Compare Belarus (2005) - Cuba (2006)

Compare Belarus (2005) z Cuba (2006)

	Belarus (2005)	Cuba (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	14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara
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: 19.1% (male 1,117,677/female 1,058,512) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 4,001,161/female 3,999,303) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 554,148/female 652,019) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk	sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock
Airports	133 (2004 est.)	170 (2006)
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: 78 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2006)
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: 92 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 62 (2006)
Area	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 110,860 sq km land: 110,860 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
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.	The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule, marked initially by neglect, became increasingly repressive, provoking an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. It was US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted 2,712 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2005.
Birth rate	10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	11.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $3.326 billion expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)	revenues: $22.11 billion expenditures: $23.65 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	Minsk	name: Havana geographic coordinates: 23 08 N, 82 22 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime	tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	3,735 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	24 February 1976; amended July 1992 and June 2002
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 Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba
Death rate	14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	7.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$600 million (2004 est.)	$12.56 billion (convertible currency); another $15-20 billion owed to Russia (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	none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Michael E. PARMLY; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado, Havana; telephone: [53] (7) 833-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: [53] (7) 833-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland
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	none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Bernardo GUANCHE Hernandez; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518; FAX: [1] (202) 797-8521
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	US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease
Economic aid - recipient	$194.3 million (1995)	$68.2 million (1997 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.	The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. The average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the downturn of the 1990s, which was caused by the loss of Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The government in 2005 strengthened its controls over dollars coming into the economy from tourism, remittances, and trade. External financing has helped growth in the mining, oil, construction, and tourism sectors.
Electricity - consumption	34.3 billion kWh (2004)	13.27 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	800 million kWh (2004)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	3.2 billion kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	30 billion kWh (2004)	15.65 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 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 and water pollution; biodiversity loss; deforestation
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: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)	mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
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)	Convertible pesos per US dollar - 0.93 note: Cuba has three currencies in circulation: the Cuban peso (CUP), the convertible peso (CUC), and the US dollar (USD), although the dollar is being withdrawn from circulation; in April 2005 the official exchange rate changed from $1 per CUC to $1.08 per CUC (0.93 CUC per $1), both for individuals and enterprises; individuals can buy 24 Cuban pesos (CUP) for each CUC sold, or sell 25 Cuban pesos for each CUC bought; enterprises, however, must exchange CUP and CUC at a 1:1 ratio.
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: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State and appointed by the National Assembly or the 31-member Council of State, elected by the Assembly to act on its behalf when it is not in session elections: president and vice presidents elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years; election last held 6 March 2003 (next to be held in 2008) election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz reelected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100%
Exports	14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs	sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee
Exports - partners	Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)	Netherlands 25.4%, Canada 20.7%, China 9.8%, Spain 6.8% (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	five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 11% industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 5.5% industry: 26.1% services: 68.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2004 est.)	8% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	53 00 N, 28 00 E	21 30 N, 80 00 W
Geography - note	landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay	largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles
Heliports	1 (2004 est.)	-
Highways	total: 79,990 km paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)	-
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	territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for US and European-bound drugs; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999
Imports	360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals	petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners	Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)	China 14.9%, Spain 13.9%, Canada 8.6%, US 8.5%, Germany 7.4%, Italy 5.7%, Mexico 5.2%, Japan 4.1% (2005)
Independence	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902)
Industrial production growth rate	4% (2004 est.)	5.1% (2005 est.)
Industries	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators	sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals
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.)	total: 6.22 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	17.4% (2004 est.)	7% (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, WTO (observer)	ACP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	1,150 sq km (1998 est.)	8,700 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)	People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)
Labor force	4.305 million (31 December 2003)	4.6 million note: state sector 78%, non-state sector 22% (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 21.2% industry: 14.4% services: 64.4% (2004)
Land boundaries	total: 2,900 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km	total: 29 km border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and remains part of Cuba
Land use	arable land: 29.55% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001)	arable land: 27.63% permanent crops: 6.54% other: 65.83% (2005)
Languages	Belarusian, Russian, other	Spanish
Legal system	based on civil law system	based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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	unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (609 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 19 January 2003 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - PCC 97.6%; seats - PCC 609
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.72 years male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)	total population: 77.41 years male: 75.11 years female: 79.85 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: 97% male: 97.2% female: 96.9% (2003 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, east of Poland	Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida
Map references	Europe	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 11 ships (1000 GRT or over) 33,932 GRT/48,791 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1) registered in other countries: 17 (Bahamas 1, Cyprus 2, Netherlands Antilles 1, Panama 11, Spain 1, unknown 1) (2006)
Military - note	-	Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993
Military branches	Army, Air and Air Defense Force	Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR): Revolutionary Army (ER), Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR), Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Youth Labor Army (EJT) (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$176.1 million (FY02)	$694 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (FY02)	1.8% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union	Independence Day, 10 December (1898); note - 10 December 1898 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration; Rebellion Day, 26 July (1953)
Nationality	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian	noun: Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban
Natural hazards	NA	the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common
Natural resources	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay	cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land
Net migration rate	2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
People - note	-	illicit migration is a continuing problem; Cubans attempt to depart the island and enter the US using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, direct flights, or falsified visas; Cubans also use non-maritime routes to enter the US including direct flights to Miami and over-land via the southwest border
Pipelines	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)	gas 49 km; oil 230 km (2006)
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	only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)	11,382,820 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	27.1% (2003 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	-0.09% (2005 est.)	0.31% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Mazyr	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)	AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998)
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: 4,226 km standard gauge: 4,226 km 1.435-m gauge (140 km electrified) note: an additional 7,742 km of track is used by sugar plantations; about 65% of this track is standard gauge; the rest is narrow gauge (2005)
Religions	Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)	nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented
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: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	16 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: greater investment beginning in 1994 and the establishment of a new Ministry of Information Technology and Communications in 2000 has resulted in improvements in the system; wireless service is expensive and remains restricted to foreigners and regime elites, many Cubans procure wireless service illegally with the help of foreigners domestic: national fiber-optic system under development; 85% of switches digitized by end of 2004; telephone line density remains low, at less than 10 per 100 inhabitants; domestic cellular service expanding international: country code - 53; fiber-optic cable laid to but not linked to US network; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	3,071,300 (2003)	849,900 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.118 million (2003)	134,500 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)	58 (1997)
Terrain	generally flat and contains much marshland	mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast
Total fertility rate	1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.66 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)	1.9% (2005 est.)
Waterways	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)	240 km (2005)

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