Compare Belarus (2005) - Vanuatu (2005)

Compare Belarus (2005) z Vanuatu (2005)

	Belarus (2005)	Vanuatu (2005)

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	6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba
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: 33.3% (male 35,039/female 33,553) 15-64 years: 63.1% (male 66,311/female 63,502) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 3,878/female 3,471) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk	copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef
Airports	133 (2004 est.)	30 (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: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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: 27 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 12,200 sq km land: 12,200 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes more than 80 islands, about 65 of which are inhabited
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas	slightly larger than Connecticut
Background	After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1995 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue.	The British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980.
Birth rate	10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	23.06 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $3.326 billion expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)	revenues: $52.6 million expenditures: $54.3 million, including capital expenditures of $700,000 (2003 est.)
Capital	Minsk	Port-Vila (Efate)
Climate	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime	tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	2,528 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	30 July 1980
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 Vanuatu conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides
Death rate	14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$600 million (2004 est.)	$83.7 million (2002)
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 Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu
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	Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US; it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN
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	Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by Vanuatu and France
Economic aid - recipient	$194.3 million (1995)	$27.5 million (2002)
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.	This South Pacific island economy is based primarily on small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 2004, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. GDP growth rose less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. In mid-2002 the government stepped up efforts to boost tourism. Agriculture, especially livestock farming, is a second target for growth. Australia and New Zealand are the main suppliers of tourists and foreign aid.
Electricity - consumption	34.3 billion kWh (2004)	45.03 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)	48.42 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 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	a majority of the population does not have access to a reliable supply of potable water; deforestation
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: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94 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)	Ni-Vanuatu 98.5%, other 1.5% (1999 Census)
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)	vatu per US dollar - 111.79 (2004), 122.19 (2003), 139.2 (2002), 145.31 (2001), 137.64 (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 Kalkot Matas KELEKELE (since 16 August 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Ham LINI (since 11 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Sato KILMAN (since 11 December 2004); Prime Minister Serge VOHOR ousted in no-confidence vote on 11 December 2004 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils; election for president last held 16 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 29 July 2004 (next to be held following general elections in 2008) election results: Kalkot Matas KELEKELE elected president, with 49 votes out of 56, after several ballots on 16 August 2004
Exports	14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)	NA
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs	copra, beef, cocoa, timber, kava, coffee
Exports - partners	Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004)	Thailand 47%, Malaysia 18.4%, Japan 7.5%, Belgium 5.4%, China 4.9% (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	two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 11% industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 26% industry: 12% services: 62% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2004 est.)	1.1% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	53 00 N, 28 00 E	16 00 S, 167 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	a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes
Heliports	1 (2004 est.)	-
Highways	total: 79,990 km paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)	total: 1,070 km paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1999 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, fuels
Imports - partners	Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004)	Taiwan 24%, Australia 16.5%, Japan 11.4%, Singapore 8.5%, New Zealand 7.2%, Fiji 6.3%, US 4.4% (2004)
Independence	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	30 July 1980 (from France and UK)
Industrial production growth rate	4% (2004 est.)	1% (1997 est.)
Industries	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators	food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning
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: 55.16 deaths/1,000 live births male: 57.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	17.4% (2004 est.)	3.1% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)	ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	1,150 sq km (1998 est.)	NA
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 Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission)
Labor force	4.305 million (31 December 2003)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.)	agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (2000 est.)
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: 2.46% permanent crops: 7.38% other: 90.16% (2001)
Languages	Belarusian, Russian, other	local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
Legal system	based on civil law system	unified system being created from former dual French and British systems
Legislative branch	bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004 elections as flawed and undemocratic, based on massive government falsification; pro-Lukashenko candidates won every seat, after many opposition candidates were disqualified for technical reasons election results: Soviet Respubliki - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Palata Predstaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA	unicameral Parliament (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 6 July 2004 (next to be held 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 8, VP 8, NUP 10, VRP 4, MPP 3, VGP 3, other and independent 16; note - political party associations are fluid note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.72 years male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.)	total population: 62.49 years male: 61 years female: 64.05 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: 74% male: NA% female: NA% (1999 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, east of Poland	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Map references	Europe	Oceania
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines 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: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,192,474 GRT/1,560,828 DWT by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 16, container 1, liquefied gas 2, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 52 (Australia 2, Canada 5, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Israel 1, Japan 25, New Zealand 1, Poland 11, Russia 1, Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, United States 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005)
Military branches	Army, Air and Air Defense Force	no regular military forces; security forces comprise the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), which includes Vanuatu's naval force, known as the Police Maritime Wing (PMW); border security in Vanuatu is the joint responsibility of the Customs and Inland Revenue Service, VPF, VMF, and PMW (2003)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$176.1 million (FY02)	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (FY02)	NA
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, 30 July (1980)
Nationality	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian	noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural) adjective: Ni-Vanuatu
Natural hazards	NA	tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis
Natural resources	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay	manganese, hardwood forests, fish
Net migration rate	2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 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	Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [leader NA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]; Vanuatu Greens Party or VGP [Moana CARCASSES]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)	205,754 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	27.1% (2003 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	-0.09% (2005 est.)	1.52% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Mazyr	Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)	AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004)
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.)	Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 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: NA domestic: NA international: country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	3,071,300 (2003)	6,500 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.118 million (2003)	7,800 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)	1 (2004)
Terrain	generally flat and contains much marshland	mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains
Total fertility rate	1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)	2.77 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)	-

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.