Belarus (2002) | Tanzania (2006) | |
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 |
26 regions; Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Iringa, Kagera, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Lindi, Manyara, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Pemba North, Pemba South, Pwani, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora, Tanga, Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North, Zanzibar Urban/West |
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 8,204,593/female 8,176,489)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 9,906,446/female 10,178,066) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 422,674/female 557,124) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | coffee, sisal, tea, cotton, pyrethrum (insecticide made from chrysanthemums), cashew nuts, tobacco, cloves, corn, wheat, cassava (tapioca), bananas, fruits, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 136 (2001) | 124 (2006) |
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: 11
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 113
1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 62 under 914 m: 33 (2006) |
Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 945,087 sq km
land: 886,037 sq km water: 59,050 sq km note: includes the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than twice the size of California |
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. | Shortly after achieving independence from Britain in the early 1960s, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964. One-party rule came to an end in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s. Zanzibar's semi-autonomous status and popular opposition have led to two contentious elections since 1995, which the ruling party won despite international observers' claims of voting irregularities. |
Birth rate | 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 37.71 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $2.235 billion
expenditures: $2.669 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | name: Dar es Salaam
geographic coordinates: 6 48 S, 39 17 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: legislative offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital; the National Assembly now meets there on a regular basis |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | varies from tropical along coast to temperate in highlands |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,424 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 | 25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984 |
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 Republic of Tanzania
conventional short form: Tanzania local long form: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania local short form: Tanzania former: United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | - |
Death rate | 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.39 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $770 million (2001 est.) | $8.178 billion (2005 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 Michael L. RETZER
embassy: 140 Msese Road, Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam mailing address: P. O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam telephone: [255] (22) 2666-010 through 2666-015 FAX: [255] (22) 2666-701, 2668-501 |
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 Andrew Mhando DARAJA
chancery: 2139 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6125 FAX: [1] (202) 797-7408 |
Disputes - international | boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding | disputes with Malawi over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant |
Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) (1995) | $1.2 billion (2001) |
Economy - overview | Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by 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. | Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for almost half of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area. Industry traditionally featured the processing of agricultural products and light consumer goods. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. Long-term growth through 2005 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private-sector growth and investment. Continued donor assistance and solid macroeconomic policies supported real GDP growth of more than 6% in 2005. |
Electricity - consumption | 26.78 billion kWh (2000) | 2.959 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 4.15 billion kWh (2000) | 28 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 24.66 billion kWh (2000) | 3.152 billion kWh (2003) |
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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Kilimanjaro 5,895 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 | soil degradation; deforestation; desertification; destruction of coral reefs threatens marine habitats; recent droughts affected marginal agriculture; wildlife threatened by illegal hunting and trade, especially for ivory |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | mainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and African |
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 | Tanzanian shillings per US dollar - 1,128.93 (2005), 1,089.33 (2004), 1,038.42 (2003), 966.58 (2002), 876.41 (2001) |
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 Jakaya KIKWETE (since 21 December 2005); Vice President Dr. Ali Mohammed SHEIN (since 5 July 2001); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jakaya KIKWETE (since 21 December 2005); Vice President Dr. Ali Mohammed SHEIN (since 5 July 2001); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government note: Zanzibar elects a president who is head of government for matters internal to Zanzibar; Amani Abeid KARUME was reelected to that office on 30 October 2005 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ballot by popular vote for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 December 2005(next to be held in December 2010); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Jakaya KIKWETE elected president; percent of vote - Jakaya KIKWETE 80.3%, Ibrahim LIPUMBA 11.7%, Freeman MBOWE 5.9% |
Exports | $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals | gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton |
Exports - partners | Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000) | China 10.2%, Canada 8.6%, India 7.3%, Netherlands 5.2%, Japan 4.5%, Kenya 4.4%, Germany 4.3% (2005) |
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 | divided diagonally by a yellow-edged black band from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13%
industry: 42% services: 45% (2000) |
agriculture: 43.2%
industry: 17.2% services: 39.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.1% (2001 est.) | 6.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 6 00 S, 35 00 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 | Kilimanjaro is highest point in Africa; bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent: Lake Victoria (the world's second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika (the world's second deepest) in the west, and Lake Nyasa in the southwest |
