Compare Ecuador (2005) - Belarus (2006)

Compare Ecuador (2005) z Belarus (2006)

	Ecuador (2005)	Belarus (2006)

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 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: 33.5% (male 2,282,252/female 2,195,942) 15-64 years: 61.5% (male 4,094,146/female 4,130,096) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 310,336/female 350,821) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 15.7% (male 825,823/female 791,741) 15-64 years: 69.7% (male 3,490,442/female 3,682,950) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 498,976/female 1,003,079) (2006 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 (2004 est.)	86 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 62 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.)	total: 41 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: 12 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 143 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 113 (2004 est.)	total: 45 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 35 (2006)
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 are 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. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996.	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 1994 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	22.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	11.16 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $7.9 billion expenditures: planned $7.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2004 est.)	revenues: $5.903 billion expenditures: $6.343 billion; including capital expenditures of $180 million (2005 est.)
Capital	Quito	name: Minsk geographic coordinates: 53 54 N, 27 34 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
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	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 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: Byelarus' former: Belorussian (Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic
Death rate	4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	14.02 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$16.81 billion (2004 est.)	$4.662 billion (30 June 2005 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 Karen B. STEWART 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	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, 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	organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees to flee into Ecuador in 2004	1997 boundary treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security; the whole boundary with Latvia and more than half the boundary with Lithuania remains undemarcated; discussions toward economic and political union with Russia proceed slowly
Economic aid - recipient	$216 million (2002)	$194.3 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on economic reforms necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises.	Belarus's economy in 2005 posted 8% growth. The government has succeeded in lowering inflation over the past several years. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2005, largely as a result of a change in the way the Value Added Tax (VAT) on trade was collected. Trade with European countries increased. 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. During 2005, the government re-nationalized a number of private companies. In addition, businesses have been subject to pressure by 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. Because of these restrictive economic policies, Belarus has had trouble attracting foreign investment, which remains low. Growth has been strong in recent years, despite the roadblocks in a tough, centrally directed economy with a high, but decreasing, rate of inflation. Belarus continues to receive heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia. Much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices.
Electricity - consumption	10.79 billion kWh (2002)	34.3 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	800 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports	57 million kWh (2002)	7 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	11.54 billion kWh (2002)	30 billion kWh (2004)
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 Amazon Basin and 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, 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-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	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%	Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census)
Exchange rates	25,000 (2004), 25,000 (2003), 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001), 24,988 (2000)	Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002), 1,390 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former President Lucio GUTIERREZ was removed from office by congress effective 20 April 2005 head of government: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); 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 a four-year term (no immediate reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held 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%; note - Vice President Alfredo PALACIO assumed the presidency on 20 April 2005 after congress removed Lucio GUTIERREZ from office	chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKIY (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, Aleksandr LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via a November 1996 referendum; subsequent election held 9 September 2001; an October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run in a third election held on 19 March 2006; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO reelected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 82.6%, Aleksandr MILINKEVICH 6%, Aleksandr KOZULIN 2.3%; note - election marred by electoral fraud
Exports	387,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)	14,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities	petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp	machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners	US 42.9%, Panama 14.3%, Peru 7.9%, Italy 4.6% (2004)	Russia 38.5%, Ukraine 7.8%, Poland 7.1%, Latvia 4.2%, UK 4.1%, China 4.1% (2005)
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 Belarusian national ornamentation in red
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 8.7% industry: 30.5% services: 60.9% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 9.3% industry: 31.6% services: 59.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2004 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	5.8% (2004 est.)	9.2% (2005 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
Heliports	1 (2004 est.)	1 (2006)
