Belarus (2003) | Isle of Man (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya,' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name
note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections |
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: 17.4% (male 6,669; female 6,357)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 24,527; female 24,302) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 5,128; female 7,672) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 124 (2002) | 1 (2003 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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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) |
- |
Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 572 sq km
land: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. | Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Gaelic language. |
Birth rate | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 11.28 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | Douglas |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 160 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 | unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act, 1961, does not embody the unwritten Manx 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: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Manx pound |
Death rate | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 11.35 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $851 million (2001 est.) | NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
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 (British crown dependency) |
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 (British crown dependency) |
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 | none |
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. | Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets. |
Electricity - consumption | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) | - |
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: Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 621 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 | waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution |
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% | Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton |
Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) | Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.6125 (2003), 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999); the Manx 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: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Ian MACFADYEN (since 26 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Donald GELLING (since 14 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 14 December 2004 (next to be held NA December 2010) election results: Donald GELLING elected chief minister by the Tynwald; note - Richard CORKILL resigned 2 December 2004 |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb |
Exports - partners | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) | UK (2000) |
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 | red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.6 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2002 est.) | 13.5% |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 54 15 N, 4 30 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 | one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary |
Highways | total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
total: 800 km
paved: 800 km unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
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) | NA |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | timber, fertilizers, fish |
Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) | UK (2000) |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 3.2% (FY96/97) |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | financial services, light manufacturing, tourism |
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: 6.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 42.8% (2002 est.) | 3.6% (March 2003 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) | UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 0 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) | High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 36,610 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10% |
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: 9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 91% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (2002) |
Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | English, Manx Gaelic |
Legal system | based on civil law system | English common law and Manx statute |
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 Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 78.16 years
male: 74.8 years female: 81.7 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 226 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,055,436 GRT/9,972,459 DWT
by type: bulk 25, cargo 40, chemical tanker 25, combination bulk 2, container 19, liquefied gas 31, multi-functional large load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 59, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 17, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: Australia 3, Cyprus 4, Denmark 30, Estonia 3, France 1, Germany 57, Greece 8, Hong Kong 11, Iceland 1, Italy 6, Monaco 4, Netherlands 2, New Zealand 1, Norway 10, Singapore 2, Sweden 3, United Kingdom 80, United States 1 registered in other countries: 9 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $176.1 million (FY02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | - |
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 | Tynwald Day, 5 July |
Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women)
adjective: Manx |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | none |
Net migration rate | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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] | Man Labor Party [leader NA]; Alliance for Progressive Government [leader NA]; Man Nationalist Party [leader NA]
note: most members sit as independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) | 74,655 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.12% (2003 est.) | 0.53% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
total: 61 km (35 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends |
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: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 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: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 51,000 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | hills in north and south bisected by central valley |
Total fertility rate | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.65 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 0.7% (March 2003) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | - |