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Compare Belarus (2005) - Seychelles (2005)

Compare Belarus (2005) z Seychelles (2005)

 Belarus (2005)Seychelles (2005)
 BelarusSeychelles
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
23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka
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: 26.4% (male 10,839/female 10,601)


15-64 years: 67.4% (male 26,709/female 28,025)


65 years and over: 6.2% (male 1,622/female 3,392) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish
Airports 133 (2004 est.) 15 (2004 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: 8


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 3 (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: 7


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
Area total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 455 sq km


land: 455 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas 2.5 times 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. A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. The most recent presidential elections were held in 2001; President RENE, who had served since 1977, was re-elected. In April 2004 RENE stepped down and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president.
Birth rate 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 16.22 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
revenues: $318.3 million


expenditures: $298.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital Minsk Victoria
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May)
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 491 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 18 June 1993
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 Seychelles


conventional short form: Seychelles
Death rate 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 6.34 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $600 million (2004 est.) $218.1 million (2004 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
the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to the Seychelles
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 Claude Sylvestre MOREL


chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017


telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785


FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786
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 together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $16.4 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. Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. A sharp drop illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war, and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Growth slowed in 1998-2002, and fell in 2003, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors, but resumed in 2004, erasing a persistent budget deficit. Tight controls on exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have impaired short-term economic prospects. The black market value of the Seychelles rupee is half the official exchange rate; without a devaluation of the currency the tourist sector may remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar.
Electricity - consumption 34.3 billion kWh (2004) 202.8 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 800 million kWh (2004) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 3.2 billion kWh (2003) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 30 billion kWh (2004) 218 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 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 water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution


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) mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab
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) Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.5 (2004), 5.4007 (2003), 5.48 (2002), 5.8575 (2001), 5.7138 (2000)
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 James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 31 August-2 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2006)


election results: France Albert RENE re-elected president; percent of vote - France Albert RENE (SPPF) 54.19%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (UO) 44.95%, Philippe BOULLE 0.86%; note - the first time that presidential elections have been held separately from legislative elections; France Albert RENE stepped down 14 April 2004 and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president
Exports 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) NA
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports)
Exports - partners Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) UK 27.7%, France 15.8%, Spain 12.6%, Japan 8.6%, Italy 7.5%, Germany 5.6% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamention in red five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 2.8%


industry: 28.7%


services: 68.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.4% (2004 est.) 1.5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 4 35 S, 55 40 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 41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands
Heliports 1 (2004 est.) -
Highways total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
total: 373 km


paved: 315 km


unpaved: 58 km (1997 est.)
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
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - partners Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) Saudi Arabia 15.5%, Spain 13.3%, France 10.3%, Singapore 7%, South Africa 6.8%, Italy 6.7%, UK 4.7% (2004)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 29 June 1976 (from 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 fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages
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: 15.53 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 11.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 17.4% (2004 est.) 5% (2004 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, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
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) Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force 4.305 million (31 December 2003) 30,900 (1996)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) agriculture 10%, industry 19%, services 71% (1989)
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: 2.22%


permanent crops: 13.33%


other: 84.45% (2001)
Languages Belarusian, Russian, other Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census)
Legal system based on civil law system based on English common law, French civil law, and customary 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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; members serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 4-6 December 2002 (next to be held by 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 54.3%, SNP 42.6%, DP 3.1%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11


note: the 9 awarded seats are apportioned according to the percentage that each party won of the total vote
Life expectancy at birth total population: 68.72 years


male: 63.03 years


female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)
total population: 71.82 years


male: 66.41 years


female: 77.4 years (2005 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: 91.9%


male: 91.4%


female: 92.3% (2003 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar
Map references Europe Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine - total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 42,223 GRT/63,538 DWT


by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 1


foreign-owned: 1 (Nigeria 1) (2005)
Military branches Army, Air and Air Defense Force Seychelles Defense Force: Army, Coast Guard (includes Navy Wing, Air Wing), National Guard (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $176.1 million (FY02) $12.3 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.4% (FY02) 1.8% (2004)
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 Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993)
Nationality noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)


adjective: Seychellois
Natural hazards NA lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay fish, copra, cinnamon trees
Net migration rate 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) -5.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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
Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM, Daniel BELLE]; Mouvement Seychellois pour la Democratie [Jacques HODOUL]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] - the governing party
Political pressure groups and leaders NA Roman Catholic Church; trade unions
Population 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) 81,188 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 27.1% (2003 est.) NA
Population growth rate -0.09% (2005 est.) 0.43% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr Victoria
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 1, FM 1, 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)
-
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Roman Catholic 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%, other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002 census)
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: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female


total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 17 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: effective system


domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago


international: country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 3,071,300 (2003) 21,700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.118 million (2003) 54,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs
Total fertility rate 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) 1.75 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) NA
Waterways 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) -
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