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Compare Belarus (2005) - New Caledonia (2004)
Compare Belarus (2005) z New Caledonia (2004)
| Belarus (2005) | New Caledonia (2004) | |
 |  | |
| 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 |
none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
| 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: 29.4% (male 32,076; female 30,772)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 69,150; female 68,310) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 6,259; female 7,112) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
| Airports | 133 (2004 est.) | 25 (2003 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: 11
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 2 (2004 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: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
| 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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s has dissipated. |
| Birth rate | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 18.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.326 billion
expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
| Capital | Minsk | Noumea |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,254 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 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
| 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: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
| Currency | - | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003 |
| Death rate | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $600 million (2004 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
| 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 (overseas territory of France) |
| 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 (overseas territory of France) |
| 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 | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
| Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $880 million annual subsidy from France (1998) |
| 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. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. |
| Electricity - consumption | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) | 1.5 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 800 million kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 3.2 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 30 billion kWh (2004) | 1.613 billion kWh (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 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 | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
| 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 |
- |
| Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
| 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) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 105.73 (2003), 126.72 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999) |
| 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 France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Daniel CONSTANTIN (since 3 July 2002)
head of government: President of the Government Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU (since 10 June 2004) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 29 June 2004 when Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU was elected on the third vote with 8 votes for and 3 abstentions |
| Exports | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
| Exports - partners | Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) | Japan 21.8%, France 19.2%, Taiwan 14%, Spain 11%, South Korea 8.5%, Australia 7.2%, Italy 5.1% (2003) |
| 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 | the flag of France is used |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.158 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2004 est.) | NA |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 21 30 S, 165 30 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 | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
| Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 6 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | total: 79,990 km
paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002) |
total: 4,825 km
paved: 2,287 km unpaved: 2,538 km (1999) |
| 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 | - |
| Imports | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) | France 46.1%, Australia 9.5%, Singapore 9.3%, New Zealand 4.3% (2003) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2004 est.) | -0.6% (1996) |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | nickel mining and smelting |
| 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: 7.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 17.4% (2004 est.) | -0.6% (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) | FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), UPU, WFTU, WMO |
| Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 160 sq km (1991) |
| 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) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
| Labor force | 4.305 million (31 December 2003) | 79,400 (including 15,018 unemployed, 1996) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (2001) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law |
| 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 Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members are members of the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UE 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds 1 seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007; between now and 2010 New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.72 years
male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 73.78 years
male: 70.82 years female: 76.89 years (2004 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: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
| Map references | Europe | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: Malaysia 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
| Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $176.1 million (FY02) | NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | NA |
| 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 | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
| Natural hazards | NA | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
| Net migration rate | 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) | - |
| 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 |
Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caleonian Union or UC [leader NA]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) | 213,679 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 27.1% (2003 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | -0.09% (2005 est.) | 1.33% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Mueo, Noumea, Thio |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (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) |
- |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3,071,300 (2003) | 52,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.118 million (2003) | 80,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | coastal plains with interior mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.35 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) | 19% (1996) |
| Waterways | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) | - |
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