##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Belarus (2005) - Saint Helena (2003)
Compare Belarus (2005) z Saint Helena (2003)
| Belarus (2005) | Saint Helena (2003) | |
 |  | |
| 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 |
1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
| 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: 18.9% (male 704; female 685)
15-64 years: 71.6% (male 2,732; female 2,545) 65 years and over: 9.5% (male 309; female 392) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) |
| Airports | 133 (2004 est.) | 1 (2002) |
| 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: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
| 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.) |
- |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Saint Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
| 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. | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. |
| Birth rate | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.9 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.326 billion
expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92) |
| Capital | Minsk | Jamestown |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 60 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 | 1 January 1989 |
| 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: Saint Helena |
| Currency | - | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) |
| Death rate | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.24 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $600 million (2004 est.) | $NA |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
| 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 the UK) |
| 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 the UK) |
| 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) | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
| 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 economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
| Electricity - consumption | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) | 4.65 million 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) | 5 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 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 | NA |
| 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) | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
| 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) | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), |
| 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since NA October 2003) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
| Exports | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
| Exports - partners | Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) | US 23.7%, Japan 20.5%, Netherlands 16%, Tanzania 15.4%, Spain 6.4%, UK 5.1%, Indonesia 4.5% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| 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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 15 56 S, 5 42 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 | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns |
| Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
| Highways | total: 79,990 km
paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002) |
total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2000) |
| 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 | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
| Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) | UK 47.6%, Tanzania 14.6%, Italy 12.1%, South Africa 10.9%, US 5.3% (2002) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing |
| 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: 20.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 17.4% (2004 est.) | 3.2% (1997 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) | ICFTU |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
| 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; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court |
| Labor force | 4.305 million (31 December 2003) | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 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: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | English |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | NA |
| 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 Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.72 years
male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 77.38 years
male: 74.49 years female: 80.42 years (2003 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 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa |
| Map references | Europe | Africa |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Force | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $176.1 million (FY02) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | - |
| 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 | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian |
| Natural hazards | NA | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | fish |
| Net migration rate | 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 |
none |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
| Population | 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) | 7,367 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 27.1% (2003 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | -0.09% (2005 est.) | 0.67% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, 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) |
0 km |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
| 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age |
| 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: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic network international: HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascensionm, which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3,071,300 (2003) | 2,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.118 million (2003) | 0 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 0
note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
| Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.54 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) | 14% (1998 est.) |
| Waterways | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) | none |
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.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.