Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Belarus (2005) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001)

Compare Belarus (2005) z Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001)

 Belarus (2005)Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001)
 BelarusBosnia and Herzegovina
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
there are two first-order administrative divisions - the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko in northeastern Bosnia is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is not part of either the Federation or Republika Srpska
Age structure 0-14 years: 16% (male 839,292/female 804,738)


15-64 years: 69.5% (male 3,481,432/female 3,672,991)


65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,717/female 1,003,313) (2005 est.)
0-14 years:
20.13% (male 405,713; female 383,850)

15-64 years:
70.78% (male 1,422,796; female 1,353,410)

65 years and over:
9.09% (male 150,802; female 205,634) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Airports 133 (2004 est.) 28 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 50


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 22


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
total:
9

2,438 to 3,047 m:
4

1,524 to 2,437 m:
2

under 914 m:
3 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 83


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 64 (2004 est.)
total:
19

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
7

under 914 m:
11 (2000 est.)
Area total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total:
51,129 sq km

land:
51,129 sq km

water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly smaller than West Virginia
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. Since his election in July 1995 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue. Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February 1992. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government is charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government comprised of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments are charged with overseeing internal functions. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place at a level of approximately 21,000 troops.
Birth rate 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 12.86 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
revenues:
$1.9 billion

expenditures:
$2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Capital Minsk Sarajevo
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 20 km
Constitution 15 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 the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force
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:
Bosnia and Herzegovina

local long form:
none

local short form:
Bosna i Hercegovina
Currency - marka (BAM)
Death rate 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 7.99 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $600 million (2004 est.) $3.4 billion (2000 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 J. MILLER

embassy:
Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo

mailing address:
use street address

telephone:
[387] (33) 445-700

FAX:
[387] (33) 659-722

branch office(s):
Banja Luka, Mostar
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 Igor DAVIDOVIC

chancery:
2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:
[1] (202) 337-1500

FAX:
[1] (202) 337-1502

consulate(s) general:
New York
Disputes - international 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundary with Latvia remains undemarcated but a third of the border with Lithuania was demarcated in 2004 none
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $1 billion (1999 est.)
Economy - overview Belarus's economy in 2003-04 posted 6.1% and 6.4% growth. Still, the economy continues 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; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy and the high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Growth has been buoyed by increased Russian demand for generally noncompetitive Belarusian goods. Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture is almost all in private hands, farms are small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally is a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. TITO had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1990 to 1995, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-98 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed appreciably in 1999 and 2000, and GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are not available. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - has gained wide acceptance, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been slower than anticipated. Banking reform accelerated in early 2001 as all the communist-era payments bureaus were shut down. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance.
Electricity - consumption 34.3 billion kWh (2004) 2.684 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 800 million kWh (2004) 150 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 3.2 billion kWh (2003) 430 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 30 billion kWh (2004) 2.585 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel:
38.68%

hydro:
61.32%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m

highest point:
Maglic 2,386 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; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; water shortages and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife
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, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) Serb 31%, Bosniak 44%, Croat 17%, Yugoslav 5.5%, other 2.5% (1991)

note:
Bosniak has replaced muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
Exchange rates Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000) marka per US dollar - 2.086 (January 2001), 2.124 (2000), 1.837 (1999), 1.760 (1998), 1.734 (1997), 0.015 (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)


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:
Chairman of the Presidency Jozo KRIZANOVI (chairman since 14 June 2001, presidency member since NA March 2001 - Croat); other members of the three-member rotating (every 8 months) presidency: Zivko RADISIC (since 13 October 1998 - Serb) and Beriz BELKIC (since NA March 2001 - Bosniak); note - Ante JELAVIC was dismissed from his post by the UN High Representative in March 2001

head of government:
Chairman of the Council of Ministers Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA (since 18 July 2001)

cabinet:
Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the National House of Representatives

elections:
the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election; election last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives

election results:
percent of vote - Zivko RADISIC with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first 8 months; Ante JELAVIC with 52% of the Croat vote followed RADISIC in the rotation; Alija IZETBEGOVIC with 87% of the Bosniak vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve a second term until RADISIC and JELAVIC had each served a first term as Chairman of the Presidency; IZETBEGOVIC retired from the presidency 14 October 2000 and was temporarily replaced by Halid GENJAC; Ante JELAVIC was replaced by Jozo KRIZANOVIC in March 2001

note:
President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Karlo FILIPOVIC (since 27 February 2001); Vice President Safet HALILOVIC (since 27 February 2001); note - president and vice president rotate every year; President of the Republika Srpska: Mirko SAROVIC (since 11 November 2000)
Exports 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) $950 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs NA
Exports - partners Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) Croatia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany
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 a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle
GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.5 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
agriculture:
19%

industry:
23%

services:
58% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.4% (2004 est.) 8% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 44 00 N, 18 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 within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the country is divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority
Heliports 1 (2004 est.) 4 (2000 est.)
Highways total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
total:
21,846 km

