##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Belarus (2005) - Lithuania (2001)
Compare Belarus (2005) z Lithuania (2001)
| Belarus (2005) | Lithuania (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 |
44 regions (rajonai, singular - rajonas) and 11 municipalities*: Akmenes Rajonas, Alytaus Rajonas, Alytus*, Anyksciu Rajonas, Birstonas*, Birzu Rajonas, Druskininkai*, Ignalinos Rajonas, Jonavos Rajonas, Joniskio Rajonas, Jurbarko Rajonas, Kaisiadoriu Rajonas, Kaunas*, Kauno Rajonas, Kedainiu Rajonas, Kelmes Rajonas, Klaipeda*, Klaipedos Rajonas, Kretingos Rajonas, Kupiskio Rajonas, Lazdiju Rajonas, Marijampole*, Marijampoles Rajonas, Mazeikiu Rajonas, Moletu Rajonas, Neringa* Pakruojo Rajonas, Palanga*, Panevezio Rajonas, Panevezys*, Pasvalio Rajonas, Plunges Rajonas, Prienu Rajonas, Radviliskio Rajonas, Raseiniu Rajonas, Rokiskio Rajonas, Sakiu Rajonas, Salcininku Rajonas, Siauliai*, Siauliu Rajonas, Silales Rajonas, Silutes Rajonas, Sirvintu Rajonas, Skuodo Rajonas, Svencioniu Rajonas, Taurages Rajonas, Telsiu Rajonas, Traku Rajonas, Ukmerges Rajonas, Utenos Rajonas, Varenos Rajonas, Vilkaviskio Rajonas, Vilniaus Rajonas, Vilnius*, Zarasu Rajonas |
| 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:
18.75% (male 345,694; female 331,125) 15-64 years: 67.69% (male 1,181,119; female 1,262,872) 65 years and over: 13.56% (male 165,732; female 323,993) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish |
| Airports | 133 (2004 est.) | 72 (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 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 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:
63 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
65,200 sq km land: 65,200 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger 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. | Independent between the two World Wars, Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but this proclamation was not generally recognized until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently has restructured its economy for eventual integration into Western European institutions. |
| Birth rate | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.326 billion
expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$1.5 billion expenditures: $1.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
| Capital | Minsk | Vilnius |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 99 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 | adopted 25 October 1992 |
| 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 Lithuania conventional short form: Lithuania local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Currency | - | litas (LTL) |
| Death rate | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.86 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $600 million (2004 est.) | $2.5 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 John F. TEFFT embassy: Akmenu 6, 2600 Vilnius mailing address: American Embassy, Vilnius, PSC 78, Box V, APO AE 09723 telephone: [370] (2) 223-031 FAX: [370] (2) 227-236 |
| 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 Vygaudas USACKAS chancery: 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860 FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 consulate(s) general: Chicago and 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 | Latvia has not ratified a 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights); 1997 border agreement with Russia not yet ratified by Russia |
| Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $228.5 million (1995) |
| 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. | Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has been slowly rebounding from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. High unemployment and weak consumption have held back recovery. GDP growth for 2000 - estimated at 2.9% - fell behind that of Estonia and Latvia, and unemployment is estimated at 10.8%, the country's highest since regaining independence in 1990. For 2001, Lithuanians forecast 3.2% growth, 1.8% inflation, and a fiscal deficit of 3.3%. In early 2001, the Lithuanian Government announced that it will repeg its currency, the litas, to the euro (the litas is currently pegged to the dollar) some time in 2002. Lithuania must ratify 25 agreements along with other legal documents and obligations by 1 May 2001 before gaining World Trade Organization membership. Lithuania was invited to the Helsinki summit in December 1999 and began EU accession talks in early 2000. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly in the energy sector, remains a key challenge for 2001. |
| Electricity - consumption | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) | 9.817 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 800 million kWh (2004) | 3.2 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 3.2 billion kWh (2003) | 400 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 30 billion kWh (2004) | 13.567 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
23.89% hydro: 3.43% nuclear: 72.68% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Juozapines/Kalnas 292 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 | contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases |
| 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, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) | Lithuanian 80.6%, Russian 8.7%, Polish 7%, Byelorussian 1.6%, other 2.1% |
| 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) | litai per US dollar - 4.000 (fixed rate since 1 May 1994); note - litai is the plural of litas |
| 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 Valdas ADAMKUS (since 26 February 1998) head of government: Premier Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS (since 3 July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the premier elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 December 1997 and 4 January 1998 (next to be held NA 2002); premier appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament election results: Valdas ADAMKUS elected president; percent of vote - Valdas ADAMKUS 50.4%, Arturas PAULAUSKAS 49.6% |
| Exports | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) | $3.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment 22%, mineral products 15%, chemicals 12%, textiles and clothing, foodstuffs (1999) |
| Exports - partners | Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) | Germany 15.8%, Latvia 12.6%, Russia 6.9%, Belarus 5.8%, Denmark (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 horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $26.4 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 33% services: 57% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2004 est.) | 2.9% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 56 00 N, 24 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 | - |
| Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
| Highways | total: 79,990 km
paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002) |
total:
44,000 km paved: 35,500 km unpaved: 8,500 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
3.1% highest 10%: 25.6% (1996) |
| 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 | transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Southwest Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe to Western Europe and Scandinavia; limited production of methamphetamine and ecstasy |
| Imports | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $4.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | machinery and equipment 18%, mineral products 16%, chemicals 10%, textiles and clothing 10%, transport equipment 7% (1999) |
| Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) | Russia 20.4%, Germany 16.5%, Denmark 3.8%, Belarus 2.2%, Latvia 2% (1999) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2004 est.) | 2.3% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber |
| 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.) |
14.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 17.4% (2004 est.) | 1% (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) | ACCT (observer), BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 14 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 430 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) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts appointed by the Parliament |
| Labor force | 4.305 million (31 December 2003) | 2 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) | industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (1997 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
total:
1,273 km border countries: Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km |
| Land use | arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
arable land:
39% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 31% other: 15% (2001 est.) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts |
| 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 Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are directly elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democratic Coalition 31.1%, New Union/Social Liberals 19.6%, Liberal Union 17.2%, TS 8.6%, remaining parties all less than 5%; seats by party - Social Democratic Coalition 52, Liberal Union 34, New Union/Social Liberals 29, TS 9, Farmer's Party 4, Center Union 2, Poles' Electoral Action 2, Modern Christian Democratic Union 1, independents 3, others 5 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.72 years
male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
69.25 years male: 63.3 years female: 75.5 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% male: 99% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea:
12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total:
50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 293,168 GRT/327,827 DWT ships by type: cargo 26, combination bulk 10, petroleum tanker 2, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Force | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard (Skat) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $176.1 million (FY02) | $181 million (FY99) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | 1.66% (FY00) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
929,389 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
730,363 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
28,506 (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 | Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 is the date of independence from German, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian occupation, 11 March 1990 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun:
Lithuanian(s) adjective: Lithuanian |
| Natural hazards | NA | NA |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | peat, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) | crude oil, 105 km; natural gas 760 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 |
Christian Democratic Party or LKDP [Zigmas ZINKEVICIUS, chairman]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Vytautas LANDSBERGIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Center Union or LCS [Kestutis GLAVECKAS, chairman]; Lithuanian Farmer's Party or LUP [Ramunas KARBAUSKIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Liberal Union [Rolandas PAKSAS, chairman]; Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSPD, and New Democracy; Modern Christian Democratic Union [Vytautas BOGUSIS, chairman]; New Union-Social Liberals [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) | 3,610,535 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 27.1% (2003 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | -0.09% (2005 est.) | -0.27% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Butinge, Kaunas, Klaipeda |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 3, FM 112, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 1.9 million (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:
2,002 km broad gauge: 2,002 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) (1994) |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic (primarily), Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical Christian Baptist, Muslim, Jewish |
| 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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.51 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 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:
inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an improved international capability and better residential access domestic: a national, fiber-optic cable, interurban, trunk system is nearing completion; rural exchanges are being improved and expanded; mobile cellular systems are being installed; access to the Internet is available; still many unsatisfied telephone subscriber applications international: landline connections to Latvia and Poland; major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3,071,300 (2003) | 1.048 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.118 million (2003) | 297,500 (November 1998) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 20 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil |
| Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.37 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) | 10.8% (2000) |
| Waterways | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) | 600 km (perennially navigable) |
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