Compare Belarus (2007) - South Africa (2003)

Compare Belarus (2007) z South Africa (2003)

	Belarus (2007)	South Africa (2003)

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 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape
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: 30% (male 6,460,273; female 6,377,090) 15-64 years: 65% (male 13,807,922; female 13,970,088) 65 years and over: 5% (male 864,441; female 1,288,864) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk	corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
Airports	67 (2007)	727 (2002)
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: 143 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 50 914 to 1,523 m: 67 under 914 m: 11 (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: 584 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 298 under 914 m: 252 (2002)
Area	total: 207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 1,219,912 sq km land: 1,219,912 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas	slightly less than twice the size of Texas
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.	After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.
Birth rate	9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	18.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $13.24 billion expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $22.6 billion expenditures: $24.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY 02/03)
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	Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center
Climate	cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime	mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	2,798 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	10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases
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 South Africa conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA
Currency	-	rand (ZAR)
Death rate	13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	18.42 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$5.929 billion (2006 est.)	$24.7 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 Cameron H. HUME embassy: 877 Pretorius Street, Pretoria mailing address: P. O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
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 Barbara Joyce Mosima MASEKELA chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
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	managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River
Economic aid - recipient	$53.76 million (2005)	$487.5 million (2000)
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.	South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world; and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate; and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. High crime and HIV/AIDS infection rates also deter investment. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income.
Electricity - consumption	29.49 billion kWh (2005)	181.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	5.053 billion kWh (2005)	6.91 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	9.091 billion kWh (2005)	6.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	29.08 billion kWh (2005)	195.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 93.5% hydro: 1.1% nuclear: 5.5% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 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	lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, 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)	black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%
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)	rand per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998)
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 Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 2 June 1999 (next scheduled for sometime between May and July 2004) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: ANC-IFP is the governing coalition
Exports	249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs	gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.)
Exports - partners	Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)	UK 12.8%, US 12.7%, Germany 9%, Japan 8.8%, Italy 5.8% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
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 width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $427.7 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 9.2% industry: 41.7% services: 49.1% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 4.4% industry: 28.9% services: 66.7% (2001)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	9.9% (2006 est.)	3% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	53 00 N, 28 00 E	29 00 S, 24 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes	South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 362,099 km paved: 73,506 km (including 2,032 km of expressways) unpaved: 288,593 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)	lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 45.9% (1994)
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	transshipment center for heroin, hashish, marijuana, and possibly cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries; illicit cultivation of marijuana; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region
Imports	378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals	machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.)
Imports - partners	Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)	Germany 15.4%, US 9.4%, UK 9%, Saudi Arabia 6.9%, Japan 5.8%, France 5%, China 4.9%, Iran 4.1% (2002)
Independence	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)	31 May 1910 (from UK); note - South Africa became a republic in 1961 following an October 1960 referendum
Industrial production growth rate	15.6% (2005 est.)	3% (2002 est.)
Industries	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators	mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs
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: 60.84 deaths/1,000 live births male: 64.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 56.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2006 est.)	9.9% (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, BIS, C, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, NSG, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	150 (2001)
Irrigated land	1,310 sq km (2003)	13,500 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)	Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts
Labor force	4.3 million (31 December 2005)	17 million economically active
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)	agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 2,900 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km	total: 4,862 km border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Land use	arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)	arable land: 12.13% permanent crops: 0.77% other: 87.1% (1998 est.)
Languages	Belarusian, Russian, other	11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Legal system	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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 Parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997 the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held 2 June 1999 (next to be held by 2 August 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 66.4%, DP 9.6%, IFP 8.6%, NNP 6.9%, UDM 3.4%, ACDP 1.4%, FF 0.8%, other 2.9%; seats by party - ANC 266, DP 38, IFP 34, NNP 28, UDM 14, ACDP 6, FF 3, other 11; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANC 61, NNP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 70.05 years male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.)	total population: 46.56 years male: 46.57 years female: 46.54 years (2003 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: 86.4% male: 87% female: 85.7% (2003 est.)
Location	Eastern Europe, east of Poland	Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Map references	Europe	Africa
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	-	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 30,235 GRT/35,904 DWT ships by type: container 1, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 3, Netherlands 1 (2002 est.)
Military - note	-	with the end of Apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete
Military branches	Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)	South African National Defense Force (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$1.746 billion (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2005 est.)	1.7% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 11,865,280 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 7,211,075 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 471,578 (2003 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	Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
Nationality	noun: Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian	noun: South African(s) adjective: South African
Natural hazards	NA	prolonged droughts
Natural resources	forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay	gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Net migration rate	0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006)	condensate 100 km; gas 741 km; oil 847 km; refined products 1,354 km (2003)
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]	African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the New National Party or NNP; note - NNP split from DP in 2001) [Anthony LEON]; Freedom Front or FF [Dr. Pieter MULDER, president]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; New National Party or NNP [Marthinus VAN SCHALKWYK]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]
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]	Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]; note - COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance with the ANC
Population	9,724,723 (July 2007 est.)	42,768,678 note: South Africa took a census October 1996 that showed a population of 40,583,611 (after an official adjustment for a 6.8% underenumeration based on a postenumeration survey); 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 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	27.1% (2003 est.)	50% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.41% (2007 est.)	0.01% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha
Radio broadcast stations	AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)	AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)
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: 22,298 km narrow gauge: 21,984 km 1.065-m gauge (10,436 km electrified); 314 km 0.610-m gauge note: includes a 2,228 km commuter rail system (2002)
Religions	Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)	Christian 68% (includes most whites and Coloreds, about 60% of blacks and about 40% of Indians), Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% (60% of Indians), indigenous beliefs and animist 28.5%
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: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 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: the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	3.368 million (2006)	more than 5 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	5.96 million (2006)	7.06 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations	47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)	556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	generally flat and contains much marshland	vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Total fertility rate	1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.24 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)	37% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2001 est.)
Waterways	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)	NA

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