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%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1993) |
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 | growing role in transshipment of Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for South African, European, and US markets and of South Asian methaqualone bound for southern Africa; money laundering remains a problem |
Imports | $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil |
Imports - partners | Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000) | South Africa 12.2%, China 9.6%, India 7%, UAE 6.1%, Kenya 5.2%, UK 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 26 April 1964; Tanganyika became independent 9 December 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship); Zanzibar became independent 19 December 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with Zanzibar 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania 29 October 1964 |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.4% (2001 est.) | 8.4% (1999 est.) |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | agricultural processing (sugar, beer, cigarettes, sisal twine); diamond, gold, and iron mining, salt, soda ash; cement, oil refining, shoes, apparel, wood products, fertilizer |
Infant mortality rate | 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 96.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 105.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 87.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 46.1% (2001 est.) | 4.3% (2005 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, C, EADB, FAO, G-6, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,840 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) | Permanent Commission of Enquiry (official ombudsman); Court of Appeal (consists of a chief justice and four judges); High Court (consists of a Jaji Kiongozi and 29 judges appointed by the president; holds regular sessions in all regions); District Courts; Primary Courts (limited jurisdiction and appeals can be made to the higher courts) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 19.22 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% (2002 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: 3,861 km
border countries: Burundi 451 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 459 km, Kenya 769 km, Malawi 475 km, Mozambique 756 km, Rwanda 217 km, Uganda 396 km, Zambia 338 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 4.23%
permanent crops: 1.16% other: 94.61% (2005) |
Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation; 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 Assembly or Bunge (274 seats - 232 elected by popular vote, 37 allocated to women nominated by the president, 5 to members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives; members serve five-year terms); note - in addition to enacting laws that apply to the entire United Republic of Tanzania, the Assembly enacts laws that apply only to the mainland; Zanzibar has its own House of Representatives to make laws especially for Zanzibar (the Zanzibar House of Representatives has 50 seats, directly elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 December 2005 (next to be held in December 2010) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CCM 206, CUF 19, CHADEMA 5, other 2, women appointed by the president 37, Zanzibar representatives 5; Zanzibar House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CCM 30, CUF 19; 1 seat was nullified with a rerun to take place soon |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.28 years
male: 62.3 years female: 74.56 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 45.64 years
male: 44.93 years female: 46.37 years (2006 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 Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic
total population: 78.2% male: 85.9% female: 70.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 9 ships (1000 GRT or over) 24,801 GRT/31,507 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 4 registered in other countries: 2 (Honduras 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Tanzanian People's Defense Force (JWTZ): Army, Naval Wing, Air Defense Command (includes air wing), National Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $156 million (FY98) | $21.2 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | 0.2% (2005 est.) |
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 | Union Day (Tanganyika and Zanzibar), 26 April (1964) |
Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Tanzanian(s)
adjective: Tanzanian |
Natural hazards | NA | flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel |
Net migration rate | 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -3.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) | gas 254 km; oil 872 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] | Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Party of Democracy and Development) or CHADEMA [Bob MAKANI]; Chama Cha Mapinduzi or CCM (Revolutionary Party) [Jakaya Mrisho KIKWETE]; Civic United Front or CUF [Ibrahim LIPUMBA]; Democratic Party [Christopher MTIKLA] (unregistered); Tanzania Labor Party or TLP [Augustine Lyatonga MREME]; United Democratic Party or UDP [John CHEYO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.) | 37,445,392
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | 36% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.14% (2002 est.) | 1.83% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 12, FM 11, shortwave 2 (1998) |
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: 3,690 km
narrow gauge: 969 km 1.067-m gauge; 2,721 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | mainland - Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%; Zanzibar - more than 99% Muslim |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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: fair system operating below capacity and being modernized for better service; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system under construction
domestic: trunk service provided by open-wire, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and fiber-optic cable; some links being made digital international: country code - 255; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 148,400 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 1.942 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 3 (1999) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | plains along coast; central plateau; highlands in north, south |
Total fertility rate | 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.97 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | NA% |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and Lake Nyasa principal avenues of commerce with neighboring countries; rivers not navigable (2005) |