##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Belarus (2005) - Syria (2002)
Compare Belarus (2005) z Syria (2002)
| Belarus (2005) | Syria (2002) | |
 |  | |
| 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 |
14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus |
| 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: 39.3% (male 3,467,267; female 3,264,639)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,052,841; female 4,817,662) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 267,803; female 285,602) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk |
| Airports | 133 (2004 est.) | 99 (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: 24
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 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: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly larger than North Dakota |
| 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. | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. |
| Birth rate | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 30.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.326 billion
expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | Minsk | Damascus |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 193 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 | 13 March 1973 |
| 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: Syrian Arab Republic
conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
| Currency | - | Syrian pound (SYP) |
| Death rate | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $600 million (2004 est.) | $22 billion (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 Theodore H. KATTOUF
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678 |
| 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 Rustum al-ZU'BI
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
| 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 | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province |
| Economic aid - recipient | $194.3 million (1995) | $199 million (1997 est.) |
| 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. | Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. President Bashar AL-ASAD has made little progress on the economic front after one year in office, but does appear willing to permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. ASAD's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. |
| Electricity - consumption | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) | 17.671 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 800 million kWh (2004) | 650 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 3.2 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 30 billion kWh (2004) | 19.7 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 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 | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water |
| 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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% |
| 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) | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) |
| 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 Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000 |
| Exports | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) | $5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs | crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.) |
| Exports - partners | Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) | Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.) |
| 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 red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2004 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 35 00 N, 38 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 | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) |
| Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 7 (2002) |
| Highways | total: 79,990 km
paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002) |
total: 41,451 km
paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
| 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 | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets |
| Imports | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) |
| Imports - partners | Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) | Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining |
| 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.) |
32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 17.4% (2004 est.) | 0.3% (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) | AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 12,130 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) | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts |
| Labor force | 4.305 million (31 December 2003) | 4.7 million (1998 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,900 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
| Land use | arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious 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 |
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.72 years
male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 69.08 years
male: 67.9 years female: 70.32 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: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey |
| Map references | Europe | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 482,985 GRT/702,590 DWT
ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 126, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Force | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $176.1 million (FY02) | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY02) | 5.9% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 200,859 (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, 17 April (1946) |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
| Natural hazards | NA | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower |
| 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) | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km |
| 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 |
National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence |
| Population | 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) | 17,155,814 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 27.1% (2003 est.) | 15%-25% |
| Population growth rate | -0.09% (2005 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Mazyr | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 4.15 million (1997) |
| 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: 2,750 km
standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2001) |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) |
| 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational international: country code - 375; Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations |
general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3,071,300 (2003) | 1.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.118 million (2003) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west |
| Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) | 20% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) | 870 km (minimal economic importance) |
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