Belarus (2003) | Jersey (2003) | |
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 (British crown dependency) |
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: 17.8% (male 8,292; female 7,744)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 30,178; female 30,410) 65 years and over: 15% (male 5,858; female 7,674) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 124 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
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 (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) |
- |
Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 116 sq km
land: 116 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | about 0.7 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. | The island of Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both France and England. These islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. |
Birth rate | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.44 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $601 million
expenditures: $588 million, including capital expenditures of $98 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | Saint Helier |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | temperate; mild winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 70 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; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
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: Bailiwick of Jersey
conventional short form: Jersey |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Jersey pound |
Death rate | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.17 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $851 million (2001 est.) | none |
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) | none |
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 based largely on international financial services, agriculture, and tourism. Potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and especially flowers are important export crops, shipped mostly to the UK. The Jersey breed of dairy cattle is known worldwide and represents an important export income earner. Milk products go to the UK and other EU countries. In 1996 the finance sector accounted for about 60% of the island's output. Tourism, another mainstay of the economy, accounts for 24% of GDP. In recent years, the government has encouraged light industry to locate in Jersey, with the result that an electronics industry has developed alongside the traditional manufacturing of knitwear. All raw material and energy requirements are imported, as well as a large share of Jersey's food needs. Light taxes and death duties make the island a popular tax haven. |
Electricity - consumption | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by France |
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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 143 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% | UK and Norman-French descent |
Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) | Jersey pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); the Jersey 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: Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief Air Chief Marshall Sir John CHESHIRE (since 24 January 2001) and Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since NA February 1995) cabinet: committees appointed by the Assembly of the States elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | light industrial and electrical goods, foodstuffs, textiles |
Exports - partners | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) | UK |
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 | white with a diagonal red cross extending to the corners of the flag and in the upper quadrant, surmounted by a yellow crown, a red shield holding the three lions of England in yellow |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.2 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 2% services: 93% (1996) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $24,800 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 49 15 N, 2 10 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 | largest and southernmost of Channel Islands; about 30% of population concentrated in Saint Helier |
Highways | total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
total: 577 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA 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) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, mineral fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) | UK |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (British crown dependency) |
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 | tourism, banking and finance, dairy |
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: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 42.8% (2002 est.) | 4.7% (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) | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2002) | NA |
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) | Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 57,050 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land: NEGL%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | English (official), French (official), Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | based on civil law system | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
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 Assembly of the States (55 voting members - 12 senators (elected for 6-year terms), 12 constables or heads of parishes (elected for 3-year terms), 29 deputies (elected for 3-year terms); the bailiff and the deputy bailiff; and 3 non-voting members - the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General all appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held NA (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 52 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 78.93 years
male: 76.48 years female: 81.57 years (2003 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 English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 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 | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | arable land |
Net migration rate | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) | 90,156 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.12% (2003 est.) | 0.4% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Gorey, Saint Aubin, Saint Helier |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM NA, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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.) | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational New Church, Methodist, Presbyterian |
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: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
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: NA international: 3 submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 65,500 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 4,400 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | gently rolling plain with low, rugged hills along north coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.57 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 0.7% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | none |