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Compare Costa Rica (2003) - Belarus (2001)
Compare Costa Rica (2003) z Belarus (2001)
| Costa Rica (2003) | Belarus (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 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: 30.1% (male 600,812; female 573,375)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 1,269,667; female 1,241,097) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 98,156; female 112,985) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
17.93% (male 947,820; female 908,210) 15-64 years: 68.21% (male 3,428,920; female 3,631,290) 65 years and over: 13.86% (male 473,992; female 959,962) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 151 (2002) | 136 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
total:
33 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 121
914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 93 (2002) |
total:
103 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 65 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism sectors. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. | 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 but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord. |
| Birth rate | 19.4 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.91 billion
expenditures: $2.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
| Capital | San Jose | Minsk |
| Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 1,290 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica |
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 | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
| Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $4.8 billion (2002 est.) | $1 billion (2000 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John J. DANILOVICH
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KOZAK embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein
chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Durham (North Carolina), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Austin |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Valeriy TSEPAKLO 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 | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. At the same time, distribution of income remains severely unequal. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt, with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector, and with the problem of bringing down inflation. | 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 extremely high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. 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 | 6.109 billion kWh (2001) | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 379 million kWh (2001) | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 128 million kWh (2001) | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 6.839 billion kWh (2001) | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 1.5%
hydro: 81.9% nuclear: 0% other: 16.6% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution | 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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 359.82 (2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.69 (1999), 257.23 (1998) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,180 (yearend 2000), 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (second quarter 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 February 2002; run-off election held 7 April 2002 (next to be held NA February 2006) election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote - Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42% |
chief of state:
President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Vladimir YERMOSHIN (since 18 February 2000); First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Mikhail DEMCHUK (since 14 July 2000), Mikhail KHORSTOV (since 27 November 2000), Valeriy KOKOREV (since 23 August 1994), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998) 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 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15% |
| Exports | NA (2001) | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | US 31.5%, Netherlands 8.9%, UK 4.5% (2002) | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA | 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 the Belarusian national ornament in red |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $32 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 30% services: 61% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2002 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65 | landlocked |
| Highways | total: 35,892 km
paved: 7,896 km unpaved: 27,996 km (2000) |
total:
63,355 km paved: 60,567 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 2,788 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 34.6% (2001) |
lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine | 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 |
| Imports | NA (2001) | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | US 36.7%, Japan 4.4%, Mexico 4.2% (2002) | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (2002 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 10.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2002 est.) | 200% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) | 4 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,260 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative 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 | 1.9 million (1999) | 4.8 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
total:
3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
| Land use | arable land: 4.41%
permanent crops: 5.48% other: 90.11% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Spanish (official), English | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 February 2002 (next to be held 3 February 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUSC 19, PLN 17, PAC 14, PML 6, PRC 1 |
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.43 years
male: 73.87 years female: 79.11 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
| Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Commonwealth of Independent States |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,716 GRT/ DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
| Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Air Section, Ministry of Public Forces (Fuerza Publica) | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $69 million (FY99) | $156 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY99) | 1.2% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,080,254 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 722,043 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 41,453 (2003 est.) | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | 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: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | NA |
| Natural resources | hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas |
| Net migration rate | 0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | refined products 421 km (2003) | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
| Political parties and leaders | Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON]
note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN - until the 3 February 2002 election in which the PAC captured a significant percentage, forcing a run-off in April 2002 |
Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon SHARETSKY, chairman]; 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 or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman]; 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 Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown] | NA |
| Population | 3,896,092 (July 2003 est.) | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 20.6% (1999 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.56% (2003 est.) | -0.15% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 3.02 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 950 km
narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2002) |
total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: very good domestic telephone service
domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999) |
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 | 450,000 (1998)
note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use in 1998 |
2.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 8,167 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 2.38 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6.3% (2002 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
| Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |
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