Belarus (2003) | Saint Lucia (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 |
11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort |
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: 30.7% (male 25,913; female 24,467)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 51,750; female 53,530) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 3,159; female 5,394) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa |
Airports | 124 (2002) | 2 (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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 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) |
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Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | 3.5 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, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979. |
Birth rate | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 20.5 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $141.2 million
expenditures: $146.7 million, including capital expenditures of $25.1 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Minsk | Castries |
Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 158 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 | 22 February 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: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia |
Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.18 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $851 million (2001 est.) | $214 million (2000) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Saint Lucia |
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 Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
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 | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $51.8 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. | Changes in the EU import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry. Economic fundamentals remain solid. |
Electricity - consumption | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) | 111.8 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) | 120.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Gimie 950 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 | deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region |
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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999) |
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), represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Kenneth Davis ANTHONY (since 24 May 1997) and Deputy Prime Minister Mario MICHEL (since 24 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil |
Exports - partners | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) | UK 48%, US 24%, Antigua and Barbuda 6%, Dominica 6%, Grenada 4% (2003) |
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 a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $866 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 20% services: 73% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2002 est.) | 3.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 13 53 N, 60 68 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 | the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking cone-shaped peaks south of Soufriere, are one of the scenic natural highlights of the Caribbean |
Highways | total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
total: 1,210 km
paved: 63 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.) |
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 | transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels |
Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) | US 36.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 19.6%, UK 7.4%, Venezuela 6.8% (2003) |
Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 22 February 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | -8.9% (1997 est.) |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing |
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: 13.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 42.8% (2002 est.) | 3% (2001 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) | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 43,800 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 21.7%, industry, commerce, and manufacturing 24.7%, services 53.6% (2002 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: 6.56%
permanent crops: 22.95% other: 70.49% (2001) |
Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 3 December 2001 (next to be held in December 2006) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - SLP 55%, UWP 37%, NA 3.5%; seats by party - SLP 14, UWP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 73.34 years
male: 69.78 years female: 77.16 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: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 67% male: 65% female: 69% (1980 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | none |
Military branches | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (including Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) |
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 | Independence Day, 22 February (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian |
Natural hazards | NA | hurricanes and volcanic activity |
Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential |
Net migration rate | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -2.67 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] | National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or SFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; Sou Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United Workers Party or UWP [Dr. Morella JOSEPH] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) | 164,213 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.12% (2003 est.) | 1.27% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Castries, Vieux Fort |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Railways | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
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Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 90%, Anglican 3%, other Protestant 7% |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 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: adequate system
domestic: system is automatically switched international: country code - 1-758; direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados; international calls beyond these countries are carried by Intelsat from Martinique |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 51,100 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 14,300 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (of which one is a commercial broadcast station and one is a community antenna television or CATV channel) (2004) |
Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys |
Total fertility rate | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.25 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 16.5% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | - |