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Compare Belarus (2005) - Serbia and Montenegro (2004)

Compare Belarus (2005) z Serbia and Montenegro (2004)

 Belarus (2005)Serbia and Montenegro (2004)
 BelarusSerbia and Montenegro
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
2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo* (currently under UN administration pending resolution of its future status), Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina*
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: 18.3% (male 1,027,479; female 956,681)


15-64 years: 66.8% (male 3,602,959; female 3,627,616)


65 years and over: 14.9% (male 693,929; female 917,236) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats
Airports 133 (2004 est.) 45 (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: 19


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 5


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 4 (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: 25


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 10


under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.)
Area total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 102,350 sq km


land: 102,136 sq km


water: 214 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly smaller than Kentucky
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 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought each other as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government and its successors (he died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were recognized as independent states in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in April 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and led to Yugoslavia being ousted from the UN in 1992. In 1998-99, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of a NATO-led force (KFOR), in Kosovo. Federal elections in the fall of 2000, brought about the ouster of MILOSEVIC and installed Vojislav KOSTUNICA as president. The arrest of MILOSEVIC in 2001 allowed for his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. In 2001, the country's suspension from the UN was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, pending a determination by the international community of its future status. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegrin components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. These talks became a reality in February 2003 when lawmakers restructured the country into a loose federation of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro. The Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro includes a provision that allows either republic to hold a referendum after three years that would allow for their independence from the state union.
Birth rate 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 12.13 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
revenues: $8.668 billion


expenditures: $9.633 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital Minsk Belgrade
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 199 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 4 February 2003
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: Serbia and Montenegro


conventional short form: none


local long form: Srbija i Crna Gora


local short form: none


former: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia


abbreviation: SCG
Currency - in Serbia the Serbian dinar (CSD) is legal tender, but the euro (EUR) is the de facto currency; in Montenegro and Kosovo the euro is legal tender. (2004)
Death rate 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 10.53 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $600 million (2004 est.) $14.01 billion (2003 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 Michael C. POLT


embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade


mailing address: 5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070


telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344


FAX: [381] (11) 361-8230


consulate(s): Podgorica


note: there is a branch office in Pristina at 30 Nazim Hikmet 38000 Pristina, Kosovo; telephone: [381](38)549-516; FAX: [381](38)549-890
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 Ivan VUJACIC


chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 332-0333


FAX: [1] (202) 332-3933


consulate(s) general: Chicago
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 the future status of Kosovo remains an unresolved issue in South Central Europe with Kosovo Albanians overwhelmingly supporting and Serbian officials opposing Kosovo independence; the international community has agreed to begin a process to determine final status only after significant progress has been made in solidifying multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo as outlined in the policy of "standards before status"; the Contact group (including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia) will review progress on the UNMIK standard around mid-2005; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo resist demarcation of the F.Y.R.O.M. boundary in accordance with the 2000 delimitation treaty, which transfers on net a small amount of land to F.Y.R.O.M.; Serbia and Montenegro have delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $2 billion pledged in 2001 (disbursements to follow for several years)
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. MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the NATO airstrikes in 1999 have left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it wrote off 66% of the debt. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is largely autonomous under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is greatly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization, legal uncertainty over property rights, and scarcity of foreign-investment are holding back Serbia and Montenegro's economy. Arrangements with the IMF, especially requirements for fiscal discipline, are an important element in policy formation. Severe unemployment remains a key political economic problem.
Electricity - consumption 34.3 billion kWh (2004) 32.37 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 800 million kWh (2004) 446 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 3.2 billion kWh (2003) 3.33 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 30 billion kWh (2004) 31.71 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


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


highest point: Daravica 2,656 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 pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991)
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) new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 65 (2002)
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 Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Federal Ministries act as Cabinet


elections: president elected by the Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 7 March 2003 (next to be held 2007)


election results: Svetozar MAROVIC elected president by the Parliament; vote was Svetozar MAROVIC 65, other 47
Exports 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials
Exports - partners Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) Italy 31.6%, Germany 17.5%, Austria 6.2%, France 6%, Greece 5.4%, Slovenia 4.1%, Hungary 4% (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 three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red
GDP - purchasing power parity - $23.89 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 15.2%


industry: 28.2%


services: 56.5% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.4% (2004 est.) 1.5% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 44 00 N, 21 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 controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast
Heliports 1 (2004 est.) 4 (2003 est.)
Highways total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
total: 49,805 km


paved: 31,029 km (including 560 km of expressways)


unpaved: 18,776 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 transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering
Imports 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials
Imports - partners Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) Germany 18.8%, Italy 16.3%, Austria 8.1%, Slovenia 6.6%, Hungary 5.8%, France 4.8%, Bulgaria 4.6%, Greece 4.4% (2003)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY - now Serbia and Montenegro - formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY)
Industrial production growth rate 4% (2004 est.) 1.7% (2002 est.)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and 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: 13.43 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 15.04 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 11.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 17.4% (2004 est.) 11.2% (2003 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) BSEC, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Irrigated land 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) 570 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) The Court of Serbia and Montenegro; judges are elected by the Serbia and Montenegro Parliament for six-year terms


note: since the promulgation of the 2003 Constitution, the Federal Court has constitutional and administrative functions; it has an equal number of judges from each republic
Labor force 4.305 million (31 December 2003) 2.93 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Land boundaries total: 2,900 km


border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
total: 2,246 km


border countries: Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km
Land use arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
arable land: 33.35%


permanent crops: 3.2%


other: 63.45% (2001)
Languages Belarusian, Russian, other Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%
Legal system based on civil law system based on civil law system
Legislative branch bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)


elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons


election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
unicameral Parliament (126 seats - 91 Serbian, 35 Montenegrin - filled by nominees of the two state parliaments for the first two years, after which the Constitutional Charter calls for direct elections


elections: last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held 2005)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Serbian parties: SRS 30, DSS 20, DS 13, G17 Plus 12, SPO-NS 8, SPS 8; Montenegrin parties: DPS 15, SNP 9, SDP 4, DSS 3, NS 2, LSCG 2
Life expectancy at birth total population: 68.72 years


male: 63.03 years


female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)
total population: 74.4 years


male: 71.9 years


female: 77.12 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: 93%


male: 97.2%


female: 88.9% (1991)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Map references Europe Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) NA
Military branches Army, Air and Air Defense Force Army (VJ) (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $176.1 million (FY02) $654 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.4% (FY02) NA
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 2,718,234 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 2,184,937 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 81,245 (2004 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union National Day, 27 April
Nationality noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
noun: Serb(s); Montenegrin(s)


adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin
Natural hazards NA destructive earthquakes
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay oil, gas, coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, hydropower, arable land
Net migration rate 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) gas 3,177 km; oil 393 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
Democratic Party or DS [Boris TADIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS [Bozidar BOJOVIC]; G17 Plus [Miroljub LABUS]; New Serbia or NS [Velimir ILIC]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LSCG [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Dragan SOC]; Power of Serbia Movement or PSS [Bogoljub KARIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Tomislav NIKOLIC]; Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party and party of Slobodan MILOSEVIC) [Ivica DACIC, president of Main Board]; Social Democratic Party of Montenegro or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Socialist People's Party of Montenegro or SNP [Predrag BULATOVIC]


note: the following political parties participate in elections and institutions only in Kosovo, which has been governed by the UN under UNSCR 1244 since 1999: Albanian Christian Democratic Party or PSHDK [Mark KRASNIQI]; Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Citizens' Initiative of Serbia or GIS [Slavisa PETKOVIC]; Democratic Ashkali Party of Kosovo or PDAK [Sabit RRAHMANI]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Ibrahim RUGOVA]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Justice Party of PD [Sylejman CERKEZI]; Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party of KDTP [Mahir YAGCILAR]; Liberal Party of Kosovo or PLK [Gjergj DEDAJ]; Ora [Veton SURROI]; New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo or IRDK [Bislim HOTI]; Party of Democratic Action or SDA [Numan BALIC]; Popular Movement of Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI]; Prizren-Dragas Initiative or PDI [Ismajl KARADOLAMI]; Serb List for Kosovo and Metohija or SLKM [Oliver IVANOVIC]; United Roma Party of Kosovo or PREBK [Haxhi Zylfi MERXHA]; Vakat [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Political Council for Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; Group for Changes of Montenegro or GZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]
Population 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) 10,825,900 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 27.1% (2003 est.) 30% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate -0.09% (2005 est.) 0.03% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (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: 4,380 km


standard gauge: 4,380 km 1.435-m gauge (1,445 km electrified) (2003)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11%
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: 1.08 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female


total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
Telephone system general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly


domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational


international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: country code - 381; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 3,071,300 (2003) 2,611,700 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.118 million (2003) 3,634,600 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast
Total fertility rate 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) 1.67 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) 34.5% (2003 est.)
Waterways 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) 587 km


note: Danube River traffic delayed by pontoon bridge at Novi Sad; plan to replace by summer of 2005 (2004)
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