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Compare Belarus (2005) - Swaziland (2002)

Compare Belarus (2005) z Swaziland (2002)

 Belarus (2005)Swaziland (2002)
 BelarusSwaziland
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
4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni
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: 45.5% (male 254,573; female 256,677)


15-64 years: 51.9% (male 281,645; female 301,071)


65 years and over: 2.6% (male 12,027; female 17,612) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
Airports 133 (2004 est.) 18 (2001)
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


2,438 to 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.)
total: 17


914 to 1,523 m: 7


under 914 m: 10 (2002)
Area total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 17,363 sq km


land: 17,203 sq km


water: 160 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. Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy.
Birth rate 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 39.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
revenues: $448 million


expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02 )
Capital Minsk Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime varies from tropical to near temperate
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
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 none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted
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: Kingdom of Swaziland


conventional short form: Swaziland
Currency - lilangeni (SZL)
Death rate 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 23.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $600 million (2004 est.) $336 million (2001 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 James D. McGEE


embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane


mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane


telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445


FAX: [268] 404-5959
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 Mary Madzandza KANYA


chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683


FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059
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 Swaziland continues to press South Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-Natal province that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $104 million (2001)
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. In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. Prospects for 2002 are strengthened by the country's status as a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative.
Electricity - consumption 34.3 billion kWh (2004) 900.66 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 800 million kWh (2004) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 3.2 billion kWh (2003) 564 million kWh


note: supplied by South Africa (2000)
Electricity - production 30 billion kWh (2004) 362 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 56%


hydro: 44%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m


highest point: Emlembe 1,862 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 limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
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, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) African 97%, European 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) emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808 (January 2002), 8.4933 (2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni
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: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)


head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996)


cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch
Exports 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) $702 million f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit
Exports - partners Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%, Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999)
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 three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally
GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.6% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 10%


industry: 43%


services: 47% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.4% (2004 est.) 2.5% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 26 30 S, 31 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 landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
Heliports 1 (2004 est.) -
Highways total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
total: 3,800 km


paved: 1,064 km


unpaved: 2,736 km (2002)
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.) $850 million f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - partners Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (2000)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 6 September 1968 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 4% (2004 est.) 3.7% (FY95/96)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel
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.)
109.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 17.4% (2004 est.) 7.5% (2001 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) ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 6 (2001)
Irrigated land 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) 690 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch
Labor force 4.305 million (31 December 2003) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) 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: 535 km


border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km
Land use arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
arable land: 9.77%


permanent crops: 0.7%


other: 89.53% (1998 est.)
Languages Belarusian, Russian, other English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
Legal system based on civil law system based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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
bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)


elections: House of Assembly - last held 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2003)


election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round
Life expectancy at birth total population: 68.72 years


male: 63.03 years


female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)
total population: 37 years


male: 36.35 years


female: 37.66 years (2002 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: 78.3%


male: 78%


female: 78.4% (1999 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa
Map references Europe Africa
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military branches Army, Air and Air Defense Force Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $176.1 million (FY02) $20 million (FY01/02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.4% (FY02) 4.75% (FY00/01)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 253,510 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 146,805 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union Independence Day, 6 September (1968)
Nationality noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
noun: Swazi(s)


adjective: Swazi
Natural hazards NA drought
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
Net migration rate 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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
political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations - Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) 1,123,605


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 27.1% (2003 est.) NA%
Population growth rate -0.09% (2005 est.) 1.63% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Mazyr none
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios - 170,000 (1999)
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: 297 km


narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge


note: includes 71 km which are not in use (2001)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30%
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: 0.99 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 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: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system


domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay


international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 3,071,300 (2003) 38,500 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.118 million (2003) 45,000 (2001)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
Total fertility rate 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) 34% (2000 est.)
Waterways 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) none
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