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Compare Botswana (2001) - Belarus (2004)

Compare Botswana (2001) z Belarus (2004)

 Botswana (2001)Belarus (2004)
 BotswanaBelarus
Administrative divisions 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern 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
Age structure 0-14 years:
40.3% (male 321,164; female 318,007)

15-64 years:
55.56% (male 423,954; female 457,227)

65 years and over:
4.14% (male 26,691; female 39,076) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)


15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203)


65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 92 (2000 est.) 135 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total:
11

2,438 to 3,047 m:
2

1,524 to 2,437 m:
8

914 to 1,523 m:
1 (2000 est.)
total: 50


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 21


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6


under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
81

1,524 to 2,437 m:
3

914 to 1,523 m:
56

under 914 m:
22 (2000 est.)
total: 85


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.)
Area total:
600,370 sq km

land:
585,370 sq km

water:
15,000 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Texas slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining. 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.
Birth rate 28.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues:
$1.6 billion

expenditures:
$1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96)
revenues: $2.976 billion


expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.)
Capital Gaborone Minsk
Climate semiarid; warm winters and hot summers cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 30 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
Country name conventional long form:
Republic of Botswana

conventional short form:
Botswana

former:
Bechuanaland
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus


conventional short form: Belarus


local long form: Respublika Byelarus'


local short form: none


former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency pula (BWP) Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Death rate 24.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $455 million (2000) $851 million (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador John E. LANGE

embassy:
address NA, Gaborone

mailing address:
P. O. Box 90, Gaborone

telephone:
[267] 353982

FAX:
[267] 356947
chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., 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
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV

chancery:
1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:
[1] (202) 244-4990

FAX:
[1] (202) 244-4164
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
Disputes - international none 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support
Economic aid - recipient $73 million (1995) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $6,600 in 2000. Diamond mining has fueled much of Botswana's economic expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for three-fourths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. The government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 19%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely to be hampered by high inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. 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. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
Electricity - consumption 1.517 billion kWh (1999) 26.69 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 950 million kWh (1999) 4.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 610 million kWh (1999) 24.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
100%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point:
junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m

highest point:
Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment - international agreements party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates pulas per US dollar - 5.4585 (January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996) Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999)
Executive branch chief of state:
President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); 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 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president

election results:
Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3%
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Ivan BAMBIZA (since 25 May 2004), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002)


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 LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in September 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 75.6%, Vladimir GONCHARIK 15.4%
Exports $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998) machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
Flag description light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center 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 ornamention in red
GDP purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
4%

industry:
46% (including 36% mining)

services:
50% (1998 est.)
agriculture: 11.1%


industry: 36.4%


services: 52.5% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6% (2000 est.) 6.8% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 22 00 S, 24 00 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes; the country is geologically well endowed with extensive deposits of granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, and clay
Heliports - 1 (2003 est.)
Highways total:
18,482 km

paved:
4,343 km

unpaved:
14,139 km (1996)
total: 74,385 km


paved: 66,203 km


unpaved: 8,182 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
lowest 10%: 5.1%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
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 $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003)
Independence 30 September 1966 (from UK) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 6.2% (2000 est.) 5% (2003 est.)
Industries diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate 63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 8.6% (2000 est.) 28.2% (2003 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 3 (2000) -
Irrigated land 20 sq km (1993 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) 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)
Labor force 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) 4.8 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.) NA
Land boundaries total:
4,013 km

border countries:
Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km
total: 2,900 km


border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 407 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Land use arable land:
1%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
46%

forests and woodland:
47%

other:
6% (1993 est.)
arable land: 29.55%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 69.85% (2001)
Languages English (official), Setswana Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on civil law system
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)

elections:
National Assembly elections last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004)

election results:
percent of vote by party - BDP 57.2%, BNF 26%, other 16.8%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats; 56 members elected by regional councils and 8 members appointed by the president, all for 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteliy (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)


elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004 (bi-election will be held March 2005 to fill one unfilled seat in the Palata Predstaviteliy); international observers widely denounced the October 2004 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 Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population:
37.13 years

male:
36.77 years

female:
37.51 years (2001 est.)
total population: 68.57 years


male: 62.79 years


female: 74.65 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
69.8%

male:
80.5%

female:
59.9% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, north of South Africa Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Africa Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military branches Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $61 million (FY99) $176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2% (FY99) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
380,152 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
199,995 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
19,479 (2001 est.)
males: 86,716 (2004 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 30 September (1966) 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
Nationality noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)

adjective:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural)
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility NA
Natural resources diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines - gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Kenneth KOMA]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Michael DINGAKE]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]

note:
main parties are: BDP, BNF, BCP; other minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim SETSHWAELO, chairman] but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Botswana Peoples Party, the Independence Freedom Party [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE]
Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]


note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 1,586,119

note:
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 2001 est.)
10,310,520 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 47% (2000 est.) 22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate 0.47% (2001 est.) -0.11% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors none Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5 (1998) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios 237,000 (1997) -
Railways total:
888 km

narrow gauge:
888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000)
total: 5,523 km


broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003)
Religions indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.68 male(s)/female

total population:
0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female


total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
sparse system

domestic:
small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations

international:
two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly


domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational


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); three 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
Telephones - main lines in use 86,000 (1997) 3,071,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 1.118 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations 0 (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 3.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) 1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 40% (2000 est.) 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.)
Waterways none 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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