paved:
14,020 km

unpaved:
7,826 km

note:
road system is in need of maintenance and repair (2001)
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; 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 minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe
Imports 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) $2.45 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals NA
Imports - partners Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Italy
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia)
Industrial production growth rate 4% (2004 est.) 10% (2000 est.)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining
Infant mortality rate total: 13.37 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
24.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 17.4% (2004 est.) 8% (2000 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, WTO (observer) BIS, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 3 (2000)
Irrigated land 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) 20 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) BiH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights)

note:
a new state court, established in November 1999, has jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are ten cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal courts
Labor force 4.305 million (31 December 2003) 1.026 million
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total: 2,900 km


border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
total:
1,459 km

border countries:
Croatia 932 km, Yugoslavia 527 km
Land use arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
arable land:
14%

permanent crops:
5%

permanent pastures:
20%

forests and woodland:
39%

other:
22% (1993 est.)
Languages Belarusian, Russian, other Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Legal system based on civil law system based on civil law system
Legislative branch bicameral National Assembly 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 Predstaviteley (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; 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 Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats - 14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Bosniak; members elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve two-year terms); note - as of 1 January 2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a permanent election law; a draft law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002

elections:
National House of Representatives - elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2002); House of Peoples - last constituted after the 11 November 2000 elections (next to be constituted in the fall of 2002)

election results:
National House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDP 9, SDA 8, SDS 6, HDZ-BiH 5, SBH 5, PDP 2, NHI 1, BPS 1, DPS 1, SNS 1, SNSD-DSP 1, DNZ 1, SPRS 1; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - NA

note:
the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (140 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 38, SDP 37, HDZ-BiH 25, SBH 21, DNZ 3, NHI 2, BPS 2, DPS 2, BOSS 2, GDS 1, RP 1, HSS 1, LDS 1, Pensioners' Party of FBiH 1, SNSD-DSP 1, HKDU 1, HSP 1; and a House of Peoples (74 seats - 30 Bosniak, 30 Croat, and 14 others); last constituted November 2000; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDS 31, PDP 11, SNSD 11, SDA 6, DSP 4, SDP 4, SPRS 4, SBH 4, DNS 3, SNS 2, NHI 1, DSRS 1, Pensioners' Party 1; as of 1 January 2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a permanent election law; a draft law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002
Life expectancy at birth total population: 68.72 years


male: 63.03 years


female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)
total population:
71.75 years

male:
69.04 years

female:
74.65 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:
NA

total population:
NA%

male:
NA%

female:
NA%
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Map references Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) NA
Merchant marine - none (2000 est.)
Military branches Army, Air and Air Defense Force Federation Army or VF (composed of both Croatian and Bosniak elements), Republika Srpska Army or VRS (composed of Bosnian Serb elements); note - within both of these forces air and air defense are subordinate commands
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:
1,127,146 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49:
895,780 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 19 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males:
29,757 (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 National Day, 25 November (1943)
Nationality noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
noun:
Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)

adjective:
Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Natural hazards NA destructive earthquakes
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, hydropower
Net migration rate 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 8.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992)
Political parties and leaders Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [leader NA]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party [leader NA]; 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
Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Bosnian Patriotic Party or BPS [Sefer HALILOVIC]; Civic Democratic Party of BiH or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croat Christian Democratic Union or HKDU BiH [Ante PASALIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH [leader vacant]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRSTIC]; Croatian Peasants Party of BiH or HSS-BiH [Ilija SIMIC]; Democratic Action Party or SDA [Alija IZETBEGOVIC]; Democratic National Alliance or DNS [Dragan KOSTIC]; Democratic Party of Pensioners or DPS [Alojz KNEZOVIC]; Democratic Party of RS or DSRS [Dragomir DUMIC]; Democratic Peoples Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Democratic Socialist Party or DSP [Nebojsa RADMANOVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croatian Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Party of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Pensioners' Party of FBiH [Husein VOJNIKOVIC]; Pensioners' Party of SR [Stojan BOGOSAVAC]; Republican Party of BiH or RP [Stjepan KLJUIC]; Serb Democratic Party or Serb Lands or SDS [Dragan KALINIC]; Serb National Alliance (Serb People's Alliance) or SNS [Biljana PLAVSIC]; Social Democratic Party BIH or SDP-BiH [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Zivko RADISIC]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) 3,922,205

note:
all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 27.1% (2003 est.) NA%
Population growth rate -0.09% (2005 est.) 1.38% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava), Orasje
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios - 940,000 (1997)
Railways total: 5,512 km


broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435-m (2004)
total:
1,021 km (electrified 795 km; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired)

standard gauge:
1,021 km 1.435-m gauge; note - many segments still need repair and/or reconstruction (2000)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
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 (2005 est.)
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.73 male(s)/female

total population:
1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 16 years of age, if employed; 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:
telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics

domestic:
NA

international:
no satellite earth stations
Telephones - main lines in use 3,071,300 (2003) 303,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.118 million (2003) 9,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland mountains and valleys
Total fertility rate 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) 1.71 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) 35%-40% (1999 est.)
Waterways 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.