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Compare Belarus (2007) - Sierra Leone (2004)
Compare Belarus (2007) z Sierra Leone (2004)
| Belarus (2007) | Sierra Leone (2004) | |
 |  | |
| 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 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
| 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: 44.8% (male 1,291,621; female 1,343,827)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,458,610; female 1,599,109) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 91,232; female 99,490) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
| Airports | 67 (2007) | 10 (2003 est.) |
| 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: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| 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: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| 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 1991 to 2002 civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population), many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. National elections were held in May 2002 and the government continues to slowly reestablish its authority. However, the gradual withdrawal of most UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers in 2004 and early 2005, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to the continuation of Sierra Leone's stability. |
| Birth rate | 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 43.34 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $13.24 billion
expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 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 |
Freetown |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 402 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 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
| 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 Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
| Currency | - | leone (SLL) |
| Death rate | 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 20.62 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $5.929 billion (2006 est.) | $1.5 billion (2002 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Russell CHAVEAS
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
| 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 Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
| 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 | domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; in 2003, Guinea and Sierra Leone established a boundary commission to resolve a dispute over the town of Yenga |
| Economic aid - recipient | $53.76 million (2005) | $103 million (2001 est.) |
| 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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development, following a 11-year civil war. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Plans continue to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during the conflict. The major source of hard currency consists of the mining of diamonds. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and to supplement government revenues. |
| Electricity - consumption | 29.49 billion kWh (2005) | 232.6 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 5.053 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 9.091 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 29.08 billion kWh (2005) | 250.1 million kWh (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 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 | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Ethnic groups | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
| 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) | leones per US dollar - 2,347.94 (2003), 2,099.03 (2002), 1,986.15 (2001), 2,092.12 (2000), 1,804.19 (1999) |
| 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 Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4% |
| Exports | 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish (1999) |
| Exports - partners | Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006) | Belgium 61.2%, Germany 14.2%, UK 4.5%, US 4.5% (2003) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.057 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.2%
industry: 41.7% services: 49.1% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $500 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 9.9% (2006 est.) | 6.5% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
| Geography - note | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
| Heliports | 1 (2007) | 2 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | - | total: 11,330 km
paved: 895 km unpaved: 10,435 km (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 23.5% (2002) |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
| 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 (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals (1995) |
| Imports - partners | Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006) | Germany 23.7%, UK 9.9%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.4%, France 7.4%, US 5.3%, Netherlands 5.1%, Ukraine 4.6% (2003) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
| 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 | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
| 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: 145.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 162.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 127.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2006 est.) | 1% (2002 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, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Irrigated land | 1,310 sq km (2003) | 290 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; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Labor force | 4.3 million (31 December 2005) | 1.369 million (1981 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 |
total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
| Land use | arable land: 26.77%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005) |
arable land: 6.98%
permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.13% (2001) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
| Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; 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 Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.05 years
male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 42.69 years
male: 40.23 years female: 45.21 years (2004 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
| Map references | Europe | Africa |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,435 GRT/8,750 DWT
by type: cargo 2 (2004 est.) |
| Military branches | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006) | Army (RSLAF) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $11.7 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (2003) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,265,140 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 614,338 (2004 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, 27 April (1961) |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
| Natural hazards | NA | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
| Net migration rate | 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2004 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] |
All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others |
| 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] | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
| Population | 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.) | 5,883,889 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 27.1% (2003 est.) | 68% (1989 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.41% (2007 est.) | 2.27% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (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 (2006) |
- |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
| 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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 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: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3.368 million (2006) | 24,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.96 million (2006) | 67,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (1999) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
| Total fertility rate | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.79 children born/woman (2004 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) | 800 km (2003) |
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