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Compare Cook Islands (2006) - Belarus (2003)
Compare Cook Islands (2006) z Belarus (2003)
| Cook Islands (2006) | Belarus (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none | 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: 34.1% (male 2,718/female 2,388)
15-64 years: 59.5% (male 4,531/female 4,395) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 489/female 469) (2001 census) |
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 | copra, citrus, pineapples, tomatoes, beans, pawpaws, bananas, yams, taro, coffee; pigs, poultry | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 9 (2006) | 124 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
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: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (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: 236.7 sq km
land: 236.7 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Named after Captain COOK, who sighted them in 1770, the islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, administrative control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965 residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand. The emigration of skilled workers to New Zealand and government deficits are continuing problems. | 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 | 21 births/1,000 population (2001 census) | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $70.95 million
expenditures: $69.05 million; including capital expenditures of $5.744 million (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
| Capital | name: Avarua
geographic coordinates: 21 12 S, 159 46 W time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Minsk |
| Climate | tropical oceanic; moderated by trade winds; a dry season from April to November and a more humid season from December to March | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 120 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 4 August 1965 | 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: none
conventional short form: Cook Islands former: Harvey Islands |
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 | NA deaths/1,000 population | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $141 million (1996 est.) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
| Dependency status | self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense, in consultation with the Cook Islands | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) | 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 | none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) | 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 encouraging illegal border crossing; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support |
| Economic aid - recipient | $13.1 million; note - New Zealand continues to furnish the greater part (1995) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Like many other South Pacific island nations, the Cook Islands' economic development is hindered by the isolation of the country from foreign markets, the limited size of domestic markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure. Agriculture, employing about 70% of the working population, provides the economic base with major exports made up of copra and citrus fruit. Black pearls are the Cook Island's leading export. Manufacturing activities are limited to fruit processing, clothing, and handicrafts. Trade deficits are offset by remittances from emigrants and by foreign aid, overwhelmingly from New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country lived beyond its means, maintaining a bloated public service and accumulating a large foreign debt. Subsequent reforms, including the sale of state assets, the strengthening of economic management, the encouragement of tourism, and a debt restructuring agreement, have rekindled investment and growth. | 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 | 34.46 million kWh (2005 est.) | 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 | 28 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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Te Manga 652 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | NA | 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, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 | Cook Island Maori (Polynesian) 87.7%, part Cook Island Maori 5.8%, other 6.5% (2001 census) | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Frederick GOODWIN (since 9 February 2001); New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since 6 September 2005), representative of New Zealand
head of government: Prime Minister Jim MARURAI (since 14 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Terepai MAOATE (since 9 August 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister; collectively responsible to Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the UK representative is appointed by the monarch; the New Zealand high commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes prime minister |
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 | copra, papayas, fresh and canned citrus fruit, coffee; fish; pearls and pearl shells; clothing | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | Australia 34%, Japan 27%, New Zealand 25%, US 8% (2004) | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for every island) centered in the outer half of the flag | 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: 15.1%
industry: 9.6% services: 75.3% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 0.1% (2005 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 21 14 S, 159 46 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated, coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands, where most of the population lives, consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles, including the largest, Rarotonga, at 67 sq km | 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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber, capital goods | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | New Zealand 61%, Fiji 19%, US 9%, Australia 6%, Japan 2% (2004) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) |
| Independence | none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2002) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
| Industries | fruit processing, tourism, fishing, clothing, handicrafts | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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) | 2.1% (2005 est.) | 42.8% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, FAO, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IOC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO | 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 | NA | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | High 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 | 6,820 (2001) | 4.8 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 29%
industry: 15% services: 56% (1995) |
industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
| 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: 16.67%
permanent crops: 8.33% other: 75% (2005) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | English (official), Maori | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on New Zealand law and English common law | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consisting of a lower house or Legislative Assembly with 25 seats (24 seats representing districts of the Cook Islands and one seat representing Cook Islanders living overseas; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and an upper house or House of Ariki made up of traditional leaders
elections: last held 26 September 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Demo 51.9%, CIP 45.5%, independent 2.7%; seats by party - Demo 15, CIP 8, independent 1 note: the House of Ariki advises on traditional matters and maintains considerable influence, but has no legislative powers |
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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Oceania | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1000 GRT or over) 48,422 GRT/51,900 DWT
by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 3 foreign-owned: 5 (Norway 1, NZ 1, Sweden 3) (2006) |
- |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request | - |
| Military branches | no regular military forces; Ministry of Police and Disaster Management (2005) | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $176.1 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 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 | Constitution Day, first Monday in August (1965) | 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: Cook Islander(s)
adjective: Cook Islander |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | typhoons (November to March) | NA |
| Natural resources | NEGL | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | - | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| People - note | 2001 census counted a resident population of 15,017 | - |
| Pipelines | - | gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003) |
| Political parties and leaders | Cook Islands Party or CIP [Henry PUNA]; Democratic Party or Demo [Dr. Terepai MAOATE] | 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 | 21,388 (July 2006 est.) | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -1.2% between 1996-2001 (2001 census) | -0.12% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) | 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 | Cook Islands Christian Church 55.9%, Roman Catholic 16.8%, Seventh-Day Adventists 7.9%, Church of Latter Day Saints 3.8%, other Protestant 5.8%, other 4.2%, unspecified 2.6%, none 3% (2001 census) | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
| Sex ratio | 107 male(s)/female (2001 census) | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: Telecom Cook Islands offers international direct dialing, Internet, email, fax, and Telex
domestic: the individual islands are connected by a combination of satellite earth stations, microwave systems, and VHF and HF radiotelephone; within the islands, service is provided by small exchanges connected to subscribers by open-wire, cable, and fiber-optic cable international: country code - 682; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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 | 6,200 (2002) | 2.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,500 (2002) | 8,167 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (outer islands receive satellite broadcasts) (2004) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 3.1 children born/woman (2001 census) | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 13.1% (2005) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
| Waterways | - | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |
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