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Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) - Belarus (2008)

Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) z Belarus (2008)

 British Virgin Islands (2008)Belarus (2008)
 British Virgin IslandsBelarus
Administrative divisions none (overseas territory of the UK) 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: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)


15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534)


65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.)
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.)
Agriculture - products fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 3 (2007) 67 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
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)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
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: 153 sq km


land: 153 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Kansas
Background First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. 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.
Birth rate 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $204.7 million


expenditures: $180.4 million (2004)
revenues: $15.35 billion


expenditures: $16.78 billion (2007 est.)
Capital name: Road Town


geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W


time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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
Climate subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 80 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 13 June 2007 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
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: British Virgin Islands


abbreviation: BVI
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
Death rate 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $36.1 million (1997) $9.272 billion (30 June 2007)
Dependency status overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (overseas territory of the UK) 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
Diplomatic representation in the US none (overseas territory of the UK) 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 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
Economic aid - recipient $NA $53.76 million (2005)
Economy - overview The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. 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.
Electricity - consumption 41.85 million kWh (2005) 29.49 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 5.053 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 9.091 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 45 million kWh (2005) 29.08 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mount Sage 521 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) 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: 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
Ethnic groups black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates the US dollar is used Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,145 (2007), 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003)
Executive branch chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)


head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007)


cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor
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
Exports 0 bbl/day (2004) 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
Flag description blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) 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
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 1.8%


industry: 6.2%


services: 92% (1996 est.)
agriculture: 8.7%


industry: 40.6%


services: 50.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 1% (2002 est.) 6.9% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 18 30 N, 64 30 W 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes
Heliports - 1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 3.4%


highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering 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 604.3 bbl/day (2004) 378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)
Independence none (overseas territory of the UK) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 5% (2007 est.)
Industries tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2% (2005) 8.3% (2007 est.)
International organization participation Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU 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)
Irrigated land NA 1,310 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction 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 12,770 (2004) 4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 0.6%


industry: 40%


services: 59.4% (2005)
agriculture: 14%


industry: 34.7%


services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries 0 km total: 3,098 km


border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Land use arable land: 20%


permanent crops: 6.67%


other: 73.33% (2005)
arable land: 26.77%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 72.63% (2005)
Languages English (official) Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system English law based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011)


election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1
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
Life expectancy at birth total population: 76.86 years


male: 75.71 years


female: 78.07 years (2007 est.)
total population: 70.05 years


male: 64.31 years


female: 76.14 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 97.8% (1991 est.)


male: NA%


female: NA%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.4% (1999 census)
Location Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Europe
Maritime claims territorial sea: 3 nm


exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
none (landlocked)
Military - note defense is the responsibility of the UK -
Military branches - Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 1.4% (2005 est.)
National holiday Territory Day, 1 July (1956) 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: British Virgin Islander(s)


adjective: British Virgin Islander
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) NA
Natural resources NEGL forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines - gas 5,250 km; oil 1,528 km; refined products 1,730 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] 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]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA 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]
Population 23,552 (July 2007 est.) 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 1.923% (2007 est.) -0.41% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (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)
Religions Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female


total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
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.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: worldwide telephone service


domestic: NA


international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007)
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)
Telephones - main lines in use 11,700 (2002) 3.368 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,000 (2002) 5.96 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 3.6% (1997) 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways - 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)
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