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Compare Belarus (2005) - Wallis and Futuna (2004)

Compare Belarus (2005) z Wallis and Futuna (2004)

 Belarus (2005)Wallis and Futuna (2004)
 BelarusWallis and Futuna
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
none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three kingdoms at the second order named Alo, Sigave, Wallis
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: NA


15-64 years: NA


65 years and over: NA
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats
Airports 133 (2004 est.) 2 (2003 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: 1


1,524 to 2,437 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: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 274 sq km


land: 274 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island), Ile Alofi, and 20 islets
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Background After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration. Although Belarus agreed to a framework to carry out the accord, serious implementation has yet to take place. Since his election in July 1995 as the country's first president, Alexander LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue. Although discovered by the Dutch and the British in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the French who declared a protectorate over the islands in 1842. In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a French overseas territory.
Birth rate 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) NA births/1,000 population
Budget revenues: $3.326 billion


expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.)
revenues: $20 million


expenditures: $17 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1998 est.)
Capital Minsk Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea)
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season (May to October); rains 2,500-3,000 mm per year (80% humidity); average temperature 26.6 degrees C
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 129 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 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
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: Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands


conventional short form: Wallis and Futuna


local long form: Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna


local short form: Wallis et Futuna
Currency - Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF)
Death rate 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) NA deaths/1,000 population
Debt - external $600 million (2004 est.) NA
Dependency status - overseas territory of France
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
none (overseas territory of France)
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
none (overseas territory of France)
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 none
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) assistance from France
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 economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% labor force earnings from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia.
Electricity - consumption 34.3 billion kWh (2004) NA kWh
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) NA kWh
Elevation extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


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


highest point: Mont Singavi 765 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 (only small portions of the original forests remain) largely as a result of the continued use of wood as the main fuel source; as a consequence of cutting down the forests, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly prone to erosion; there are no permanent settlements on Alofi because of the lack of natural fresh water resources
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
-
Ethnic groups Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) Polynesian
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) Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 105.73 (2003), 126.72 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Administrator Xavier DE FURST (since 18 January 2005)


head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Patalione KANIMOA (since NA January 2001)


cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly


note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers


elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high administrator appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly
Exports 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) $250,000 f.o.b. (1999)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs copra, chemicals, construction materials
Exports - partners Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) Italy 40%, Croatia 15%, US 14%, Denmark 13%
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 a large white modified Maltese cross - shifted a little off center toward the fly and slightly downward - on a red background; the flag of France outlined in white on two sides is in the upper hoist quadrant; the flag of France is used for official occasions
GDP - purchasing power parity - $57.59 million (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 11%


industry: 36.4%


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


industry: NA


services: NA
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.4% (2004 est.) NA
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 13 18 S, 176 12 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 both island groups have fringing reefs
Heliports 1 (2004 est.) -
Highways total: 79,990 km


paved: 69,351 km


unpaved: 10,639 km (2002)
total: 120 km (Ile Uvea 100 km, Ile Futuna 20 km)


paved: 16 km (all on Ile Uvea)


unpaved: 104 km (Ile Uvea 84 km, Ile Futuna 20 km)
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.) $300,000 f.o.b. (1999)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals chemicals, machinery, passenger ships, consumer goods
Imports - partners Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) France 97%, Australia 2%, New Zealand 1%
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) none (overseas territory of France)
Industrial production growth rate 4% (2004 est.) NA
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber
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: NA


male: NA


female: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 17.4% (2004 est.) NA
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) FZ, UPU
Irrigated land 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) NA sq km
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) none; justice generally administered under French law by the high administrator, but the three traditional kings administer customary law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu
Labor force 4.305 million (31 December 2003) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) agriculture, livestock, and fishing 80%, government 4% (2001 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: 5%


permanent crops: 25%


other: 70% (2001)
Languages Belarusian, Russian, other French, Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language)
Legal system based on civil law system French legal system
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 Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held 11 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR and affiliates 13, Socialists and affiliates 7


note: Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly; French Senate - elections last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats - RPR (now UMP) 1; French National Assembly - elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held by NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats - RPR (UMP) 1
Life expectancy at birth total population: 68.72 years


male: 63.03 years


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


male: NA years


female: NA years
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: 50%


male: 50%


female: 50% (1969 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Map references Europe Oceania
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine - total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 134,037 GRT/14,271 DWT


by type: passenger 6


foreign-owned: France 3, Greece 1, Monaco 1, United States 1 (2004 est.)
Military - note - defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches Army, Air and Air Defense Force -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $176.1 million (FY02) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.4% (FY02) -
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 Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Nationality noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
noun: Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders


adjective: Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander
Natural hazards NA NA
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay NEGL
Net migration rate 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) NA migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2004 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
Lua Kae Tahi (Giscardians) [leader NA]; Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche or MRG [leader NA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Clovis LOGOLOGOFOLAU]; Taumu'a Lelei [Soane Muni UHILA]; Union Populaire Locale or UPL [Falakiko GATA]; Union Pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) 15,880 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 27.1% (2003 est.) NA
Population growth rate -0.09% (2005 est.) NA
Ports and harbors Mazyr Leava, Mata-Utu
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000)
Railways total: 5,512 km


broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified)


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435-m (2004)
-
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%
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.)
-
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 - 681
Telephones - main lines in use 3,071,300 (2003) 1,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.118 million (2003) 0 (1994)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 2 (2000)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland volcanic origin; low hills
Total fertility rate 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) NA children born/woman
Unemployment rate 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) NA
Waterways 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) -
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