Belarus (2003) | Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) (2001) | |
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 (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
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:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | fodder and vegetable crops; sheep, dairy products |
Airports | 124 (2002) | 5 (2000 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:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 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:
3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
12,173 sq km land: 12,173 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | Although first sighted by an English navigator in 1592, the first landing (English) did not occur until almost a century later in 1690, and the first settlement (French) was not established until 1764. The colony was turned over to Spain two years later and the islands have since been the subject of a territorial dispute, first between Britain and Spain, then between Britain and Argentina. The UK asserted its claim to the islands by establishing a naval garrison there in 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. The British responded with an expeditionary force that landed seven weeks later and after fierce fighting forced Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982. |
Birth rate | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues:
$66.2 million expenditures: $67.9 million, including capital expenditures of $23.2 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | Stanley |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but does not accumulate |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,288 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 | 3 October 1985; amended 1997 and 1998 |
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:
none conventional short form: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | Falkland pound (FKP) |
Death rate | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $851 million (2001 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
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 | claimed by Argentina |
Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $1.7 million (1995) |
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. | The economy was formerly based on agriculture, mainly sheep farming, but today fishing contributes the bulk of economic activity. In 1987 the government began selling fishing licenses to foreign trawlers operating within the Falklands exclusive fishing zone. These license fees total more than $40 million per year, which goes to support the island's health, education, and welfare system. Squid accounts for 75% of the fish taken. Dairy farming supports domestic consumption; crops furnish winter fodder. Exports feature shipments of high-grade wool to the UK and the sale of postage stamps and coins. To encourage tourism, the Falkland Islands Development Corporation has built three lodges for visitors attracted by the abundant wildlife and trout fishing. The islands are now self-financing except for defense. The British Geological Survey announced a 200-mile oil exploration zone around the islands in 1993, and early seismic surveys suggest substantial reserves capable of producing 500,000 barrels per day; to date no exploitable site has been identified. An agreement between Argentina and the UK in 1995 seeks to defuse licensing and sovereignty conflicts that would dampen foreign interest in exploiting potential oil reserves. |
Electricity - consumption | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) | 11.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) | 12 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Usborne 705 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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | British |
Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) | Falkland pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); note - the Falkland pound is at par with the British pound |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor Donald LAMONT (since NA May 1999); Chief Executive A. M. GURR (since NA); Financial Secretary D. F. HOWATT (since NA) cabinet: Executive Council; three members elected by the Legislative Council, two ex officio members (chief executive and the financial secretary), and the governor elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA (2001) | $7.6 million (1995) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | wool, hides, meat |
Exports - partners | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) | UK, Japan, Chile, NZ |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Falkland Island coat of arms in a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a white ram (sheep raising is the major economic activity) above the sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE RIGHT |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $52 million (FY95/96 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (FY95/96 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2002 est.) | 1% (FY95/96 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 51 45 S, 59 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 | deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors; short growing season |
Highways | total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
total:
440 km paved: 50 km unpaved: 390 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5.1%
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 | NA (2001) | $24.7 million (1995) |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | fuel, food and drink, building materials, clothing |
Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) | UK, Japan, Chile, NZ |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | wool and fish processing; sale of stamps and coins |
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.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 42.8% (2002 est.) | 3.6% (1998) |
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) | ICFTU |
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 (chief justice is a nonresident); Magistrates Court (senior magistrate presides over civil and criminal divisions) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 1,100 (est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 95% (mostly sheepherding and fishing) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 99% forests and woodland: 0% other: 1% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | English |
Legal system | based on civil law system | English common law |
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 Legislative Council (10 seats - 2 ex officio, 8 elected by popular vote, members serve four-year terms) presided over by the governor
elections: last held 9 October 1997 (next to be held NA October 2001) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
- |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of southern Argentina |
Map references | Europe | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
200 NM exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | British Forces Falkland Islands (includes Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines), Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $176.1 million (FY02) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | NA% |
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 | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) |
Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun:
Falkland Islander(s) adjective: Falkland Island |
Natural hazards | NA | strong winds persist throughout the year |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | fish, wildlife |
Net migration rate | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003) | - |
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] | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) | 2,895 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.12% (2003 est.) | 2.43% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Stanley |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 1, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
0 km |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, United Free Church, Evangelist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist |
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.) |
- |
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:
NA domestic: government-operated radiotelephone and private VHF/CB radiotelephone networks provide effective service to almost all points on both islands international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) with links through London to other countries |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (operated by the British Forces Broadcasting Service) (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | full employment; labor shortage |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | none |