Central African Republic (2006) | Belarus (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi*, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere*, Vakaga | 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: 41.9% (male 907,629/female 897,153)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 1,146,346/female 1,173,268) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 71,312/female 107,648) (2006 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 | cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 50 (2006) | 124 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006) |
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: 47
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 13 (2006) |
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: 622,984 sq km
land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. | 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 | 33.91 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | name: Bangui
geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Minsk |
Climate | tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | ratified by popular referendum 5 December 2004; effective 27 December 2004 | 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: Central African Republic
conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Centrafricaine local short form: none former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire abbreviation: CAR |
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 | - | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 18.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.06 billion (2002 est.) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James PANOS
embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00 FAX: [236] 61 44 94 note: the embassy is currently operating with a minimal staff |
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 Emmanuel TOUABOY
chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893 |
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 | about 30,000 refugees fleeing the 2002 civil conflict in the CAR still reside in southern Chad; periodic skirmishes over water and grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border with southern Sudan persist | 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 | ODA, $59.8 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France (2002 est.) | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry, for 40%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization, with GDP growth at only 0.5% in 2004 and 2.5% in 2005. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs. | 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 | 98.58 million kWh (2003) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 106 million kWh (2003) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m
highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation | 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 | Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) | 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 Francois BOZIZE (since 15 March 2003 coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Elie DOTE (since 13 June 2005); note - Celestin GAOMBALET resigned 11 June 2005 cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: under the new constitution, the president elected to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 13 March and 8 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the political party with a parliamentary majority election results: Francois BOZIZE elected president; percent of second round balloting - Francois BOZIZE (KNK) 64.6%, Martin ZIGUELE (MLPC) 35.4% |
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 bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Belgium 34.1%, France 9.5%, Spain 8.5%, Italy 7.9%, China 6.9%, Indonesia 6.2%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 4.6%, US 4.4%, Turkey 4.4% (2005) | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band | 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 - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 55%
industry: 20% services: 25% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2005 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 21 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa | 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: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 47.7% (1993) |
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 bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | France 16.7%, Netherlands 10.4%, Cameroon 9.8%, US 7.4% (2005) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) |
Independence | 13 August 1960 (from France) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2002) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | total: 85.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 92.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 78.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 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) | 3.6% (2001 est.) | 42.8% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OIF, OPCW, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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) | - | 23 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (2003) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts | 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 | - | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 5,203 km
border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 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: 3.1%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 96.75% (2005) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | based on French law | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 March 2005 and 8 May 2005 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7 |
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: 43.54 years
male: 43.46 years female: 43.62 years (2006 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% male: 63.3% female: 39.9% (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, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Central African Armed Forces (FACA): Ground Forces, Military Air Service; General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG), Republican Guard, National Police (2006) | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $16.37 million (2005 est.) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (2005 est.) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 86,654 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 1 December (1958) | 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: Central African(s)
adjective: Central African |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common | NA |
Natural resources | diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, 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 (2006 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 | Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [Ange-Felix PATASSE] (the party of deposed president); National Convergence or KNK; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE] | 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 4,303,356
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 2006 est.) |
10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.53% (2006 est.) | -0.12% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%
note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority |
Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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 | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fair system
domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1 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 | 10,000 (2004) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 60,000 (2004) | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 4.41 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | 2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2005) | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |