Compare Belarus (2007) - Samoa (2006)

Compare Belarus (2007) z Samoa (2006)

	Belarus (2007)	Samoa (2006)

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	11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano
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: 26.1% (male 23,492/female 22,653) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 74,202/female 44,894) 65 years and over: 6.6% (male 5,299/female 6,368) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk	coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa
Airports	67 (2007)	4 (2006)
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: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006)
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: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)
Area	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 2,944 sq km land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas	slightly smaller than Rhode Island
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.	New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
Birth rate	9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	16.43 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $13.24 billion expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $171.3 million expenditures: $78.1 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2001-02)
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: Apia geographic coordinates: 13 50 S, 171 45W time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime	tropical; rainy season (November to April), dry season (May to October)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	403 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	1 January 1962
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: Independent State of Samoa conventional short form: Samoa local long form: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o Samoa local short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa
Death rate	13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$5.929 billion (2006 est.)	$177 million (2004)
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: US Ambassador to New Zealand is accredited to Samoa embassy: Accident Compensation Board (ACB) Building, 5th Floor, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia, 0815 telephone: [685] 21436/21452/21631/22696 FAX: [685] 22030
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 Aliioaiga Feturi ELISAIA chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797
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)	$30.8 million (2004)
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.	The economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, agriculture, and fishing. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force, and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. The decline of fish stocks in the area is a continuing problem. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 25% of GDP; about 88,000 tourists visited the islands in 2001. One factory in the Foreign Trade Zone employs 3,000 people to make automobile electrical harnesses for an assembly plant in Australia. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline, while at the same time protecting the environment. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low.
Electricity - consumption	29.49 billion kWh (2005)	107.9 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	5.053 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	9.091 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	29.08 billion kWh (2005)	116 million kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mauga Silisili (Savaii) 1,857 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	soil erosion, deforestation, invasive species, overfishing
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, Ozone Layer Protection 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)	Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4%
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)	tala per US dollar - 2.7103 (2005), 2.7807 (2004), 2.9732 (2003), 3.3763 (2002), 3.478 (2001)
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: Chief Tanumafili II MALIETOA (cochief of state from 1 January 1962 until becoming sole chief of state 5 April 1963) head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 1996); note - TUILA'EPA served as deputy prime minister from 1992 and assumed the duties of acting prime minister in 1996, when former Prime Minister TOFILAU Eti Alesana resigned in poor health; TUILA'EPA was confirmed as prime minister (November 1998) after TOFILAU died; Deputy Prime Minister MISA Telefoni (since 2001) cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members, appointed by the chief of state on the prime minister's advice elections: upon the death of Chief Tanumafili II MALIETOA, a new chief of state will be elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term (no term limits); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state with the approval of the Legislative Assembly
Exports	249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs	fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts, garments, beer
Exports - partners	Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)	Australia 75.9%, American Samoa 13.6%, US 6.5% (2005)
Fiscal year	calendar year	June 1 - May 31
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	red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 9.2% industry: 41.7% services: 49.1% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 11.4% industry: 58.4% services: 30.2% (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	9.9% (2006 est.)	5.5% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	53 00 N, 28 00 E	13 35 S, 172 20 W
Geography - note	landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes	occupies an almost central position within Polynesia
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.)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals	machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)	NZ 31%, Australia 22.6%, US 13.5%, Japan 7.5%, Fiji 6%, China 4.6% (2005)
Independence	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)
Industrial production growth rate	15.6% (2005 est.)	2.8% (2000)
Industries	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators	food processing, building materials, auto 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.)	total: 26.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 31.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2006 est.)	3.3% (2005)
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, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
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; Supreme Court; District Court; Land and Titles Court
Labor force	4.3 million (31 December 2005)	90,000 (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
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: 21.13% permanent crops: 24.3% other: 54.57% (2005)
Languages	Belarusian, Russian, other	Samoan (Polynesian), English
Legal system	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on English common law and local customs; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen; has not accepted 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	unicameral Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats - 47 elected by voters affiliated with traditional village-based electoral districts, 2 elected by independent, mostly non-Samoan or part-Samoan, voters who cannot, (or choose not to) establish a village affiliation; only chiefs (matai) may stand for election to the Fono from the 47 village-based electorates; members serve five-year terms) elections: election last held 31 March 2006 (next election to be held not later than March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HRPP 35, SDUP 10, independents 4
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 70.05 years male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.)	total population: 71 years male: 68.2 years female: 73.94 years (2006 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: 99.7% male: 99.6% female: 99.7% (2003 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, east of Poland	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half 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: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 7,091 GRT/8,127 DWT by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Germany 1) (2006)
Military - note	-	Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces; informal defense ties exist with NZ, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship
Military branches	Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)	no regular military forces; Samoa Police Force (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
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 Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship, 1 June 1962 is the date that independence is celebrated
Nationality	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian	noun: Samoan(s) adjective: Samoan
Natural hazards	NA	occasional typhoons; active volcanism
Natural resources	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay	hardwood forests, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate	0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-11.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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]	Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA]; Samoa Christian Party or TCP [Tuala Tiresa MALIETOA]; Samoa Democratic United Party or SDUP [LE MAMEA Ropati]; Samoa Party or SP [Su'a Rimoni Ah CHONG]; Samoa Progressive Political Party or SPPP [Toeolesulusulu SIUEVA]
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.)	176,908 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	27.1% (2003 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	-0.41% (2007 est.)	-0.2% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)	AM 2, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Railways	total: 5,512 km broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006)	-
Religions	Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)	Congregationalist 34.8%, Roman Catholic 19.6%, Methodist 15%, Latter-Day Saints 12.7%, Assembly of God 6.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.5%, other Christian 4.5%, Worship Centre 1.3%, other 1.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.65 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.39 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	21 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: adequate domestic: NA international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	3.368 million (2006)	13,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	5.96 million (2006)	24,000 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)	2 (2002)
Terrain	generally flat and contains much marshland	two main islands (Savaii, Upolu) and several smaller islands and uninhabited islets; narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior
Total fertility rate	1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.94 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)	NA%
Waterways	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)	-

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