##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Belarus (2008) - Singapore (2002)
Compare Belarus (2008) z Singapore (2002)
| Belarus (2008) | Singapore (2002) | |
 |  | |
| 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 |
none |
| 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: 17.6% (male 404,212; female 378,660)
15-64 years: 75.3% (male 1,630,696; female 1,724,532) 65 years and over: 7.1% (male 137,512; female 177,120) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk | rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables; poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish |
| Airports | 67 (2007) | 9 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 36
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
- |
| Area | total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 692.7 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km water: 10 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kansas | slightly more than 3.5 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. | Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, but withdrew two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe. |
| Birth rate | 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.78 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $15.35 billion
expenditures: $16.78 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $27.9 billion
expenditures: $19.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.4 billion |
| 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 |
Singapore |
| Climate | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime | tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 193 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 | 3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution) |
| 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 Singapore
conventional short form: Singapore |
| Currency | - | Singapore dollar (SGD) |
| Death rate | 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.28 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $9.272 billion (30 June 2007) | $8.3 billion (2001 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 Franklin L. LAVIN
embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: PSC Box 470, FPO AP 96534-0001 telephone: [65] 6476-9100 FAX: [65] 6476-9232 |
| 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 Heng Chee CHAN
chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 consulate(s) general: San Francisco consulate(s): 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 | Singapore and Malaysia are considering taking the unresolved dispute over Pulau Batu Putih (Pedra Branca Island) to ICJ; Malaysia concerned over Singapore's land reclamation works on Johor, which affects the maritime boundary, shipping lanes, and water ecology in the Tebrau Reach |
| Economic aid - recipient | $53.76 million (2005) | $NA |
| Economy - overview | 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. Nevertheless, GDP growth has been strong in recent years, reaching nearly 8% in 2007, despite the roadblocks of 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. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2007, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Russia has 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 - 80% will go to Russia in 2008, and 85% in 2009. Russia also increased Belarusian natural gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm in 2007, and plans to increase prices gradually to world levels by 2011. Russia's recent policy of bringing energy prices for Belarus to world market levels may result in a slowdown in economic growth in Belarus over the next few years. Some policy measures, including tightening of fiscal and monetary policies, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying exports, have been introduced, but external borrowing has been the main mechanism used to manage the growing pressures on the economy. | Singapore, a highly developed and successful free-market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing, and was hard hit in 2001 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. In 2001, GDP contracted by 2.2%. The economy is expected to recover in 2002 in response to improvements in the US economy, and GDP growth for 2002 is projected to be 3% to 4%. In the longer term the government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle than the current export-led model, but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. |
| Electricity - consumption | 29.49 billion kWh (2005) | 25.947 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 5.053 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 9.091 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 29.08 billion kWh (2005) | 27.9 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
lowest point: Singapore Strait 0 m
highest point: Bukit Timah 166 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 | industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia |
| 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
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) | Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% |
| Exchange rates | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003) | Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.8388 (January 2002), 1.7917 (2001), 1.7240 (2000), 1.6950 (1999), 1.6736 (1998), 1.4848 (1997) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergey SIDORSKIY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since 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 Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Chok Tong GOH (since 28 November 1990) and Deputy Prime Ministers Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Hsien Loong LEE (since 28 November 1990) and Keng Yam Tony TAN (since 1 August 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 28 August 1999 (next to be held by August 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN elected president unopposed |
| Exports | 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $122 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels |
| Exports - partners | Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006) | Malaysia 18%, US 17%, Hong Kong 8%, Japan 7.5%, Taiwan 6%, Thailand 4.3%, China 4%, South Korea 3.6%, Germany 3%, Netherlands 3% (2000) |
| 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 horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $106.3 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 40.6% services: 50.6% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: NEGL%
industry: 33% services: 67% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $24,700 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6.9% (2007 est.) | -2.2% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 28 00 E | 1 22 N, 103 48 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes | focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes |
| Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
| Highways | - | total: 3,150 km
paved: 3,066 km (including 150 km of expressways) unpaved: 84 km (2000) |
| 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 | as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, to use as a transit point for Golden Triangle heroin and as a venue for money laundering |
