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Compare Belarus (2003) - French Guiana (2002)
Compare Belarus (2003) z French Guiana (2002)
| Belarus (2003) | French Guiana (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 (overseas department of France) |
| 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: 30.2% (male 28,140; female 26,876)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 63,183; female 53,902) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 5,192; female 5,040) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Airports | 124 (2002) | 11 (2001) |
| 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: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| 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: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than Indiana |
| 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. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
| Birth rate | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 21.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) (1996) |
| Capital | Minsk | Cayenne |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 378 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 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
| 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: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
| Death rate | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 4.78 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $851 million (2001 est.) | $1.2 billion (1988) (1988) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
| 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 department of France) |
| 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 department of France) |
| 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 | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (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. 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 is tied closely to the French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou, fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
| Electricity - consumption | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) | 418.5 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) | 450 million kWh (2000) |
| 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% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 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% | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
| Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) | 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 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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
| Exports | NA (2001) | $155 million f.o.b. (1997) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
| Exports - partners | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (1997) |
| 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 | the flag of France is used |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1 billion (1998 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 - $6,000 (1998 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 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 | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
| Highways | total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
total: 1,817 km
paved: 817 km unpaved: 1,000 km (1998) |
| 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 | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
| Imports | NA (2001) | $625 million c.i.f. (1997) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) | France 52%, US 14%, Trinidad and Tobago 6% (1997) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (overseas department of France) |
| 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 | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
| 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.) |
13.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 42.8% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (1992) (1992) |
| 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) | FZ, WCL, WFTU |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2002) | 2 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 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) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
| Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 58,800 (1997) (1997) |
| Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | services, government, and commerce 61%, industry 21%, agriculture 18% (1980) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
| Land use | arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.11% NEGL
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 99.86% (90% forest, 10% other) (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | French |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | French legal system |
| 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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 76.49 years
male: 73.16 years female: 79.99 years (2002 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: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
| Map references | Europe | South America |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
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 | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces, Gendarmerie |
| 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.) | males age 15-49: 50,504 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 32,720 (2002 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 | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
| Natural hazards | NA | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish |
| Net migration rate | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| 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] | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE]; Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) | 182,333 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | -0.12% (2003 est.) | 2.57% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
| Radios | - | 104,000 (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.) | Roman Catholic |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2002 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: fair open wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 47,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.13 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 21.4% (1998) (1998) |
| Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | 3,300 km navigable by native craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers |
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