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Compare Burundi (2003) - Belarus (2003)

Compare Burundi (2003) z Belarus (2003)

 Burundi (2003)Belarus (2003)
 BurundiBelarus
Administrative divisions 16 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk); note - when using a place name with the adjectival ending 'skaya,' the word voblasts' should be added to the place name


note: voblasti have the administrative center name following in parentheses
Age structure 0-14 years: 46.7% (male 1,438,759; female 1,409,567)


15-64 years: 50.6% (male 1,516,833; female 1,564,513)


65 years and over: 2.7% (male 66,355; female 100,129) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 16.8% (male 885,265; female 848,516)


15-64 years: 68.9% (male 3,456,769; female 3,652,766)


65 years and over: 14.3% (male 490,529; female 988,306) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 7 (2002) 124 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
total: 28


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 21


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 6


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 3 (2002)
total: 96


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 11


914 to 1,523 m: 14


under 914 m: 67 (2002)
Area total: 27,830 sq km


land: 25,650 sq km


water: 2,180 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly smaller than Kansas
Background Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only four months in office. Since then, some 200,000 Burundians have perished in widespread, often intense ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Hundreds of thousands have been internally displaced or have become refugees in neighboring countries. Burundi troops, seeking to secure their borders, intervened in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1998. More recently, many of these troops have been redeployed back to Burundi to deal with periodic upsurges in rebel activity. A new transitional government, inaugurated on 1 November 2001, was to be the first step toward holding national elections in three years. While the Government of Burundi signed a cease-fire agreement in December 2002 with three of Burundi's four Hutu rebel groups, implementation of the agreement has been problematic and one rebel group refuses to sign on, clouding prospects for a sustainable peace. 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 39.72 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $125 million


expenditures: $176 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $4 billion


expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Capital Bujumbura Minsk
Climate equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; wet seasons from February to May and September to November, and dry seasons from June to August and December to January cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution 13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 6 June 1998 by a Transitional Constitution which enlarged the National Assembly and created two vice presidents 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Burundi


conventional short form: Burundi


local long form: Republika y'u Burundi


local short form: Burundi


former: Urundi
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 Burundi franc (BIF) Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Death rate 17.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $1.14 billion (2001) $851 million (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador James Howard YELLIN


embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura


mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura


telephone: [257] 223454


FAX: [257] 222926
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. KOZAK


embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002


mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723


telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83


FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Antoine NTAMOBWA


chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574


FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578
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 Tutsi, Hutu, and other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite UN peacekeeping efforts 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and encouraging illegal border crossing; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support
Economic aid - recipient $92.7 million (2000) $194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with roughly 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. Since October 1993 an ethnic-based war has resulted in the death of over 200,000 persons, sent 800,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 525,000 others internally. Doubts about the prospects for sustainable peace continue to impede development. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in ten adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. 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 enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by high inflation and persistent trade deficits, 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. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies.
Electricity - consumption 177.5 million kWh (2001) 26.69 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 33 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001) 4.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 155.4 million kWh (2001) 24.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 0.6%


hydro: 99.4%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
fossil fuel: 99.5%


hydro: 0.1%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0.4% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m


highest point: Mount Heha 2,670 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 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 Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates Burundi francs per US dollar - NA (2002), 830.35 (2001), 720.67 (2000), 563.56 (1999), 447.77 (1998) Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998)
Executive branch chief of state: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Alphonse KADEGE (since 30 April 2003); note - from the Tutsi minority


head of government: President Domitien NDAYIZEYE (since 30 April 2003); note - NDAYIZEYE, a Hutu, was sworn in as president for the second half of the three-year transitional government inaugurated on 1 November 2001; Vice President Alphonse KADEGE (since 30 April 2003); note - from the Tutsi minority


