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Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) - Belarus (2006)
Compare Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) z Belarus (2006)
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2006) | Belarus (2006) | |
 Islands-2006-bmala.jpg) |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741)
15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 1 (2006) | 86 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 41
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: 12 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 45
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 35 (2006) |
| Area | total: 14 sq km
land: 14 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William KEELING discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. Annexed by the UK in 1857, they were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955. The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on Home Island. | 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, Alexander 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 | NA | 11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $5.903 billion
expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2005 est.) |
| Capital | name: West Island
geographic coordinates: 12 10 S, 96 55 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Minsk
geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 26 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 (23 November 1955) as amended by the Territories Law Reform Act of 1992 | 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: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Belarus
conventional short form: Belarus local long form: Respublika Byelarus' local short form: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | - | $4.662 billion (30 June 2005 est.) |
| Dependency status | non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Mikhail KHVOSTOV
chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York |
| Disputes - international | none | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political union with Russia proceed slowly |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia. There is a small tourist industry. | Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, 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. During 2005, the government 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 continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. |
| Electricity - consumption | - | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | - | 800 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | - | 7 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | - | 30 billion kWh (2004) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine |
| Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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 | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
| Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator (nonresident) Neil LUCAS (since 30 January 2006) cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
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 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 allowing president to run in a third election 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 | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | copra | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | Australia (2004) | Russia 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%, China 4.1% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
| Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red |
| GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 9.3%
industry: 31.6% services: 59.1% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | - | 9.2% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | 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; 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 | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | Australia (2004) | Russia 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005) |
| Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | - | 15.6% (2005 est.) |
| Industries | copra products and tourism | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 10.3% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | none | BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
| Irrigated land | NA | 1,310 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | 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 | 4.3 million (31 December 2005) |
| Labor force - by occupation | note: the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | 0 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land: 26.77%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005) |
| Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats)
elections: held every two years with half the members standing for election; last held in May 2005 (next to be held in May 2007) |
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 8 members appointed by the president, all for four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage 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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 69.08 years
male: 63.47 years female: 74.98 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory has a five-person police force | - |
| Military branches | - | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $420.5 million (2006) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (FY02) |
| National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | 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: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | NA |
| Natural resources | fish | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | NA | 2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | none | 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 [Alyaksandr 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 Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; 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 | none | 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 | 574 (July 2006 est.) | 10,293,011 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | - | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0% (2006 est.) | -0.06% (2006 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Railways | - | total: 5,512 km
broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2005) |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
| Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 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 (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | NA | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication system
domestic: NA international: country code - 61; telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 INTELSAT satellite earth station |
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; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly
domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; four 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); 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 | 287 (1992) | 3,284,300 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | note - analog cellular service available | 4.098 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | NA | 1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) |
| Waterways | - | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |
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