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Compare Belarus (2007) - Haiti (2002)

Compare Belarus (2007) z Haiti (2002)

 Belarus (2007)Haiti (2002)
 BelarusHaiti
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
9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
Age structure 0-14 years: 14.7% (male 733,010/female 691,734)


15-64 years: 70.4% (male 3,327,119/female 3,520,690)


65 years and over: 14.9% (male 471,863/female 980,307) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 39.5% (male 1,414,052; female 1,377,693)


15-64 years: 56.3% (male 1,924,867; female 2,049,952)


65 years and over: 4.2% (male 142,657; female 154,501) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum; wood
Airports 67 (2007) 12 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 36


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: 7 (2007)
total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 31


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 27 (2007)
total: 10


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 6 (2002)
Area total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 27,750 sq km


land: 27,560 sq km


water: 190 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Kansas slightly smaller than Maryland
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, Alexandr LUKASHENKO has steadily consolidated his power through authoritarian means. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion continue. The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history since then, and it is now one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Over three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996. ARISTIDE won a second term as president in 2000, and took office early in 2001. However, a political crisis stemming from fraudulent legislative elections in 2000 has not yet been resolved.
Birth rate 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 31.42 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $13.24 billion


expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.)
revenues: $273 million


expenditures: $361 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 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
Port-au-Prince
Climate cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 1,771 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 approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October 1994
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: Republic of Haiti


conventional short form: Haiti


local long form: Republique d'Haiti


local short form: Haiti
Currency - gourde (HTG)
Death rate 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 14.88 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $5.929 billion (2006 est.) $1.2 billion (1999) (1999)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, 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 Roger NORIEGA


embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince


mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince


telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 222-0327


FAX: [509] 223-1641, 222-0200, extension 460
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 (vacant); Chief of Mission Harry Frantz LEO


chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090


FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215


consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Disputes - international as of January 2007, ground demarcations of the boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania were complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security claims US-administered Navassa Island
Economic aid - recipient $53.76 million (2005) $730.6 million (1995) (1995)
Economy - overview Belarus's economy in 2006 posted more than 8% growth. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2006, 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. Since 2005, the government has 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 receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. This growth will be threatened in 2007, however, when Russia raises energy prices closer to world market prices for Belarus. Russia is planning to increase Belarusian gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm for 2007, gradually increasing to world prices by 2011. Russia has also introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 70% will go to Russia in 2007, 80% in 2008, and 85% in 2009. About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since the former President PREVAL took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001, and the contraction will likely intensify in 2002 unless a political agreement with donors is reached and aid restored.
Electricity - consumption 29.49 billion kWh (2005) 485.46 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 5.053 billion kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 9.091 billion kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 29.08 billion kWh (2005) 522 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 69%


hydro: 31%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 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 extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban
Ethnic groups Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) black 95%, mulatto and white 5%
Exchange rates Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002) gourdes per US dollar - 26.674 (January 2002), 26.339 (2001), 22.524 (2000), 17.965 (1999), 16.505 (1998), 17.311 (1997)
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 NA 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 and allowed the president to run in a third election, which was 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
chief of state: President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE (since 7 February 2001)


head of government: Prime Minister Yvon NEPTUNE (since 4 March 2002); note - former Prime Minister CHERESTAL resigned in January 2002


cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly


election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92%
Exports 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.) $326.6 million f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa
Exports - partners Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006) US 90%, EU 6% (2000)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 October - 30 September
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 two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength)
GDP - purchasing power parity - $12 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 9.2%


industry: 41.7%


services: 49.1% (2006 est.)
agriculture: 30%


industry: 20%


services: 50% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 9.9% (2006 est.) -1.2% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 28 00 E 19 00 N, 72 25 W
Geography - note landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic)
Heliports 1 (2007) -
Highways - total: 4,160 km


paved: 1,011 km


unpaved: 3,149 km (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 3.4%


highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)
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 major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption
Imports 378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.) $977.5 million c.i.f. (2001)
Imports - commodities mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials
Imports - partners Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006) US 60%, EU 10.5%, Dominican Republic 3.7% (2000)
Independence 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) 1 January 1804 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate 15.6% (2005 est.) 0.6% (1997 est.)
Industries metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts
Infant mortality rate total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 7.67 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
93.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 7% (2006 est.) 14% (2001 est.)
International organization participation BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) ACCT, ACP, Caricom, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 3 (2000)
Irrigated land 1,310 sq km (2003) 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation
Labor force 4.3 million (31 December 2005) 3.6 million (1995)


note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (2001) (1995)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 14%


industry: 34.7%


services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
agriculture 66%, services 25%, industry 9%
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: Dominican Republic 360 km
Land use arable land: 26.77%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 72.63% (2005)
arable land: 20.32%


permanent crops: 12.7%


other: 66.98% (1998 est.)
Languages Belarusian, Russian, other French (official), Creole (official)
Legal system based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral National Assembly or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and eight members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote 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
bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000, with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1, vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3
Life expectancy at birth total population: 70.05 years


male: 64.31 years


female: 76.14 years (2007 est.)
total population: 49.55 years


male: 47.88 years


female: 51.29 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.4% (1999 census)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 45%


male: 48%


female: 42.2% (1995 est.)
Location Eastern Europe, east of Poland Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
Map references Europe Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims none (landlocked) contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: to depth of exploitation


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine - none (2002 est.)
Military branches Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006) Haitian National Police (HNP)


note: the regular Haitian Army, Navy, and Air Force have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $50 million (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.4% (2005 est.) 1.3% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 1,691,585 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 919,275 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 87,049 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union Independence Day, 1 January (1804)
Nationality noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
noun: Haitian(s)


adjective: Haitian
Natural hazards NA lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts
Natural resources forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower
Net migration rate 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) -2.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 [Aleksandr 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 (People's Assembly) or BSDP NH [Aleksandr KOZULIN]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Convergence (opposition coalition composed of ESPACE, OPL, and MOCHRENA) [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES, Evans PAUL, Luc MESADIEU, Victor BENOIT]; Democratic Consultation Group coalition or ESPACE [Evans PAUL, Victor Benoit] composed of the following parties: National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM, National Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA, Generation 2004, and Haiti Can; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Marie-France CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEM [Clark PARENT]; Lavalas Family or FL [Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Rene THEODORE]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; Movement for the Organization of the Country or MOP [Gesner COMEAU and Jean MOLIERE]; National Cooperative Action Movement or MKN [Volrick Remy JOSEPH]; National Front for Change and Democracy or FNCD [Evans PAUL and Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate or PLB [Renaud BERNARDIN]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Gerard PIERRE-CHARLES]
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] Autonomous Haitian Workers or CATH; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church
Population 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.) 7,063,722


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 27.1% (2003 est.) 80% (1998 est.)
Population growth rate -0.41% (2007 est.) 1.42% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors - Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc
Radio broadcast stations AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999)
Radios - 415,000 (1997)
Railways total: 5,512 km


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


standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006)
total: 40 km


narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge; single-track


note: privately owned industrial line; closed in early 1990s (2001 est.)
Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)


note: roughly half of the population also practices Voodoo
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.945 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.481 male(s)/female


total population: 0.873 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female


total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 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; fixed-line teledensity of 33 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 58 per 100 persons; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital


domestic: fixed-line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 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); 3 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 (2007)
general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better


domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service


international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 3.368 million (2006) 60,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 5.96 million (2006) 0 (1995)
Television broadcast stations 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997)
Terrain generally flat and contains much marshland mostly rough and mountainous
Total fertility rate 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) 4.3 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2001) (2001)
Waterways 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) NEGL; less than 100 km navigable
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