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Compare Belarus (2006) - West Bank (2001)

Compare Belarus (2006) z West Bank (2001)

 Belarus (2006)West Bank (2001)
 BelarusWest Bank
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
-
Age structure 0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)


15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950)


65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.)
0-14 years:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439)

15-64 years:
51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230)

65 years and over:
3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
Airports 86 (2006) 3 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 41


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: 12 (2006)
total:
3

2,438 to 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

under 914 m:
1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 45


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 6


under 914 m: 35 (2006)
-
Area total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total:
5,860 sq km

land:
5,640 sq km

water:
220 sq km

note:
includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly smaller than Delaware
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 1994 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 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement.
Birth rate 11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues: $5.903 billion


expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2005 est.)
revenues:
$1.6 billion

expenditures:
$1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA

note:
includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)
Capital name: Minsk


geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
-
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 15 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits -
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Belarus


conventional short form: Belarus


local long form: Respublika Byelarus'


local short form: Byelarus'


former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
conventional long form:
none

conventional short form:
West Bank
Currency - new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Death rate 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.) $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART


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
-
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
-
Disputes - international 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political union with Russia proceed slowly West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Economic aid - recipient $194.3 million (1995) $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000)
Economy - overview Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. 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. During 2005, the government re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by 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. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements.
Electricity - consumption 34.3 billion kWh (2004) NA kWh
Electricity - exports 800 million kWh (2004) -
Electricity - imports 7 billion kWh (2003) NA kWh
Electricity - production 30 billion kWh (2004) NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel:
NA%

hydro:
NA%

nuclear:
NA%

other:
NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m

highest point:
Tall Asur 1,022 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 adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
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) Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
Exchange rates Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001) new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996)
Executive branch chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKIY (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, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run in a third election held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud
-
Exports 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners Russia 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%, China 4.1% (2005) Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
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 ornamentation in red -
GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 9.3%


industry: 31.6%


services: 59.1% (2005 est.)
agriculture:
9%

industry:
28%

services:
63%

note:
includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 9.2% (2005 est.) -7.5% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography - note landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.)
Heliports 1 (2006) -
Highways - total:
4,500 km

paved:
2,700 km

unpaved:
1,800 km (1997 est.)

note:
Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements
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.) $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners Russia 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005) Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) -
Industrial production growth rate 15.6% (2005 est.) NA%
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
Infant mortality rate total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10.3% (2005 est.) 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.)
International organization participation BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 8 (1999)
Irrigated land 1,310 sq km (2003) 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) -
Labor force 4.3 million (31 December 2005) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 14%


industry: 34.7%


services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)
Land boundaries total: 2,900 km


border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
total:
404 km

border countries:
Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use arable land: 26.77%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 72.63% (2005)
arable land:
27%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
32%

forests and woodland:
1%

other:
40%
Languages Belarusian, Russian, other Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Legal system based on civil law 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 four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the 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
-
Life expectancy at birth total population: 69.08 years


male: 63.47 years


female: 74.98 years (2006 est.)
total population:
72.28 years

male:
70.58 years

female:
74.07 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
definition:
NA

total population:
NA%

male:
NA%

female:
NA%
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references Europe Middle East
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military branches Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006) NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure $420.5 million (2006) $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 -
Nationality noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
noun:
NA

adjective:
NA
Natural hazards NA droughts
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay arable land
Net migration rate 2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006) -
Political parties and leaders pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]


opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Alyaksandr MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]


other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
-
Political pressure groups and leaders Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; Lenin Communist Union of Youth (youth wing of the Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB); National Strike Committee of Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY]; Partnership NGO [Nikolay ASTREYKA]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna [Ales BYALATSKY]; Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS] -
Population 10,293,011 (July 2006 est.) 2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)

note:
in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.)
Population below poverty line 27.1% (2003 est.) NA%
Population growth rate -0.06% (2006 est.) 3.48% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors - none
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

note:
the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000)
Radios - NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)
Railways total: 5,512 km


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


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2005)
0 km
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
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 (2006 est.)
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female

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

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

total population:
1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal -
Telephone system general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom, is the sole provider of fixed line local and long distance service; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly


domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; four GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies


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:
NA

note:
Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank
Telephones - main lines in use 3,284,300 (2005) 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4.098 million (2005) NA
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) NA
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total fertility rate 1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.) 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000)
Waterways 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) none
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