Compare Belarus (2007) - Kiribati (2008)

Compare Belarus (2007) z Kiribati (2008)

	Belarus (2007)	Kiribati (2008)

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	3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina)
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: 38.2% (male 20,886/female 20,322) 15-64 years: 58.4% (male 31,083/female 31,884) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,554/female 2,088) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk	copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish
Airports	67 (2007)	19 (2007)
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: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2007)
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: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2007)
Area	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 811 sq km land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas	four 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 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 Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati.
Birth rate	9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	30.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $13.24 billion expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $55.52 million expenditures: $59.71 million (FY05)
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	name: Tarawa geographic coordinates: 1 19 N, 172 58 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime	tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	1,143 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	12 July 1979
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 Kiribati conventional short form: Kiribati local long form: Republic of Kiribati local short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands
Death rate	13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$5.929 billion (2006 est.)	$10 million (1999 est.)
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	the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati
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	Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu
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	none
Economic aid - recipient	$53.76 million (2005)	$27.84 million largely from UK and Japan (2005)
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.	A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals more than 10% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund.
Electricity - consumption	29.49 billion kWh (2005)	8.37 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	5.053 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	9.091 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	29.08 billion kWh (2005)	9 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 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	heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling 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)	Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census)
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)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)
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 Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO cabinet: 12-member cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 17 October 2007 (next to be held in 2011); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 63.7%, Nabuti MWEMWENIKARAWA 32.9%
Exports	249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs	copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish
Exports - partners	Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)	US 22.8%, Belgium 21.5%, Japan 14.3%, Samoa 7.8%, Australia 7.5%, Malaysia 6.7%, Taiwan 5.6%, Denmark 4.6% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	NA
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	the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 9.2% industry: 41.7% services: 49.1% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 8.9% industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (2004)
GDP - real growth rate	9.9% (2006 est.)	0.3% (2005)
Geographic coordinates	53 00 N, 28 00 E	1 25 N, 173 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes	21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
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	-
Imports	378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)	216.4 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel
Imports - partners	Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)	Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2006)
Independence	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	12 July 1979 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	15.6% (2005 est.)	0.7% (1991 est.)
Industries	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators	fishing, handicrafts
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.)	total: 46.02 deaths/1,000 live births male: 51.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2006 est.)	0.5% (2005 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)	ACP, ADB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, ITUC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Irrigated land	1,310 sq km (2003)	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)	Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president
Labor force	4.3 million (31 December 2005)	7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 2.7% industry: 32% services: 65.3% (2000)
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: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)	arable land: 2.74% permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005)
Languages	Belarusian, Russian, other	I-Kiribati, English (official)
Legal system	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	NA
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	unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (46 seats; 44 members elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 nominated by the Rabi Council of Leaders (representing Banaba Island); to serve four-year terms) elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 22 August 2007 and the second round on 30 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA, other 2 (includes attorney general)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 70.05 years male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.)	total population: 62.45 years male: 59.41 years female: 65.63 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census)	definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA
Location	Eastern Europe, east of Poland	Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (UTC +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line
Map references	Europe	Oceania
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 28,435 GRT/42,682 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Malaysia 1, Singapore 1, Turkey 1) (2007)
Military - note	-	Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ
Military branches	Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)	no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2005 est.)	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, 12 July (1979)
Nationality	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian	noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural) adjective: I-Kiribati
Natural hazards	NA	typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level
Natural resources	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay	phosphate (production discontinued in 1979)
Net migration rate	0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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]	Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG] note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures
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]	NA
Population	9,724,723 (July 2007 est.)	107,817 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	27.1% (2003 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	-0.41% (2007 est.)	2.235% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (may be inactive) (2002)
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)	-
Religions	Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)	Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, other (includes Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God) 8% (1999)
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: 1.028 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.975 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.744 male(s)/female total population: 0.986 male(s)/female (2007 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: generally good quality national and international service domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati (Christmas Island); connections to outer islands by HF/VHF radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999 international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	3.368 million (2006)	4,500 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	5.96 million (2006)	600 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)	1 (possibly inactive) (2002)
Terrain	generally flat and contains much marshland	mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs
Total fertility rate	1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.12 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)	2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.)
Waterways	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)	5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007)

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