| Imports | 378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $116 billion (2001 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006) | Japan 17%, Malaysia 17%, US 15%, China 5%, Taiwan 4.4%, Thailand 4.3%, South Korea 3.6%, Saudi Arabia 3% (2000) |
| Independence | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 9 August 1965 (from Malaysia) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2007 est.) | -17.5% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators | electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, biotechnology |
| 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.) |
3.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.3% (2007 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, 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) | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 9 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,310 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
| 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 (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals |
| Labor force | 4.3 million (31 December 2005) | 2.19 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.) |
financial, business, and other services 35%, manufacturing 21%, construction 13%, transportation and communication 9%, other 22% |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,098 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 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: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0% other: 98.36% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Belarusian, Russian, other | Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official) |
| Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law; 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 (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; the losing opposition candidate who came closet to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member
elections: last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held 25 June 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3% (in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SDA 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.05 years
male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 80.29 years
male: 77.34 years female: 83.47 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.5% male: 97% female: 89.8% (1999) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, east of Poland | Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia |
| Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice
territorial sea: 3 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 876 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,686,612 GRT/32,647,743 DWT
ships by type: bulk 131, cargo 100, chemical tanker 81, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 6, container 168, liquefied gas 35, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 287, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 32 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 7, Belgium 6, China 12, Denmark 27, Germany 17, Greece 4, Hong Kong 44, Indonesia 8, Japan 52, Malaysia 4, Monaco 22, Netherlands 2, Norway 42, Philippines 6, Russia 3, Slovenia 1, South Korea 10, Sweden 13, Switzerland 7, Taiwan 46, Tanzania 2, Thailand 22, United Arab Emirates 4, United Kingdom 14, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008) | Army, Navy, Air Force, People's Defense Force, Police Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $4.47 billion (FY01/02 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2005 est.) | 4.9% (FY01/02) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,354,857 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 986,101 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 3 July (1944); note - 3 July 1944 was the date Minsk was liberated from German troops, 25 August 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union | Independence Day, 9 August (1965) |
| Nationality | noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
noun: Singaporean(s)
adjective: Singapore |
| Natural hazards | NA | NA |
| Natural resources | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay | fish, deepwater ports |
| Net migration rate | 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 26.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007) | - |
| 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 [Nikolay ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergey GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH]
opposition parties: Belarusian Christian Democracy Party (unregistered) [Pavel SEVERINETS]; Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Sergey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada (People's Assembly) or BSDPH [Aleksandr KOZULIN; Anatoliy LEVKOVICH, acting]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatoliy LEBEDKO]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergey YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR] |
Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [leader NA]; People's Action Party or PAP [Chok Tong GOH, secretary general] - the governing party; Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong] (includes Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong], Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan], National Solidarity Party [leader NA], Singapore Justice Party [leader NA], and Singapore Malay National Organization [leader NA]); Workers' Party or WP [J. B. JEYARETNAM] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Aleksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; For Freedom (unregistered) [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH]; 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) [Dmitriy DASHKEVICH, Sergey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS] | NA |
| Population | 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.) | 4,452,732 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 27.1% (2003 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | -0.41% (2007 est.) | 3.46% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Singapore |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 0, FM 16, shortwave 2 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 2.6 million (2000) |
| 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: 38.6 km
narrow gauge: 38.6 km 1.000-m gauge note: there is also a 83 km mass transit system with 48 stations |
| Religions | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) | Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist |
| 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: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| 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: major consideration given to serving business interests; excellent international service
domestic: excellent domestic facilities international: submarine cables to Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 3.368 million (2006) | 1.95 million (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.96 million (2006) | 2.74 million (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) | 6 (2000) |
| Terrain | generally flat and contains much marshland | lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve |
| Total fertility rate | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.23 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) | 4.7% (2001 est.) |
| Waterways | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) | none |
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