Compare Belarus (2003) - Micronesia, Federated States of (2008)

Compare Belarus (2003) z Micronesia, Federated States of (2008)

	Belarus (2003)	Micronesia, Federated States of (2008)

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	4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae (Kosaie), Pohnpei (Ponape), Yap
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: 35.9% (male 19,726/female 19,011) 15-64 years: 61.2% (male 32,891/female 33,071) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 1,379/female 1,784) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk	black pepper, tropical fruits and vegetables, coconuts, bananas, cassava (tapioca), sakau (kava), betel nuts, sweet potatoes; pigs, chickens; fish
Airports	124 (2002)	6 (2007)
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: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)
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: 702 sq km land: 702 sq km water: 0 sq km (fresh water only) note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Chuuk (Truk) Islands, Yap Islands, and Kosrae (Kosaie)
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas	four times the size of Washington, DC (land area only)
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.	In 1979 the Federated States of Micronesia, a UN Trust Territory under US administration, adopted a constitution. In 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the US, which was amended and renewed in 2004. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on US aid.
Birth rate	10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)	24.14 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)	revenues: $127.3 million ($69 million less grants) expenditures: $144.2 million (FY05 est.)
Capital	Minsk	name: Palikir geographic coordinates: 6 55 N, 158 09 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime	tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	6,112 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	10 May 1979
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: Federated States of Micronesia conventional short form: none local long form: Federated States of Micronesia local short form: none former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts abbreviation: FSM
Currency	Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)	-
Death rate	14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)	4.66 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$851 million (2001 est.)	$60.8 million (FY05 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 Miriam K. HUGHES embassy: 101 Upper Pics Road, Kolonia mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Kolonia, Pohnpei, 96941 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186
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 Jesse Bibiano MAREHALAU chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 consulate(s) general: Honolulu, Tamuning (Guam)
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)	$106.4 million note: under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US pledged $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001; the level of aid has been subsequently reduced (2005)
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.	Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remote location, a lack of adequate facilities, and limited air connections hinder development. The Amended Compact of Free Association with the US guarantees the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) millions of dollars in annual aid through 2023, and establishes a Trust Fund into which the US and the FSM make annual contributions in order to provide annual payouts to the FSM in perpetuity after 2023. The country's medium-term economic outlook appears fragile due not only to the reduction in US assistance but also to the current slow growth of the private sector.
Electricity - consumption	26.69 billion kWh (2001)	178.6 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	300 million kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	4.3 billion kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	24.4 billion kWh (2001)	192 million 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: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Dolohmwar (Totolom) 791 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	overfishing, climate change, 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	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%	Chuukese 48.8%, Pohnpeian 24.2%, Kosraean 6.2%, Yapese 5.2%, Yap outer islands 4.5%, Asian 1.8%, Polynesian 1.5%, other 6.4%, unknown 1.4% (2000 census)
Exchange rates	Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998)	the US dollar is used
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 Emmanuel MORI (since 11 May 2007); Vice President Alik L. ALIK (11 May 2007) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Emmanuel MORI (since 11 May 2007); Vice President Alik L. ALIK (11 May 2007) cabinet: Cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of the eight executive departments elections: president and vice president elected by Congress from among the four senators at large for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2007 (next to be held May 2011); note - a proposed constitutional amendment to establish popular elections for president and vice president failed election results: Emmanuel MORI elected president; percent of Congress vote - NA; Alik L. ALIK elected vice president; percent of Congress vote - NA
Exports	NA (2001)	$14 million (f.o.b.) (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs	fish, garments, bananas, black pepper, sakau (kava), betel nut
Exports - partners	Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002)	Japan, US, Guam (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 October - 30 September
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	light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern
GDP	purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 15% industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.)	agriculture: 28.9% industry: 15.2% services: 55.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	4.7% (2002 est.)	0.3% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	53 00 N, 28 00 E	6 55 N, 158 15 E
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	four major island groups totaling 607 islands
Highways	total: 74,385 km paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000)	-
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	major consumer of cannabis
Imports	NA (2001)	$132.7 million f.o.b. (2004)
Imports - commodities	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals	food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages
Imports - partners	Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002)	US, Japan, Hong Kong (2006)
Independence	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
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, construction; fish processing, specialized aquaculture; craft items from shell, wood, and pearls
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: 28.15 deaths/1,000 live births male: 31.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	42.8% (2002 est.)	2.2% (2005)
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)	ACP, ADB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	23 (2002)	-
Irrigated land	1,150 sq km (1998 est.)	NA
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
Labor force	4.8 million (2000)	37,410 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation	industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%	agriculture: 0.9% industry: 34.4% services: 64.7% note: two-thirds are government employees (FY05 est.)
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: 5.71% permanent crops: 45.71% other: 48.58% (2005)
Languages	Belarusian, Russian, other	English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi
Legal system	based on civil law system	based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws
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 Congress (14 seats; 4 - one elected from each state to serve four-year terms and 10 - elected from single-member districts delineated by population to serve two-year terms; members elected by popular vote) elections: last held 6 March 2007 (next to be held in March 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 14
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.43 years male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.)	total population: 70.35 years male: 68.52 years female: 72.28 years (2007 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: 89% male: 91% female: 88% (1980 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, east of Poland	Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia
Map references	Europe	Oceania
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,560 GRT/2,060 DWT by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2 (2007)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the US
Military branches	Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards	no regular military forces (2007)
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	Constitution Day, 10 May (1979)
Nationality	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian	noun: Micronesian(s) adjective: Micronesian; Chuukese, Kosraen(s), Pohnpeian(s), Yapese
Natural hazards	NA	typhoons (June to December)
Natural resources	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay	forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals, phosphate
Net migration rate	2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)	-21.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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]	no formal parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	-
Population	10,322,151 (July 2003 est.)	107,862 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	22% (1995 est.)	26.7% (2000)
Population growth rate	-0.12% (2003 est.)	-0.154% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Mazyr	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)	AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)
Railways	total: 5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002)	-
Religions	Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other 3%
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.)	NA (2007 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: adequate system domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes), satellite (Intelsat) ground stations, and some coaxial and fiber-optic cable; cellular service available on Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap international: country code - 691; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2002)
Telephones - main lines in use	2.313 million (1997)	12,400 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8,167 (1997)	14,100 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)	3 (cable TV also available) (2004)
Terrain	generally flat and contains much marshland	islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk
Total fertility rate	1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.)	3.07 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers	22% (2000 est.)
Waterways	NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems	-

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