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Compare Belarus (2004) - Italy (2001)
Compare Belarus (2004) z Italy (2001)
| Belarus (2004) | Italy (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk, Vitsyebsk
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers |
20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
14.17% (male 4,209,102; female 3,964,765) 15-64 years: 67.48% (male 19,375,742; female 19,546,332) 65 years and over: 18.35% (male 4,368,264; female 6,215,620) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish |
| Airports | 135 (2003 est.) | 135 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 50
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.) |
total:
97 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 85
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.) |
total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
301,230 sq km land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than Arizona |
| 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. | Italy became a nation-state belatedly - in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the more prosperous north. |
| Birth rate | 10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.976 billion
expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$488 billion expenditures: $501 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | Minsk | Rome |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 7,600 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; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits | 1 January 1948 |
| 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:
Italian Republic conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
| Currency | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) | Italian lira (ITL); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Italy at a fixed rate of 1,936.27 Italian lire per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
| Death rate | 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $851 million (2001 est.) | $NA |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
| 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 Ferdinando SALLEO chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2154 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
| Disputes - international | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.3 billion (1997) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | - |
| Economy - overview | Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely to be hampered by high inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. 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 enterprises. In addition, 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. | Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with more than 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Since 1992, Italy has adopted budgets compliant with the requirements of the European Monetary Union (EMU); wage moderation agreements by representatives of government, labor, and employers have helped to bring Italy's inflation into conformity with EMU requirements. Italy's economic performance, however, has lagged behind that of its EU partners and it must work to stimulate employment, promote labor flexibility, reform its expensive pension system, and tackle the informal economy. |
| Electricity - consumption | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) | 272.35 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 300 million kWh (2001) | 530 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) | 42.539 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) | 247.679 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
79.09% hydro: 18.08% nuclear: 0% other: 2.83% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) 4,807 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 industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) |
| Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999) | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Ivan BAMBIZA (since 25 May 2004), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002) 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; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in 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 Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999) head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio BERLUSCONI (since 10 June 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term; election last held 13 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2006); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament election results: Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 70% note: a 12-party government coalition; note - BERLUSCONI's coalition includes Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian Democratic Center, Christian Northern League |
| Exports | NA (2001) | $241.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals |
| Exports - partners | Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) | EU 56.8% (Germany 16.4%, France 12.9%, Netherlands 7.1%, Spain 6.3%, Netherlands 2.9%), US 9.5% (1999) |
| 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 Belarusian national ornamention in red | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green
note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.273 trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.5% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
2.5% industry: 30.4% services: 67.1% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $22,100 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.8% (2003 est.) | 2.7% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 42 50 N, 12 50 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 | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe |
| Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | 4 (2000 est.) |
| Highways | total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
total:
654,676 km paved: 654,676 km (including 6460 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1997) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
3.5% highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
| 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; a small and lightly regulated financial center; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities | important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market |
| Imports | NA (2001) | $231.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco |
| Imports - partners | Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003) | EU 61% (Germany 19.3%, France 12.6%, Netherlands 6.3%, Spain 4.4%), US 5.0% (1999) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2003 est.) | 1.9% (2000) |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 28.2% (2003 est.) | 2.5% (2000) |
| International organization participation | CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 27,100 sq km (1993 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) | Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts) |
| Labor force | 4.8 million (2000 est.) | 23.4 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | NA | services 61.9%, industry 32.6%, agriculture 5.5% (1999) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
total:
1,932.2 km border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km |
| Land use | arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
arable land:
31% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 23% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| 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 Predstaviteliy (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004 (bi-election will be held March 2005 to fill one unfilled seat in the Palata Predstaviteliy); international observers widely denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation plus, in addition, there are a small number of senators-for-life including former presidents of the republic; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 177 (Forza Italia 82, National Alliance 46, CCD-CDU 29, Northern League 17, others 3), Olive Tree 128 (Democrats of the Left 62, Daisy Alliance 42, Sunflower Alliance 16, Italian Communist Party 3, independents 5), non-affiliated with either coalition 10, senators for life 9; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 367 (Forza Italia 189, National Alliance 96, CCD-CDU 40, Northern League 30, others 12), Olive Tree 248 (Democrats of the Left 138, Daisy Alliance 76, Sunflower Alliance 18, Italian Communist Party 9, independents 7), non-affiliated with either coalition 15 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years female: 74.65 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
79.14 years male: 75.97 years female: 82.52 years (2001 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: 98% (1998) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total:
445 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,005,136 GRT/10,556,244 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 41, chemical tanker 77, combination ore/oil 4, container 24, liquefied gas 38, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 11, petroleum tanker 85, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 64, short-sea passenger 26, specialized tanker 14, vehicle carrier 15 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $176.1 million (FY02) | $20.7 billion (FY00/01) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | 1.7% (FY00/01) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
14,248,674 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
12,244,166 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 86,716 (2004 est.) | males:
304,369 (2001 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 | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun:
Italian(s) adjective: Italian |
| Natural hazards | NA | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) | crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km |
| Political parties and leaders | Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]
note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active |
Center-Left Olive Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI] - Democrats of the Left, Daisy Alliance (including Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats), Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation, Italian Democratic Socialists), Italian Communist Party; Christian Democratic Center or CDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Rocco BUTTIGLIONE]; Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Grazia FRANCESCATO]; House of Liberties (formerly Freedom Alliance, a center-right coalition) [leader Silvio BERLUSCONI] - Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian Democratic Center, Christian Democratic Union, Northern League; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Italian Democratic Socialists [Enrico BOSELLI]; Italian Popular Party [Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI]; Italian Renewal [Lamberto DINI]; Italian Social Movement-Tricolored Flame or MSI-FI [Pino RAUTI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Radical Party (formerly Panella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Siegfried BRUGGER]; Union of Democrats for Europe [Clemente MASTELLA]; The Democrats [Arturo PARISI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Sergio COFFERATI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Sergio D'ANTONI] which is Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist) |
| Population | 10,310,520 (July 2004 est.) | 57,679,825 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1995 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | -0.11% (2004 est.) | 0.07% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo, Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice (2001) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 50.5 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003) |
total:
19,394 km standard gauge: 18,071 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS) operates 16,014 km of the total standard gauge routes (11,322 km electrified) narrow gauge: 112 km 1.000-m gauge (112 km electrified); 1,211 km 0.950-m gauge (153 km electrified) (1998) |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community |
| 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 (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) |
| 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' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: country code - 375; 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:
modern, well developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3,071,300 (2003) | 25 million (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.118 million (2003) | 20.5 million (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
| Total fertility rate | 1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.) | 10.4% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) | 2,400 km
note: for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value |
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