##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Cuba (2001) - Belarus (2005)
Compare Cuba (2001) z Belarus (2005)
| Cuba (2001) | Belarus (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 14 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara | 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:
20.99% (male 1,205,159; female 1,142,070) 15-64 years: 69.14% (male 3,876,432; female 3,855,878) 65 years and over: 9.87% (male 511,589; female 592,895) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16% (male 839,292/female 804,738)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 3,481,432/female 3,672,991) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,717/female 1,003,313) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 171 (2000 est.) | 133 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
77 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 35 (2000 est.) |
total: 50
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: 21 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
94 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
total: 83
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 64 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
110,860 sq km land: 110,860 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 Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule has held the country together since. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in 1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Havana portrays its difficulties as the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, or falsified visas - is a continuing problem. Some 3,000 Cubans took to the Straits of Florida in 2000; the US Coast Guard interdicted only about 35% of these. | 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 1995 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 | 12.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$13.5 billion expenditures: $14.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.326 billion
expenditures: $3.564 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Havana | Minsk |
| Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 3,735 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 24 February 1976, amended July 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:
Republic of Cuba conventional short form: Cuba local long form: Republica de Cuba local short form: Cuba |
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 | Cuban peso (CUP) | - |
| Death rate | 7.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $11.1 billion (convertible currency, 1999); another $15 billion -$20 billion owed to Russia (2000) | $600 million (2004 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Vicki HUDDLESTON; address: USINT, Swiss Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado Seccion, Havana; telephone: 33-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX: 33-3700; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland | chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL
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; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy, headed by Principal Officer Fernando REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ; address: Cuban Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518 | 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 | US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease | 1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; boundary with Latvia remains undemarcated but a third of the border with Lithuania was demarcated in 2004 |
| Economic aid - recipient | $68.2 million (1997 est.) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | The government, the primary player in the economy, has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to stem excess liquidity, increase enterprise efficiency, and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services, but prioritizing of political control makes extensive reforms unlikely. Living standards for the average Cuban, without access to dollars, remain at a depressed level compared with 1990. The liberalized farmers' markets introduced in 1994, sell above-quota production at market prices, expand legal consumption alternatives, and reduce black market prices. Income taxes and increased regulations introduced since 1996 have sharply reduced the number of legally self-employed from a high of 208,000 in January 1996. Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during 1989-93 as a result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The slide in GDP came to a halt in 1994 when Cuba reported growth in GDP of 0.7%. Cuba reported that GDP increased by 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996, before slowing down in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. Growth recovered with a 6.2% increase in GDP in 1999 and a 5.6% increase in 2000. Much of Cuba's recovery can be attributed to tourism revenues and foreign investment. Growth in 2001 should continue at the same level as the government balances the need for economic loosening against its concern for firm political control. | Belarus's economy in 2003-04 posted 6.1% and 6.4% growth. Still, the economy continues to be hampered by high inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. 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. In addition, 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; the Gini coefficient is among the lowest in the world. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy and the high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Growth has been buoyed by increased Russian demand for generally noncompetitive Belarusian goods. |
| Electricity - consumption | 13.353 billion kWh (1999) | 34.3 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 800 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 3.2 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 14.358 billion kWh (1999) | 30 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
94.2% hydro: 0.7% nuclear: 0% other: 5.1% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Turquino 2,005 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | pollution of Havana Bay; overhunting threatens wildlife populations; 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:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
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 | mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
| Exchange rates | Cuban pesos per US dollar - 1.0000 (nonconvertible, official rate, for international transactions, pegged to the US dollar); convertible peso sold for domestic use at a rate of 1.00 US dollar per 22 pesos by the Government of Cuba (January 2001) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers Fidel CASTRO Ruz (prime minister from February 1959 until 24 February 1976 when office was abolished; president since 2 December 1976); First Vice President of the Council of State and First Vice President of the Council of Ministers Gen. Raul CASTRO Ruz (since 2 December 1976); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the president of the Council of State, appointed by the National Assembly; note - there is also a Council of State whose members are elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 24 February 1998 (next election unscheduled) election results: Fidel CASTRO Ruz elected president; percent of legislative vote - 100%; Raul CASTRO Ruz elected vice president; percent of legislative vote - 100% |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (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 LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; new election held 9 September 2001; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in 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 | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, coffee | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | Russia 23%, Netherlands 23%, Canada 13% (1999) | Russia 47%, UK 8.3%, Netherlands 6.7%, Poland 5.3% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | five equal horizontal bands of blue (top and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US 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 Belarusian national ornamention in red |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.6% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2000 est.) | 6.4% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 21 30 N, 80 00 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | largest country in Caribbean | 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 |
| Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total:
60,858 km paved: 29,820 km (including 638 km of expressway) unpaved: 31,038 km (1997) |
total: 79,990 km
paved: 69,351 km unpaved: 10,639 km (2002) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for cocaine bound for the US and Europe; established the death penalty for certain drug-related crimes in 1999 | 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 | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | petroleum, food, machinery, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment, consumer goods | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | Spain 18%, Venezuela 13%, Canada 8% (1999) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 6.6%, Ukraine 3.3% (2004) |
| Independence | 20 May 1902 (from US) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
| Industries | sugar, petroleum, tobacco, chemicals, construction, services, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | 7.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 13.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.3% (1999 est.) | 17.4% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2001) | - |
| Irrigated land | 9,100 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Constitutional Court (half of the judges appointed by the president and half appointed by the Chamber of Representatives) |
| Labor force | 4.3 million (2000 est.)
note: state sector 75%, non-state sector 25% (1998) |
4.305 million (31 December 2003) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 25%, industry 24%, services 51% (1998) | agriculture 14%, industry 34.7%, services 51.3% (2003 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
29 km border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba |
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:
24% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 24% other: 18% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
| Languages | Spanish | Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional del Poder Popular (601 seats, elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 January 1998 (next to be held in 2003) election results: percent of vote - PCC 94.39%; seats - PCC 601 |
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 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the October 2004 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:
76.41 years male: 74.02 years female: 78.94 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.72 years
male: 63.03 years female: 74.69 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 96.2% female: 95.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
| Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total:
15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,821 GRT/78,062 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 5 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | Moscow, for decades the key military supporter and supplier of Cuba, cut off almost all military aid by 1993 | - |
| Military branches | Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) includes ground forces, Revolutionary Navy (MGR), Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR), Territorial Troops Militia (MTT), and Youth Labor Army (EJT); the Border Guard (TGF) is controlled by the Interior Ministry | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $176.1 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | roughly 4% (FY95 est.) | 1.4% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
3,090,633 females age 15-49: 3,029,274 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,911,160 females age 15-49: 1,867,958 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
79,562 females: 85,650 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 10 October (1868); note - 10 October 1868 is the date of independence from Spain, 20 May 1902 is the date of independence from US administration | 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:
Cuban(s) adjective: Cuban |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to October (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common | NA |
| Natural resources | cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | only party - Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary] | Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [leader NA]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party [leader NA]; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]
note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 11,184,023 (July 2001 est.) | 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.37% (2001 est.) | -0.09% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Cienfuegos, Havana, Manzanillo, Mariel, Matanzas, Nuevitas, Santiago de Cuba | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 169, FM 55, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | 3.9 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
11,969 km standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified) note: in addition to the 4,807 km of standard gauge track in public use, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations; about 90% of the private use track is standard gauge and the rest is narrow gauge (2000) |
total: 5,512 km
broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435-m (2004) |
| Religions | nominally 85% Roman Catholic prior to CASTRO assuming power; Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, and Santeria are also represented | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 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 (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: principal trunk system, end to end of country, is coaxial cable; fiber-optic distribution in Havana and on Isla de la Juventud; 2 microwave radio relay installations (one is old, US-built; the other newer, Soviet-built); both analog and digital mobile cellular service established international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
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' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational 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 | 473,031 (2000) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,994 (1997) | 1.118 million (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 58 (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 1.6 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | 2% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2004) |
| Waterways | 240 km | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |
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