Compare Belarus (2005) - United Kingdom (2003)

Compare Belarus (2005) z United Kingdom (2003)

	Belarus (2005)	United Kingdom (2003)

Administrative divisions	6 provinces (voblastsi, singular - voblasts') and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel', Horad Minsk*, Hrodna, Mahilyow, Minsk, Vitsyebsk note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers	England - 47 boroughs, 36 counties, 29 London boroughs, 12 cities and boroughs, 10 districts, 12 cities*, 3 royal boroughs**; Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset*, Bedfordshire, Bexley, Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bradford, Brent, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol***, Bromley, Buckinghamshire, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, Camden*, Cheshire, Cornwall, Coventry, Croydon, Cumbria, Darlington, Derby***, Derbyshire, Devon, Doncaster, Dorset, Dudley, Durham, Ealing, East Riding of Yorkshire**, East Sussex, Enfield*, Essex, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Greenwich, Hackney, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hampshire, Haringey, Harrow, Hartlepool, Havering*, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Isle of Wight, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea***, Kent, City of Kingston upon Hull***, Kingston upon Thames**, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leeds, Leicester**, Leicestershire, Lewisham*, Lincolnshire, Liverpool*, City of London*, Luton, Manchester, Medway, Merton, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newham, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, North East Lincolnshire**, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset*, North Tyneside, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottingham***, Nottinghamshire, Oldham, Oxfordshire, Peterborough**, Plymouth*, Poole, Portsmouth*, Reading, Redbridge, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond upon Thames, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rutland, Salford, Shropshire, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield**, Slough, Solihull, Somerset, Southampton***, Southend-on-Sea, South Gloucestershire, South Tyneside, Southwark, Staffordshire, St. Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent***, Suffolk, Sunderland**, Surrey, Sutton, Swindon, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Torbay, Tower Hamlets, Trafford, Wakefield*, Walsall, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth*, Warrington, Warwickshire, West Berkshire**, Westminster, West Sussex, Wigan, Wiltshire, Windsor and Maidenhead***, Wirral, Wokingham*, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire, York****; Northern Ireland - 24 districts, 2 cities, 6 counties; Antrim, County Antrim, Ards, Armagh, County Armagh*, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, County Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, County Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, County Londonderry*, Derry, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane, County Tyrone*; Scotland - 32 council areas; Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, The Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), West Lothian; Wales - 11 county boroughs, 9 counties, 2 cities and counties*; Isle of Anglesey, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff*, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea*, Torfaen, The Vale of Glamorgan, Wrexham
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 5,621,590; female 5,350,319) 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 20,067,529; female 19,626,123) 65 years and over: 15.6% (male 3,987,457; female 5,441,630) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk	cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish
Airports	133 (2004 est.)	470 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 50 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)	total: 334 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 151 914 to 1,523 m: 83 under 914 m: 59 (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: 136 2438 to 3047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 112 (2002)
Area	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas	slightly smaller than Oregon
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.	Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999.
Birth rate	10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	10.99 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $3.326 billion expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)	revenues: $565 billion expenditures: $540 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 01)
Capital	Minsk	London
Climate	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime	temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	12,429 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	unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
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: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK
Currency	-	British pound (GBP)
Death rate	14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$600 million (2004 est.)	$NA
Dependent areas	-	Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
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 William S. FARISH embassy: 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 telephone: [44] (0) 7499-9000 FAX: [44] (0) 7629-9124 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh
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 David G. MANNING chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Miami, and Seattle
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	Gibraltar residents vote overwhelmingly in referendum against "total shared sovereignty" arrangement worked out between Spain and UK to change 300-year rule over colony; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; Argentina claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and Iceland; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM
Economic aid - donor	-	ODA, $4.5 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient	$194.3 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.	The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. GDP growth slipped in 2001-03 as the global downturn, the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the "new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Still, the economy is one of the strongest in Europe; inflation, interest rates, and unemployment remain low. The relatively good economic performance has complicated the BLAIR government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out, however, that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and they point to public opinion polls that continue to show a majority of Britons opposed to the single currency. Meantime, the government has been speeding up the improvement of education, transport, and health services, at a cost in higher taxes. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, together with the subsequent problems of restoring the economy and the polity, involve a heavy commitment of British military forces.
Electricity - consumption	34.3 billion kWh (2004)	346.1 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	800 million kWh (2004)	264 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	3.2 billion kWh (2003)	10.66 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	30 billion kWh (2004)	360.9 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 73.8% hydro: 0.9% nuclear: 23.7% other: 1.6% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m	lowest point: The Fens -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 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	continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move towards a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government aims to reduce the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015; between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, household recycling increased from 8.8% to 10.3%
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, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Ethnic groups	Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)	English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%
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)	British pounds per US dollar - 0.67 (2002), 0.69 (2001), 0.66 (2000), 0.62 (1999), 0.6 (1998)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in September 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister
Exports	14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)	2.205 million bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs	manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco
Exports - partners	Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)	US 15.5%, Germany 11.2%, France 9.4%, Ireland 8%, Netherlands 7.1%, Belgium 5.2%, Italy 4.4%, Spain 4.3% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamention in red	blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, as well as British overseas territories
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $1.528 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 11% industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 1.4% industry: 24.9% services: 73.7% (2000)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $25,500 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2004 est.)	1.8% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	53 00 N, 28 00 E	54 00 N, 2 00 W
Geography - note	landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay	lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters
Heliports	1 (2004 est.)	11 (2002)
Highways	total: 79,990 km paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)	total: 371,913 km paved: 371,913 km (including 3,358 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 5.1% highest 10%: 20% (1998)	lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 27.7% (1995)
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	gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; major consumer of synthetic drugs, producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center
Imports	360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)	1.418 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals	manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)	Germany 12.9%, US 11.9%, France 7.8%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium 5%, Italy 4.4% (2002)
Independence	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales, begun in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddlan, was not formalized until 1536 with an Act of Union; in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927
Industrial production growth rate	4% (2004 est.)	-3.4% (2002 est.)
Industries	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators	machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods
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: 5.28 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	17.4% (2004 est.)	2.1% (2002 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)	AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	more than 400 (2000)
Irrigated land	1,150 sq km (1998 est.)	1,080 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)	House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary
Labor force	4.305 million (31 December 2003)	29.7 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)	agriculture 1%, industry 25%, services 74% (1999)
Land boundaries	total: 2,900 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km	total: 360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km
Land use	arable land: 29.55% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001)	arable land: 26.41% permanent crops: 0.18% other: 73.41% (1998 est.)
Languages	Belarusian, Russian, other	English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Legal system	based on civil law system	common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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 comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (659 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier) elections: House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; pending further reforms, elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 7 June 2001 (next to be held by NA May 2006) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor 42.1%, Conservative and Unionist 32.7%, Liberal Democrats 18.8%, other 6.4%; seats by party - Labor 412, Conservative and Unionist 166, Liberal Democrat 52, other 29; note - seating as of 15 February 2002: Labor 410, Conservative 164, Liberal Democrats 53, other 32 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been rescinded three times the latest occurring in October 2002; since October 2002 the Northern Ireland Parliament has been suspended); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.72 years male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)	total population: 78.16 years male: 75.74 years female: 80.7 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% (2000 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Eastern Europe, east of Poland	Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France
Map references	Europe	Europe
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	-	total: 295 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,752,179 GRT/6,963,112 DWT ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 43, chemical tanker 19, combination ore/oil 1, container 95, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 1, passenger 18, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 50, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 37, short-sea passenger 8, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bermuda 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 21, Germany 6, Greece 3, Hong Kong 4, Italy 1, Monaco 4, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, Russia 1, South Africa 2, Sweden 11, Taiwan 2, US 5 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Army, Air and Air Defense Force	Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines), Royal Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$176.1 million (FY02)	$31.7 billion (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (FY02)	2.32% (2002)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 14,877,666 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 12,353,942 (2003 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	Official Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926)
Nationality	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian	noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British
Natural hazards	NA	winter windstorms; floods
Natural resources	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay	coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land
Net migration rate	2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)	condensate 370 km; gas 21,263 km; liquid petroleum gas 59 km; oil 6,420 km; oil/gas/water 63 km; refined products 4,474 km; water 650 km (2003)
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	Conservative and Unionist Party [Michael HOWARD]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony) BLAIR]; Liberal Democrats [Charles KENNEDY]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn Jones]; Scottish National Party or SNP [John SWINNEY]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress
Population	10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)	60,094,648 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	27.1% (2003 est.)	17%
Population growth rate	-0.09% (2005 est.)	0.3% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Mazyr	Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Glasgow, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, Southampton, Sullom Voe, Teesport, Tyne
Radio broadcast stations	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)	AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (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: 16,893 km standard gauge: 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified) broad gauge: 357 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland) (2002)
Religions	Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)	Anglican and Roman Catholic 40 million, Muslim 1.5 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 500,000, Hindu 500,000, Jewish 350,000
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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 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: technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers
Telephones - main lines in use	3,071,300 (2003)	34.878 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.118 million (2003)	43.5 million (yearend 1998)
Television broadcast stations	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)	228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	generally flat and contains much marshland	mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
Total fertility rate	1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.66 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004)	5.2% (2002 est.)
Waterways	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)	3,200 km

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