Compare Cameroon (2004) - Belarus (2007)

Compare Cameroon (2004) z Belarus (2007)

	Cameroon (2004)	Belarus (2007)

Administrative divisions	10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest	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: 42% (male 3,416,086; female 3,334,904) 15-64 years: 54.8% (male 4,425,246; female 4,370,329) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 233,506; female 283,607) (2004 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	coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber	grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports	47 (2003 est.)	67 (2007)
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 (2004 est.)	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: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.)	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: 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. 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	35.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $2.442 billion expenditures: $1.941 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)	revenues: $13.24 billion expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	Yaounde	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	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	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: 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: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency	Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States	-
Death rate	15.34 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$7.236 billion (2003 est.)	$5.929 billion (2006 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 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	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 entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; the ICF ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, however, implementation of the decision is delayed due to imprecisely defined coordinates, the unresolved Bakasi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakasi Peninsula; 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	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	on 23 January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reduce Cameroon's debt of $1.3 billion by $900 million; debt relief now totals $1.26 billion	$53.76 million (2005)
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's economy in 2006 posted more than 8% growth. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2006, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. 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, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in 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. This growth will be threatened in 2007, however, when Russia raises energy prices closer to world market prices for Belarus. Russia is planning to increase Belarusian gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm for 2007, gradually increasing to world prices by 2011. Russia has also 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 - 70% will go to Russia in 2007, 80% in 2008, and 85% in 2009.
Electricity - consumption	3.36 billion kWh (2001)	29.49 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	5.053 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	9.091 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	3.613 billion kWh (2001)	29.08 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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	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 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)	Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982) head of government: Prime Minister Ephraim INONI (since 8 Dec 2004) 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 11 October 2004 (next to be held NA October 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 70.9%, John FRU NDI 17.4%, Adamou Ndam NJOYA 4.5%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.7%	chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKIY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since NA 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	NA (2001)	249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners	Spain 21.9%, Italy 13.4%, France 10.8%, Netherlands 10.6%, US 7.5%, China 4.4% (2003)	Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006)
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 Belarusian national ornamentation in red
GDP	purchasing power parity - $27.75 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 42.6% industry: 19.8% services: 37.6% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 9.2% industry: 41.7% services: 49.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	4.2% (2003 est.)	9.9% (2006 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
Heliports	-	1 (2007)
Highways	total: 34,300 km paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (1999 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.9% highest 10%: 36.6% (1996)	lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 23.5% (2002)
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	NA (2001)	378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners	France 21.9%, Nigeria 9.5%, Japan 6.8%, US 5.7%, China 4.9%, Germany 4.3% (2003)	Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006)
Independence	1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	4.2% (1999 est.)	15.6% (2005 est.)
Industries	petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate	total: 69.18 deaths/1,000 live births male: 73.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 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)	2.3% (2003 est.)	7% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, 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	330 sq km (1998 est.)	1,310 sq km (2003)
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	6.49 million NA (2003)	4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17%	agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
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% (2001)	arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)
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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 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: 47.95 years male: 47.1 years female: 48.83 years (2004 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: 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: 99.4% (1999 census)
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)
Merchant marine	total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 169,593 GRT/357,023 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2004 est.)	-
Military branches	Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force	Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$189.2 million (2003)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2003)	1.4% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 3,898,944 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 1,979,151 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 184,054 (2004 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 (2004 est.)	0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004)	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006)
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]	pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH] opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Aleksandr MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party (People's Assembly) or BSDP NH [Aleksandr KOZULIN]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president]	Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; 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) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]
Population	16,063,678 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 2004 est.)	9,724,723 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	48% (2000 est.)	27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	1.97% (2004 est.)	-0.41% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko	-
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 (2003)	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	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: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 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	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: country code - 237; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia	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	110,900 (2002)	3.368 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.077 million (2003)	5.96 million (2006)
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	4.55 children born/woman (2004 est.)	1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	30% (2001 est.)	1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways	navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004)	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)

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