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president


elections: NA; current president assumed power on 30 April 2003 as part of the transitional government established by the 2000 Arusha Accord
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (acting; since 10 July 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Sergei SIDORSKY (since 24 September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Roman VNUCHKO (since 10 July 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 LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001 (next election to be held by 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 NA (2001) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners Switzerland 28.8%, Germany 20.2%, Belgium 9.4%, Kenya 7.8%, Rwanda 6.5%, Netherlands 4.6% (2002) Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and outer side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) 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 a Belarusian national ornament in red
GDP purchasing power parity - $3.146 billion (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 50%


industry: 19%


services: 31% (2002 est.)
agriculture: 15%


industry: 40%


services: 45% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $500 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.5% (2002 est.) 4.7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 3 30 S, 30 00 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile 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
Highways total: 14,480 km


paved: 1,028 km


unpaved: 13,452 km (1999 est.)
total: 74,385 km


paved: 66,203 km


unpaved: 8,182 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1.8%


highest 10%: 32.9% (1998)
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; lax money-laundering and banking regulations
Imports NA (2001) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners Belgium 12.4%, Saudi Arabia 12.3%, Tanzania 9.3%, Kenya 7.7%, France 7.4%, India 4.5% (2002) Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002)
Independence 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 18% (2001) 2.5% (2002 est.)
Industries light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate total: 71.54 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 78.45 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 64.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 13.87 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 15.13 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 12.56 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 12% (2002 est.) 42.8% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NAM (observer), NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 23 (2002)
Irrigated land 740 sq km (1998 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) 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 3.7 million (2000) 4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation NA industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total: 974 km


border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 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: 29.98%


permanent crops: 12.85%


other: 57.17% (1998 est.)
arable land: 29.76%


permanent crops: 0.69%


other: 69.55% (1998 est.)
Languages Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on civil law system
Legislative branch bicameral, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (expanded from 121 to approximately 140 seats under the transitional government inaugurated 1 November 2001; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; term length is undefined, the current senators will likely serve out the three-year transition period)


elections: last held 29 June 1993 (next was scheduled to be held in 1998, but was suspended by presidential decree in 1996; elections are planned to follow the completion of the three-year transitional government)


election results: percent of vote by party - FRODEBU 71.04%, UPRONA 21.4%, other 7.56%; seats by party - FRODEBU 65, UPRONA 16, civilians 27, other parties 13
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 Pretsaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)


elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless
Life expectancy at birth total population: 43.2 years


male: 42.54 years


female: 43.88 years (2003 est.)
total population: 68.43 years


male: 62.54 years


female: 74.6 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 51.6%


male: 58.5%


female: 45.2% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.6%


male: 99.8%


female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
Location Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Africa Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military branches Army (including naval and air units), Gendarmerie Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military expenditures - dollar figure $42.13 million (FY02) $176.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.3% (FY02) 1.4% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,375,900 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 723,516 (2003 est.) males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age 16 years of age (2003 est.) 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 79,462 (2003 est.) males: 86,654 (2003 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 1 July (1962) 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: Burundian(s)


adjective: Burundian
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards flooding, landslides, drought NA
Natural resources nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited), vanadium, arable land, hydropower forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate -0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines - gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders the two national, mainstream, governing parties are: Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Alphonse KADEGE, president]; Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Jean MINANI, president]


note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: Burundi African Alliance for the Salvation or ABASA [Terrence NSANZE]; Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development or RADDES [Joseph NZEYIMANA]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA]; People's Reconciliation Party or PRP [Mathias HITIMANA]
Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party or Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Anatol LIABEDZKA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party or "Nadezhda" [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson]
Political pressure groups and leaders loosely organized Hutu and Tutsi militias, often affiliated with Hutu and Tutsi extremist parties or subordinate to government security forces NA
Population 6,096,156


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 2003 est.)
10,322,151 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 70% (2002 est.) 22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate 2.18% (2003 est.) -0.12% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Bujumbura Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Railways 0 km total: 5,523 km


broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002)
Religions Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% 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: 1.02 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 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 (2003 est.)
Suffrage NA years of age; universal adult 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: primitive system


domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay


international: 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's fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational


international: 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 18,000 (2002) 2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 30,000 (2002) 8,167 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2001) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 5.99 children born/woman (2003 est.) 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Waterways Lake Tanganyika NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
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