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Compare Czech Republic (2001) - Belarus (2002)

Compare Czech Republic (2001) z Belarus (2002)

 Czech Republic (2001)Belarus (2002)
 Czech RepublicBelarus
Administrative divisions 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Brnensky, Budejovicky, Jihlavsky, Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Olomoucky, Ostravsky, Pardubicky, Plzensky, Praha*, Stredocesky, Ustecky, Zlinsky 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:
16.09% (male 847,219; female 804,731)

15-64 years:
69.99% (male 3,592,984; female 3,590,802)

65 years and over:
13.92% (male 549,538; female 878,938) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 914,579; female 876,346)


15-64 years: 68.6% (male 3,443,859; female 3,643,628)


65 years and over: 14.1% (male 482,624; female 974,346) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk
Airports 114 (2000 est.) 136 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total:
43

over 3,047 m:
2

2,438 to 3,047 m:
10

1,524 to 2,437 m:
14

914 to 1,523 m:
1

under 914 m:
16 (2000 est.)
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 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
71

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
28

under 914 m:
42 (2000 est.)
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 (2002)
Area total:
78,866 sq km

land:
77,276 sq km

water:
1,590 sq km
total: 207,600 sq km


land: 207,600 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than South Carolina slightly smaller than Kansas
Background After World War II, Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now a member of NATO, the Czech Republic has moved toward integration in world markets, a development that poses both opportunities and risks. 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 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 9.86 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues:
$16.7 billion

expenditures:
$18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
revenues: $4 billion


expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.)
Capital Prague Minsk
Climate temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 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:
Czech Republic

conventional short form:
Czech Republic

local long form:
Ceska Republika

local short form:
Ceska Republika
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 Czech koruna (CZK) Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR)
Death rate 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $21.3 billion (2000) $770 million (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Steven J. COFFEY

embassy:
Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1

mailing address:
use embassy street address

telephone:
[420] (2) 5753-0663

FAX:
[420] (2) 5753-0583
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael G. 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 Alexsandr VONDRA

chancery:
3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:
[1] (202) 274-9100

FAX:
[1] (202) 966-8540

consulate(s) general:
Los Angeles and New York
chief of mission: Ambassador Valeriy V. 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 Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918; individual Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II; Austria has minor dispute with Czech Republic over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities boundary demarcation with Latvia and Lithuania is pending European Union funding
Economic aid - recipient $NA $194.3 million (1995) (1995)
Economy - overview Basically one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. The economy grew about 2.5% in 2000 and should achieve somewhat higher growth in 2001. Growth is led by exports to the EU, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. Uncomfortably high fiscal and current account deficits could be future problems. Unemployment is down to 8.7% as job creation continues in the rebounding economy; inflation is up to 3.8% but still moderate. The EU put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking, telecommunications and energy privatization will add to foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output 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. 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 52.898 billion kWh (2000) 26.78 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 18.744 billion kWh (2000) 300 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 8.735 billion kWh (2000) 4.15 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 67.642 billion kWh (2000) 24.66 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
77.8%

hydro:
3.43%

nuclear:
18.77%

other:
0% (2000)
fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m

highest point:
Snezka 1,602 m
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m


highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Environment - current issues air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
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 Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991) Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4%
Exchange rates koruny per US dollar - 37.425 (January 2001), 38.598 (2000), 34.569 (1999), 32.281 (1998), 31.698 (1997), 27.145 (1996) Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,590 (yearend 2001), 1,531.000 (November 2001), 876.750 (2000), 248.795 (1999), 46.127 (1998), 26.020 (1997); 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 Vaclav HAVEL (since 2 February 1993)

head of government:
Prime Minister Milos ZEMAN (since 17 July 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir SPIDLA (since 22 July 1998), Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 22 July 1998), Jan KAVAN (since 8 December 1999)

cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

elections:
president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 20 January 1998 (next to be held NA January 2003); prime minister appointed by the president

election results:
Vaclav HAVEL reelected president; Vaclav HAVEL received 47 of 81 votes in the Senate and 99 out of 200 votes in the Chamber of Deputies (second round of voting)
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 1 October 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998), Sergei SIDORSKY (since NA September 2001), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since NA September 2001)


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 $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $7.5 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, textiles, foodstuffs, metals
Exports - partners Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) Russia 51%, Ukraine 8%, Poland 4%, Germany 3% (2000)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia) 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 - $132.4 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $84.8 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
3.7%

industry:
41.8%

services:
54.5% (1999)
agriculture: 13%


industry: 42%


services: 45% (2000)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.5% (2000 est.) 4.1% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 49 45 N, 15 30 E 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe 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 (2000 est.) -
Highways total:
55,432 km

paved:
55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways)

unpaved:
0 km (2000)
total: 98,200 km


paved: 66,100 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)


unpaved: 32,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
4.3%

highest 10%:
22.4% (1996)
lowest 10%: 5%


highest 10%: 20% (1998)
Illicit drugs major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; domestic consumption - especially of locally produced synthetic drugs - on the rise 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 $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) $8.1 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) Russia 65%, Germany 7%, Poland 3% (2000)
Independence 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 7.6% (2000) 5.4% (2001 est.)
Industries metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.8% (2000 est.) 46.1% (2001 est.)
International organization participation ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, 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) more than 300 (2000) 23 (2002)
Irrigated land 240 sq km (1993 est.) 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term 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 5.203 million (1999 est.) 4.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 est.) industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total:
1,881 km

border countries:
Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 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:
41%

permanent crops:
2%

permanent pastures:
11%

forests and woodland:
34%

other:
12% (1993 est.)
arable land: 29.76%


permanent crops: 0.69%


other: 69.55% (1998 est.)
Languages Czech Belarusian, Russian, other
Legal system civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory based on civil law system
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
Senate - last held 12 and 19 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 19-20 June 1998 (next to be held by NA June 2002)

election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - KDU-CSL 28, ODS 22, CSSD 15, ODA 7, US 4, KSCM 3, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 32.3%, ODS 27.7%, KSCM 11%, KDU-CSL 9.0%, US 8.6%; seats by party - CSSD 74, ODS 63, KSCM 24, KDU-CSL 20, US 18, CSNS 1
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:
74.73 years

male:
71.23 years

female:
78.43 years (2001 est.)
total population: 68.28 years


male: 62.3 years


female: 74.56 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition:
NA

total population:
99.9% (1999 est.)

male:
NA%

female:
NA%
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98%


male: 99%


female: 97% (1989 est.)
Location Central Europe, southeast of Germany Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Map references Europe Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Military branches Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military expenditures - dollar figure $1.2 billion (FY01) $156 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.2% (FY01) 1% (FY01)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
2,653,456 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 2,744,267 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
2,024,070 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 2,149,873 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
69,393 (2001 est.)
males: 86,396 (2002 est.)
National holiday Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) 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:
Czech(s)

adjective:
Czech
noun: Belarusian(s)


adjective: Belarusian
Natural hazards flooding NA
Natural resources hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay
Net migration rate 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 2.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines natural gas 3,550 km (2000) crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992)
Political parties and leaders Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jan KASAL, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Daniel KROUPA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Vaclav KLAUS, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia or KSC [Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of CSNS [Jan SULA, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Milos ZEMAN, chairman]; Democratic Union or DEU [Ratibor MAJZLIK, chairman]; Freedom Union or US [Karel KUEHNL, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Cyril SVOBODA, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU); Republicans of Miroslav SLADEK or RMS [Miroslav SLADEK, chairman] 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 Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] NA
Population 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) 10,335,382 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 22% (1995 est.)
Population growth rate -0.07% (2001 est.) -0.14% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem Mazyr
Radio broadcast stations AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios 3,159,134 (December 2000) 3.02 million (1997)
Railways total:
9,444 km

standard gauge:
9,350 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2,843 km electrified; 1,929 km double track)

narrow gauge:
94 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (2000)
total: 5,523 km


broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000 est.)
Religions atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% 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:
1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.63 male(s)/female

total population:
0.95 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 (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; growth in the use of mobile cellular telephones is particularly vigorous

domestic:
86% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems now being enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay

international:
satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar
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 3.869 million (2000) 2.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4.346 million (2000) 8,167 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country generally flat and contains much marshland
Total fertility rate 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) 1.31 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 8.7% (2000 est.) 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers
Waterways 303 km

note:
(the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000)
NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
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