Belarus (2002) | Monaco (2002) | |
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; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo |
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: 15.5% (male 2,545; female 2,418)
15-64 years: 62.1% (male 9,762; female 10,093) 65 years and over: 22.4% (male 2,922; female 4,247) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | none |
Airports | 136 (2001) | none; linked to airport in Nice, France, by helicopter service (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 (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 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1.95 sq km
land: 1.95 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | about three times the size of The Mall in 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. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. | Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railroad linkup to France and the opening of a casino. Since then, the principality's mild climate, splendid scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world famous as a tourist and recreation center. |
Birth rate | 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.6 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $518 million
expenditures: $531 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995) |
Capital | Minsk | Monaco |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 4.1 km |
Constitution | 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 | 17 December 1962 |
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: Principality of Monaco
conventional short form: Monaco local long form: Principaute de Monaco local short form: Monaco |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
Death rate | 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.91 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $770 million (2001 est.) | $NA |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France) is accredited to Monaco |
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 |
Monaco does not have an embassy in the US
consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) (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 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. | Monaco, situated on the French Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate. In 2001, a major new construction project will extend the pier used by cruise ships in the main harbor. The Principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies that have set up businesses and offices. The state retains monopolies in a number of sectors, including tobacco, the telephone network, and the postal service. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas. Monaco does not publish national income figures; the estimates below are extremely rough. |
Electricity - consumption | 26.78 billion kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 4.15 billion kWh (2000) | NA kWh
note: electricity supplied by France (1999) |
Electricity - production | 24.66 billion kWh (2000) | - |
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: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Agel 140 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 | NA |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21% |
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 | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) |
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: Prince RAINIER III (since 9 May 1949); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis Pierre, son of the monarch (born 14 March 1958)
head of government: Minister of State Patrick LECLERCQ (since 5 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government |
Exports | $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals | - |
Exports - partners | Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000) | - |
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 white; similar to the flag of Indonesia which is longer and the flag of Poland which is white (top) and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $870 million (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13%
industry: 42% services: 45% (2000) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $27,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.1% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 43 44 N, 7 24 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 | second smallest independent state in the world (after Holy See); almost entirely urban |
Heliports | - | 1 (shuttle service between the international airport at Nice, France, and Monaco's heliport at Fontvieille) (2002) |
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) |
total: 50 km
paved: 50 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
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 | - |
Imports | $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001) | $NA; full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties; also participates in EU market system through customs union with France |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | - |
Imports - partners | Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000) | - |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 1419 (beginning of the rule by the House of Grimaldi) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | tourism, construction, small-scale industrial and consumer products |
Infant mortality rate | 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 5.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 46.1% (2001 est.) | NA% |
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) | ACCT, ECE, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2002) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 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 or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed by the monarch on the basis of nominations by the National Council) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 30,540 (January 1994) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | - |
Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
total: 4.4 km
border countries: France 4.4 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (urban area) (1998 est.) |
Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on French law; 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; 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 Council or Conseil National (24 seats; 16 members elected by list majority system, 8 by proportional representation; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2003 (next to be held NA February 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UNAM 21, UND 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.28 years
male: 62.3 years female: 74.56 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 79.12 years
male: 75.21 years female: 83.25 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | - |
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 | National Day (Prince of Monaco Holiday), 19 November |
Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Monegasque(s) or Monacan(s)
adjective: Monegasque or Monacan |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | none |
Net migration rate | 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.82 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 [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] | Campora List [Anne-Maria CAMPORA]; Medecin List [Jean-Louis MEDECIN]; National and Democratic Union or UND [Jean-Louis CAMPORA]; National Union for the Future of Monaco or UNAM [leader NA]; Rally for the Monegasque Family or RFM [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.) | 31,987 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.14% (2002 est.) | 0.45% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Monaco |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 1, FM NA, shortwave 8 (1998) |
Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | 34,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.) |
total: 1.7 km
standard gauge: 1.7 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 90% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2002 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: modern automatic telephone system
domestic: NA international: no satellite earth stations; connected by cable into the French communications system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 31,027 (1995) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 5 (1998) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | hilly, rugged, rocky |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.76 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 3.1% (1998) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | none |