##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Belarus (2003) - Slovakia (2005)
Compare Belarus (2003) z Slovakia (2005)
| Belarus (2003) | Slovakia (2005) | |
 |  | |
| 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 |
8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
| 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: 17.1% (male 475,263/female 453,340)
15-64 years: 71% (male 1,919,222/female 1,939,097) 65 years and over: 11.9% (male 241,610/female 402,831) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
| Airports | 124 (2002) | 34 (2004 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: 17
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 7 (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) |
total: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
| 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 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. |
| Birth rate | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $15.44 billion
expenditures: $16.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Minsk | Bratislava |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 | ratified 1 September 1992, effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership |
| 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: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | - |
| Death rate | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $851 million (2001 est.) | $19.54 billion (2004 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Scott N. THAYER
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338 FAX: [421] (2) 5443-0096 |
| 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 Rastislav KACER
chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles 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 | Hungary amended its status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, to which Slovakia had protested; consultations continue between Slovakia and Hungary over Hungary's completion of its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Slovakia must implement the strict Schengen border rules |
| Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $2.2 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
| 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. | Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government made excellent progress during 2001-04 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and the government has helped facilitate a foreign investment boom with business-friendly policies, such as labor market liberalization and a 19% flat tax. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in 2001-04, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003-04, remains the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004. |
| Electricity - consumption | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) | 28.89 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2001) | 8 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) | 6 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) | 31.15 billion kWh (2003) |
| 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: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 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 | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
| 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
| Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) | koruny per US dollar - 32.257 (2004), 36.773 (2003), 45.327 (2002), 48.355 (2001), 46.035 (2000) |
| 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 Ivan GASPAROVIC (since 15 June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Ivan MIKLOS (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pal CSAKY (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pavol RUSKO (since May 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 3 April and 17 April 2004 (next to be held April 2009); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Ivan GASPAROVIC elected president in runoff; percent of vote - Ivan GASPAROVIC 59.9%, Vladimir MECIAR 40.1%; Mikulas DZURINDA reelected prime minister October 2002 note: government coalition - SDKU, SMK, KDH, ANO |
| Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4%% (2004 est.) |
| Exports - partners | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) | Germany 34.4%, Czech Republic 14.7%, Austria 8.2%, Italy 5.8%, Poland 5.3%, US 4.5%, Hungary 4.3% (2004) |
| 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 | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 30.1% services: 66.4% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2002 est.) | 5.3% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 48 40 N, 19 30 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 | landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
total: 42,970 km
paved: 37,698 km (including 302 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,272 km (2002) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 18.2% (1992) |
| 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 | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market |
| Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | machinery and transport equipment 41.1%, intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%, chemicals 9.8%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003) |
| Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) | Germany 26.1%, Czech Republic 21.3%, Russia 9.1%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.9% (2004) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 5.1% (2004 est.) |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products |
| 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: 7.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 42.8% (2002 est.) | 7.5% (2004 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) | Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2002) | - |
| Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,740 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) | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
| Labor force | 4.8 million (2000) | 2.2 million (3rd quarter, 2004 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction 9%, services 55.9% (2003) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
| Land use | arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 30.16%
permanent crops: 2.62% other: 67.22% (2001) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census) |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
| 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 National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, Smer 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 69 (SDKU 22, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 12), opposition 81 (HZDS 26, Smer 25, KSS 9, Free Forum 6, People's Union 5, and independents 10) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 74.5 years
male: 70.52 years female: 78.68 years (2005 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: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2001 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Central Europe, south of Poland |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 41,891 GRT/63,185 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: 18 (Bulgaria 8, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Syria 1, Turkey 6, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
| Military branches | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Army of the Slovak Republic (Armady Slovenskej Republika): Land Command, Air Forces (Vozdushne Sily), Training and Support Command, Logistics Command (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $176.1 million (FY02) | $406 million (2002) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | 1.89% (2002) |
| 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, 1 September (1992) |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
| Natural hazards | NA | NA |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
| Net migration rate | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003) | gas 6,769 km; oil 449 km (2004) |
| 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] | Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA]; Movement for Democracy or HZD [Jozef GRAPA]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; New Citizens Alliance or ANO [Pavol RUSKO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; People's Union or LU [Gustav KRAJCI]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [Jozef SEVC]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Peter SULOVSKY] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG |
| Population | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) | 5,431,363 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | -0.12% (2003 est.) | 0.15% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Bratislava, Komarno |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
total: 3,662 km
broad gauge: 100 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,512 km 1.435-m gauge (1,588 km electrified) narrow gauge: 50 km (1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge) (2004) |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census) |
| 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: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 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: a modernization and privatization program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving service quality
domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been added international: country code - 421; three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 2.313 million (1997) | 1,294,700 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,167 (1997) | 3,678,800 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 6 national broadcasting, 7 regional, 67 local (2004) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
| Total fertility rate | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.32 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers | 13.1% (31 December 2004 est.) |
| Waterways | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems | 172 km (on Danube River) (2004) |
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