Ecuador (2003) | Belarus (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe | 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: 34.9% (male 2,430,303; female 2,351,166)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 4,116,289; female 4,198,667) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 284,082; female 329,727) (2003 est.) |
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 | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 205 (2002) | 124 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 61
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
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: 144
914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 113 (2002) |
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: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Nevada | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. | 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 | 24.94 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.6 billion
expenditures: planned $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Quito | Minsk |
Climate | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 2,237 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 10 August 1998 | 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 Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
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 | US dollar (USD) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 5.29 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $14.4 billion (2002) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kristie Anne KENNEY
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Raul GANGOTENA Rivadeneira
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
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 | $120 million (2001) | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Because the country exports primary products such as oil, bananas, and shrimp, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. Ecuador joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in 1996, but has failed to comply with many of its accession commitments. The aftermath of El Nino and depressed oil market of 1997-98 drove Ecuador's economy into a free-fall in 1999. The beginning of 1999 saw the banking sector collapse, which helped precipitate an unprecedented default on external loans later that year. Continued economic instability drove a 70% depreciation of the currency throughout 1999, which forced a desperate government to "dollarize" the currency regime in 2000. The move stabilized the currency, but did not stave off the ouster of the government. Gustavo NOBOA, who assumed the presidency in January 2000, has managed to pass substantial economic reforms and mend relations with international financial institutions. Ecuador completed its first standby agreement since 1986 when the IMF Board approved a 10 December 2001 disbursement of $96 million, the final installment of a $300 million standby credit agreement. In February 2003, newly installed president Lucio GUTIERREZ faced a budget gap and massive foreign debt. He has pledged to use oil revenues to pay off debt and is seeking additional IMF support. | 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 | 69.96 billion kWh (2001) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 75.23 billion kWh (2001) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 81%
hydro: 19% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 99.5%
hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Galapagos Islands | 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-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
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 | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | sucres per US dollar - 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001), 24,988.4 (2000), 11,786.8 (1999), 5,446.57 (1998) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - NA (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.8 (1999), 46.13 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Lucio GUTIERREZ (since 15 January 2003); Vice President Alfredo PALACIO (since 15 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lucio GUTIERREZ (since 15 January 2003); Vice President Alfredo PALACIO (since 15 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term (no reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: results of the 24 November 2002 runoff election - Lucio GUTIERREZ elected president; percent of vote - Lucio GUTIERREZ 54.3%; Alvaro NOBOA 45.7% |
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 (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, bananas, shrimp, coffee, cocoa, cut flowers, fish | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | US 39%, Colombia 5.6%, South Korea 5.1%, Germany 5%, Italy 4.4% (2002) | Russia 50.8%, Latvia 7.3%, Ukraine 6.3%, Lithuania 4.1%, Germany 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms | 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 - $42.65 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $90.19 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11%
industry: 33% services: 56% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 40% services: 45% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.4% (2002 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 77 30 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world | 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 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 43,197 km
paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2000) |
total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 33.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; dollarization may raise the volume of money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents | 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 (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, raw materials, fuels; consumer goods | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | US 28.6%, Colombia 14.4%, Japan 6%, Chile 4.5%, Brazil 4.1% (2002) | Russia 68.2%, Germany 9.4%, Ukraine 3.2% (2002) |
Independence | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.1% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal work, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, lumber | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | total: 31.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 37.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
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) | 12.5% (2002 est.) | 42.8% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | CAN, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 31 (2001) | 23 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 8,650 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (new justices are elected by the full Supreme 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 | 3.7 million (urban) | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 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: 5.69%
permanent crops: 5.15% other: 89.16% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.76%
permanent crops: 0.69% other: 69.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSC 25, PRE 15, ID 16, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
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: 71.89 years
male: 69.06 years female: 74.86 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 68.43 years
male: 62.54 years female: 74.6 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | South America | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands
territorial sea: 200 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 239,276 GRT/392,048 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 3, liquefied gas 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 23, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Chile 1, Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police | Army, Air Force (including air defense), Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $720 million (FY98) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY98) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,555,068 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,756,572 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,395,178 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,158,875 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2003 est.) | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 137,433 (2003 est.) | males: 86,654 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) | 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: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | -0.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 71 km; oil 1,575 km; refined products 1,185 km (2003) | gas 4,519 km; oil 1,811 km; refined products 1,686 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [leader NA]; Pachakutik Movement [Miguel LLUCO]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [leader NA]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Pascual DEL CIOPPO]; Socialist Party or PS [leader NA] | 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 | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Leonidas IZA, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS] | NA |
Population | 13,710,234 (July 2003 est.) | 10,322,151 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2001 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.91% (2003 est.) | -0.12% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, San Lorenzo | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Railways | total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95% | 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 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 (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic 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 | 1,115,272 (1999) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 384,000 (1999) | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 2.99 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.7%; note - widespread underemployment (2001 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | 1,500 km | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |