Compare Belarus (2004) - Yemen (2006)

Compare Belarus (2004) z Yemen (2006)

	Belarus (2004)	Yemen (2006)

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	19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate
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: 46.4% (male 5,067,762/female 4,881,333) 15-64 years: 51% (male 5,568,078/female 5,375,263) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 275,878/female 287,874) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk	grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish
Airports	135 (2003 est.)	46 (2006)
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: 16 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
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: 30 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2006)
Area	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 527,970 sq km land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas	slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
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.	North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border.
Birth rate	10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	42.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $2.976 billion expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.)	revenues: $5.616 billion expenditures: $5.719 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	Minsk	name: Sanaa geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime	mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	1,906 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	16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001
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: Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]
Currency	Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)	-
Death rate	14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$851 million (2001 est.)	$5.347 billion (2005 est.)
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 Thomas C. KRAJESKI embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182
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 Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017
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	Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; Saudi Arabia still maintains the concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier along sections of the border with Yemen in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary
Economic aid - recipient	$194.3 million (1995)	$2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements)
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.	Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has reported meager growth since 2000. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues increased in 2005 due to higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. The people have grown increasingly upset over the economic situation. In July 2005, a reduction in fuel subsidies sparked riots; over 20 Yemenis were killed and hundreds were injured.
Electricity - consumption	26.69 billion kWh (2001)	2.827 billion kWh (2003 est.)
Electricity - exports	300 million kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	4.3 billion kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	24.4 billion kWh (2001)	3.848 billion kWh (2003 est.)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m	lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 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	very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, 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%	predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans
Exchange rates	Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999)	Yemeni rials per US dollar - 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002), 168.67 (2001)
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 Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL; Deputy Prime Ministers Rashid Muhammad al-ALIMI, Alawi Salah al-SALAMI, Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-SUFAN cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faisal bin SHAMLAN 21.8%
Exports	NA (2001)	370,300 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs	crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish
Exports - partners	Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003)	China 36.5%, Chile 19.2%, Thailand 12.5%, Japan 5.4%, South Korea 4.4%, US 4.1% (2005)
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 horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription), in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band
GDP	purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 11.1% industry: 36.4% services: 52.5% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 13.5% industry: 47.2% services: 39.3% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	6.8% (2003 est.)	2.8% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	53 00 N, 28 00 E	15 00 N, 48 00 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 on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes
Heliports	1 (2003 est.)	-
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%: 3% highest 10%: 25.9% (2003)
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	-
Imports	NA (2001)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals	food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners	Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003)	UAE 14.6%, Saudi Arabia 11.6%, China 9.1%, Kuwait 5%, India 4.5% (2005)
Independence	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	5% (2003 est.)	3% (2003 est.)
Industries	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators	crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair
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.)	total: 59.88 deaths/1,000 live births male: 64.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	28.2% (2003 est.)	11.8% (2005 est.)
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)	AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	1,150 sq km (1998 est.)	5,500 sq km (2003)
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 est.)	5.83 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	NA	note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force
Land boundaries	total: 2,900 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km	total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Land use	arable land: 29.55% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001)	arable land: 2.91% permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005)
Languages	Belarusian, Russian, other	Arabic
Legal system	based on civil law system	based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; 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	a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.57 years male: 62.79 years female: 74.65 years (2004 est.)	total population: 62.12 years male: 60.23 years female: 64.11 years (2006 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: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, east of Poland	Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Map references	Europe	Middle East
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	-	total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,400 GRT/18,072 DWT by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 9 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 3) (2006)
Military - note	-	a Coast Guard was established in 2002
Military branches	Army, Air and Air Defense Force	Army (includes Special Forces), Navy (includes Marines), Unified Yemen Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$176.1 million (FY02)	$992.2 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (FY02)	6.4% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 86,716 (2004 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	Unification Day, 22 May (1990)
Nationality	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian	noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni
Natural hazards	NA	sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Natural resources	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay	petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west
Net migration rate	2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)	gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,284 km (2006)
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	there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	10,310,520 (July 2004 est.)	21,456,188 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	22% (1995 est.)	45.2% (2003)
Population growth rate	-0.11% (2004 est.)	3.46% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Mazyr	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)	AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003)	-
Religions	Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)	Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 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' 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: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti
Telephones - main lines in use	3,071,300 (2003)	798,100 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.118 million (2003)	2 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)	7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	generally flat and contains much marshland	narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
Total fertility rate	1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.)	6.58 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.)	35% (2003 est.)
Waterways	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)	-

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