [Isaias SAMAKUVA]; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA (ruling party in power since 1975) [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS]; Social Renewal Party or PRS [Antonio MUACHICUNGO]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats; they and the other 115 smaller parties have little influence in the National Assembly |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC's small-scale, highly factionalized armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province ended after BEMBE's faction signed a peace accord in August 2006; other factions have since demobilized under provisions of the accord, although the two main faction leaders have not acceded to the accord |
Population | 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.) | 12,263,596 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | 70% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.14% (2002 est.) | 2.184% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2001) |
Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.) |
total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.789 male(s)/female total population: 1.021 male(s)/female (2007 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: system inadequate; fewer than one fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density approached 20 telephones per 100 persons in 2006
domestic: state-owned telecom had monopoly for fixed-lines until 2005; demand outstripped capacity and prices were high and services poor; Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first private licensed operator in Angola's fixed-line telephone network; Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993 and the network has been extended to larger towns; a privately-owned, mobile-cellular service provider began operations in 2001 international: country code - 244; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 29 (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 98,200 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 2.264 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 6 (2000) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.27 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | 1,300 km (2007) |