Cameroon (2003) | Belarus (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest | 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: 42.3% (male 3,372,129; female 3,291,295)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 4,315,672; female 4,265,286) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 227,444; female 274,353) (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, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 49 (2002) | 124 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 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: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 11 (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: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in 1961 to form the present country. Cameroon has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of an ethnic oligarchy. | 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 | 35.49 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.2 billion
expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 00/01 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Yaounde | Minsk |
Climate | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 402 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 | 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 Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
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 | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 15.3 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.6 billion (2002 est.) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador George McDade STAPLES
embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde mailing address: P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 223-05-12, 222-25-89, 222-17-94, 223-40-14 FAX: [237] 223-07-53 branch office(s): Douala |
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 Jerome MENDOUGA
chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 FAX: [1] (202) 387-3826 |
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 | ICJ ruled in 2002 on the Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary by awarding the potentially petroleum-rich Bakassi Peninsula and offshore region to Cameroon; Nigeria rejected cession of the peninsula, but the parties have formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias; Nigeria agreed to ratify the treaty and relinquish sovereignty of disputed lands to Cameroon by December 2003 | 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 | on 23 January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reduce Cameroon's debt of $1.3 billion by $900 million; total debt relief now amounts to $1.26 billion | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Because of its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as a top-heavy civil service and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise. Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's banks. In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored, three-year structural adjustment program; however, the IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs. International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the economy. | 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 | 3.36 billion kWh (2001) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3.613 billion kWh (2001) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 2.7%
hydro: 97.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Cameroon Mountain) 4,095 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: 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 | Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (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 Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
head of government: Prime Minister Peter Mafany MUSONGE (since 19 September 1996) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 12 October 1997 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 92.6%; note - supporters of the opposition candidates boycotted the elections, making a comparison of vote shares relatively meaningless |
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 | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Italy 16.7%, Spain 16%, France 12.8%, US 8.3%, Netherlands 8.2%, Taiwan 7.7%, China 5.2%, UK 4.4% (2002) | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | 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 - $26.84 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 46%
industry: 21% services: 33% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 N, 12 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano | 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: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 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%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (1996) |
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 | machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | France 28.2%, Nigeria 12.8%, US 8%, Belgium 5.7%, Germany 5.3%, Italy 4.3% (2002) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) |
Independence | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1999 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | total: 70.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 74.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.91 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) | 4.5% (2002 est.) | 42.8% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, C, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, 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 (2002) | 23 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 330 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of 9 judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly) | 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 | NA | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 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: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58% other: 84.61% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - the president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature)
elections: last held 23 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RDCP 133, SDF 21, UDC 5, other 21 note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established |
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: 48.05 years
male: 47.15 years female: 48.97 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: 79% male: 84.7% female: 73.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 50 NM | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes naval infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $118.6 million (FY00) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY98) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,799,841 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,928,285 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 179,586 (2003 est.) | males: 86,654 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) | 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: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower | 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 (2003 est.) | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,124 km (2003) | gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou NDAM NJOYA]; Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People or RDCP [Paul BIYA]; Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]; Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [leader Marcel YONDO]; Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MYC [Dieudonne TINA]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA]; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK] | 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 | Southern Cameroon National Council [Frederick Ebong ALOBWEDE]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president] | NA |
Population | 15,746,179
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 | 48% (2000 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.02% (2003 est.) | -0.12% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Railways | total: 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | 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: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 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 | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: available only to business and government
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic 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 | 95,000 (2001) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 300,000 (2002) | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 4.63 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2001 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | 2,090 km (of decreasing importance) (2002) | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |