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Compare Belarus (2003) - Bolivia (2005)

Compare Belarus (2003) z Bolivia (2005)

 Belarus (2003)Bolivia (2005)
 BelarusBolivia
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
9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Age structure 0-14 years: 16.8% (male 885,265; female 848,516)


15-64 years: 68.9% (male 3,456,769; female 3,652,766)


65 years and over: 14.3% (male 490,529; female 988,306) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 1,613,049/female 1,551,023)


15-64 years: 59.8% (male 2,591,328/female 2,701,892)


65 years and over: 4.5% (male 178,486/female 222,092) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber
Airports 124 (2002) 1,065 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 28


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 21


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
total: 16


over 3,047 m: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 4


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 96


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 11


914 to 1,523 m: 14


under 914 m: 67 (2002)
total: 1,049


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3


1,524 to 2,437 m: 60


914 to 1,523 m: 207


under 914 m: 778 (2004 est.)
Area total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 1,098,580 sq km


land: 1,084,390 sq km


water: 14,190 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly less than three times the size of Montana
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. Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, resolving disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts, and waging an anticorruption campaign.
Birth rate 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 23.76 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $4 billion


expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
revenues: $2.264 billion


expenditures: $2.769 billion, including capital expenditures of $741 million (2004 est.)
Capital Minsk La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994
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 Bolivia


conventional short form: Bolivia


local long form: Republica de Bolivia


local short form: Bolivia
Currency Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) -
Death rate 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $851 million (2001 est.) $5.439 billion (June 2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002


mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723


telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83


FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
chief of mission: Ambassador David N. GREENLEE


embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz


mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032


telephone: [591] (2) 2430120, 2430251


FAX: [591] (2) 2433900
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV


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 Jaime APARICIO Otero


chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410


FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712


consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco
Disputes - international 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and encouraging illegal border crossing; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $681 million (2002)
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. A wide range of redistributive policies has helped those at the bottom of the ladder. 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. Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, reformed its economy after suffering a disastrous economic crisis in the early 1980s. The reforms spurred real GDP growth, which averaged 4 percent in the 1990s, and poverty rates fell. Economic growth, however, lagged again beginning in 1999 because of a global slowdown and homegrown factors such as political turmoil, civil unrest, and soaring fiscal deficits, all of which hurt investor confidence. In 2003, violent protests against the pro-foreign investment economic policies of President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA led to his resignation and the cancellation of plans to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. Foreign investment dried up as companies adopted a wait-and-see attitude regarding new President Carlos MESA's willingness to protect investor rights in the face of increased demands by radical groups that the government expropriate foreign-owned assets. Real GDP growth in 2003 and 2004 - helped by increased demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive, but still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia remains dependent on foreign aid from multilateral lenders and foreign governments.
Electricity - consumption 26.69 billion kWh (2001) 3.848 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 300 million kWh (2001) 3 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 4.3 billion kWh (2001) 9 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 24.4 billion kWh (2001) 4.132 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 99.5%


hydro: 0.1%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0.4% (2001)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m


highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 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 the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation
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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
Ethnic groups Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15%
Exchange rates Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) bolivianos per US dollar - 7.9363 (2004), 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000)
Executive branch chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (acting; since 10 July 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Sergei SIDORSKY (since 24 September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Roman VNUCHKO (since 10 July 2003)


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 Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze (since 9 June 2005); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze (since 9 June 2005); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president


elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007)


election results: as a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election, Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante was chosen president by Congress; congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante 84, Evo MORALES 43; note - following the resignation of the elected president on 17 October 2003 and Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert on 9 June 2005, Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze, President of the Supreme Court and constitutional successor, became president.
Exports NA (2001) NA
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin
Exports - partners Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) Brazil 40%, US 13.9%, Colombia 8.7%, Peru 6.3%, Japan 4.5% (2004)
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 a Belarusian national ornament in red three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band
GDP purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 15%


industry: 40%


services: 45% (2002 est.)
agriculture: 13%


industry: 28%


services: 59% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.7% (2002 est.) 3.7% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 17 00 S, 65 00 W
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 landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
Highways total: 74,385 km


paved: 66,203 km


unpaved: 8,182 km (2000)
total: 60,282 km


paved: 3,979 km


unpaved: 56,303 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
lowest 10%: 1.3%


highest 10%: 32% (1999)
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 world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 28,450 hectares under cultivation in June 2003, a 23% increase from June 2002; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported mostly to or through Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to European and US drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs under the MESA administration have been unable to keep pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay
Imports NA (2001) NA
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans
Imports - partners Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) Brazil 29.7%, Argentina 17.6%, US 10.8%, Chile 7.7%, Peru 7.3% (2004)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate 2.5% (2002 est.) 5.7% (2004 est.)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing
Infant mortality rate total: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 53.11 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 56.7 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 49.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 42.8% (2002 est.) 4.9% (2004 est.)
International organization participation CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NAM (observer), NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 23 (2002) -
Irrigated land 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) 1,280 sq km (1998 est.)
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 Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)
Labor force 4.8 million (2000) 3.8 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% agriculture NA%, industry 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: 6,743 km


border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Land use arable land: 29.76%


permanent crops: 0.69%


other: 69.55% (1998 est.)
arable land: 2.67%


permanent crops: 0.19%


other: 97.14% (2001)
Languages Belarusian, Russian, other Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
Legal system based on civil law system based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; 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
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 68 are directly elected from their districts and 62 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms)


elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007)


election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 11, MAS 8, MIR 5, NFR 2, other 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 36, MAS 27, MIR 26, NFR 25, others 16
Life expectancy at birth total population: 68.43 years


male: 62.54 years


female: 74.6 years (2003 est.)
total population: 65.5 years


male: 62.89 years


female: 68.25 years (2005 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 87.2%


male: 93.1%


female: 81.6% (2003 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Central South America, southwest of Brazil
Map references Europe South America
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Merchant marine - total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 413,407 GRT/699,901 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 16, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 1


foreign-owned: 11 (Argentina 1, Egypt 2, Eritrea 1, Germany 1, Iran 1, Singapore 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 2) (2005)
Military branches Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval; includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana) (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $176.1 million (FY02) $132.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.4% (FY02) 1.6% (2004)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 86,654 (2003 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, 6 August (1825)
Nationality noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
noun: Bolivian(s)


adjective: Bolivian
Natural hazards NA flooding in the northeast (March-April)
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower
Net migration rate 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003) gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,457 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2004)
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] Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA [Freddy ZABALA]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Evo MORALES]; Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [leader NA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman LOAYZA]
Population 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) 8,857,870 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 22% (1995 est.) 64% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate -0.12% (2003 est.) 1.49% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr Puerto Aguirre (on the Paraguay/Parana waterway, at the Bolivia/Brazil border); also, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999)
Railways total: 5,523 km


broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002)
total: 3,519 km


narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%
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 (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
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: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly


domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded


international: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 2.313 million (1997) 600,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,167 (1997) 1,401,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 48 (1997)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Total fertility rate 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.94 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers 9.2% in urban areas


note: widespread underemployment (2003 est.)
Waterways NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2004)
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