Highways	total: 43,197 km paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2002)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 32% note: data for urban households only (October 2003)	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; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime, especially vulnerable 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; 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	NA	360,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity	mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals
Imports - partners	US 16.5%, Colombia 14.1%, China 9.2%, Venezuela 7.1%, Brazil 6.5%, Chile 4.6%, Japan 4.5%, Mexico 4.3% (2004)	Russia 57.9%, Germany 9.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Poland 5.2% (2005)
Independence	24 May 1822 (from Spain)	25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate	10% (2004 est.)	15.6% (2005 est.)
Industries	petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals	metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators
Infant mortality rate	total: 23.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 28.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2% (2004 est.)	10.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	CAN, CSN, 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, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	8,650 sq km (1998 est.)	1,310 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution)	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	4.53 million (urban) (2004 est.)	4.3 million (31 December 2005)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 8%, industry 24%, services 68% (2001)	agriculture: 14% industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.)
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: 5.85% permanent crops: 4.93% other: 89.22% (2001)	arable land: 26.77% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005)
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 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-FA 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 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 four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 and 31 October 2004; international observers widely denounced the 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: 76.21 years male: 73.35 years female: 79.22 years (2005 est.)	total population: 69.08 years male: 63.47 years female: 74.98 years (2006 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	territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 241,403 GRT/391,898 DWT by type: chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 1, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 20 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Greece 1, Paraguay 1) (2005)	-
Military branches	Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE)	Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$655 million (2004)	$420.5 million (2006)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.2% (2004)	1.4% (FY02)
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	-6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2004)	gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; 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 [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA]	pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP [Mikhail SHIMANSKY]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Nikolai ULAKHOVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Party of Labor and Justice [Viktor SOKOLOV]; Social-Sports Party [Vladimir ALEXANDROVICH] opposition parties: 10 Plus Coalition [Alyaksandr MILINKEVICH], includes: Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB [Syarhey KALYAKIN]; Belarusian Party of Labor (unregistered) [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV, Leonid LEMESHONAK]; Belarusian Popular Front or BPF [Vintsyuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Gramada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH]; Green Party [Oleg GROMYKO]; Party of Freedom and Progress (unregistered) [Vladimir NOVOSYAD]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LYABEDKA]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson] other opposition includes: Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Nardonaya Hromada or BSDP NH [Alyaksandr KOZULIN, chairman]; Christian Conservative BPF [Zyanon PAZNIAK]; Ecological Party of Greens [Mikhail KARTASH]; Party of Popular Accord [Sergei YERMAKK]; Republican Party [Vladimir BELAZOR]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, 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]	Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs [Sergey MATSKEVICH]; Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions [Alyaksandr YAROSHUK]; Belarusian Helsinki Committee [Tatiana PROTKO]; Belarusian Organization of Working Women [Irina ZHIKHAR]; Charter 97 [Andrey SANNIKOV]; Lenin Communist Union of Youth (youth wing of the Belarusian Party of Communists or PKB); National Strike Committee of Entrepreneurs [Aleksandr VASILYEV, Valery LEVONEVSKY]; Partnership NGO [Nikolay ASTREYKA]; Perspektiva kiosk watchdog NGO [Anatol SHUMCHENKO]; Vyasna [Ales BYALATSKY]; Women's Independent Democratic Movement [Ludmila PETINA]; Youth Front (Malady Front) [Dzmitryy DASHKEVICH, Syarhey BAKHUN]; Zubr youth group [Vladimir KOBETS]
Population	13,363,593 (July 2005 est.)	10,293,011 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	45% (2001 est.)	27.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	1.24% (2005 est.)	-0.06% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar	-
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 (2004)	total: 5,512 km broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2005)
Religions	Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%	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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 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 (2006 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: country code - 593; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: Belarus lags behind its neighbors in upgrading telecommunications infrastructure; state-owned Beltelcom, is the sole provider of fixed line local and long distance service; modernization of the network to digital switching progressing slowly domestic: fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; four GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies 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	1.549 million (2003)	3,284,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2,394,400 (2003)	4.098 million (2005)
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	2.72 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.43 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	11.1%; note - underemployment of 47% (2004 est.)	1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005)
Waterways	1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003)	2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003)

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