##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Estonia (2005) - Belarus (2001)
Compare Estonia (2005) z Belarus (2001)
| Estonia (2005) | Belarus (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
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: 15.5% (male 106,300/female 100,446)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 429,843/female 472,034) 65 years and over: 16.8% (male 74,037/female 150,233) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
17.93% (male 947,820; female 908,210) 15-64 years: 68.21% (male 3,428,920; female 3,631,290) 65 years and over: 13.86% (male 473,992; female 959,962) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 29 (2004 est.) | 136 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 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 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2004 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 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total: 45,226 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea |
total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. | After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord. |
| Birth rate | 9.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $4.622 billion
expenditures: $4.601 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
| Capital | Tallinn | Minsk |
| Climate | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 3,794 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | adopted 28 June 1992 | 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 Estonia
conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic |
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 | - | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
| Death rate | 13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $8.373 billion (2004 est.) | $1 billion (2000 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Aldona Zofia WOS
embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KOZAK embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya St., Minsk 220002 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Juri LUIK
chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Valeriy TSEPAKLO chancery: 1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 986-1604 FAX: [1] (202) 986-1805 consulate(s) general: New York |
| Disputes - international | in 1996, the Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was initialed but both states have been hesitant to sign and ratify it, with Russia asserting that Estonia needs to better assimilate Russian-speakers and Estonian groups pressing for realignment of the boundary based more closely on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen border rules | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $108 million (2000) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization and the European Union, has transitioned effectively to a modern market economy with strong ties to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the euro. The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors and is greatly influenced by developments in Finland, Sweden, and Germany, three major trading partners. The current account deficit remains high; however, the state budget enjoyed a surplus of $130 million in 2003. | Belarus has seen little structural reform since 1995, when President LUKASHENKO launched the country on the path of "market socialism." In keeping with this policy, LUKASHENKO reimposed administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates and expanded the state's right to intervene in the management of private enterprise. In addition to the burdens imposed by extremely high inflation, businesses have been subject to pressure on the part of central and local governments, e.g., arbitrary changes in regulations, numerous rigorous inspections, and retroactive application of new business regulations prohibiting practices that had been legal. Further economic problems are two consecutive bad harvests, 1998-99, and persistent trade deficits. Close relations with Russia, possibly leading to reunion, color the pattern of economic developments. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
| Electricity - consumption | 6.358 billion kWh (2002) | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 1.562 billion kWh (2002) | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2002) | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 8.301 billion kWh (2002) | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
lowest point:
Nyoman River 90 m highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations | 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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, 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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census) | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Exchange rates | krooni per US dollar - 12.596 (2004), 13.856 (2003), 16.612 (2002), 17.478 (2001), 16.969 (2000) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,180 (yearend 2000), 730,000 (15 December 1999), 139,000 (25 January 1999), 46,080 (second quarter 1998), 25,964 (1997), 15,500 (yearend 1996); note - on 1 January 2000, the national currency was redenominated at one new ruble to 2,000 old rubles |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Arnold RUUTEL (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrus ANSIP (since 12 April 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; if a candidate does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held 21 September 2001 (next to be held in the fall of 2006); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Arnold RUUTEL elected president on 21 September 2001 by a 367-member electoral assembly that convened following Parliament's failure in August to elect then-President MERI's successor; on the second ballot of voting, RUUTEL received 186 votes to Parliament Speaker Toomas SAVI's 155; the remaining 26 ballots were either left blank or invalid |
chief of state:
President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Vladimir YERMOSHIN (since 18 February 2000); First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey KOBYAKOV (since 13 March 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Mikhail DEMCHUK (since 14 July 2000), Mikhail KHORSTOV (since 27 November 2000), Valeriy KOKOREV (since 23 August 1994), Leonid KOZIK (since 4 February 1997), Gennadiy NOVITSKIY (since 11 February 1997), Aleksandr POPKOV (since 10 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; first election took place 23 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA; according to the 1994 constitution, the next election should have been held in 1999, however LUKASHENKO extended his term to 2001 via the November 1996 referendum); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Aleksandr LUKASHENKO elected president; percent of vote - Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15% |
| Exports | NA | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001) | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | Finland 23.1%, Sweden 15.3%, Germany 8.4%, Latvia 7.9%, Russia 5.7%, Lithuania 4.4% (2004) | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white | 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 - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 28.9% services: 67% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,300 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2004 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 59 00 N, 26 00 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands | landlocked |
| Highways | total: 55,944 km
paved: 13,874 km (including 99 km of expressways) unpaved: 42,070 km (2002) |
total:
63,355 km paved: 60,567 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 2,788 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western Europe to Scandinavia; increasing domestic drug abuse problem; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking; potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking is a concern as is possible use of the gambling sector to launder funds | limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe |
| Imports | NA | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001) | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Finland 22.1%, Germany 12.9%, Sweden 9.7%, Russia 9.2%, Lithuania 5.3%, Latvia 4.7% (2004) | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) |
| Independence | 20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 7.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2004 est.) | 200% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | CCC, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 4 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) | 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 | 660,000 (2004 est.) | 4.8 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 11%, industry 20%, services 69% (1999 est.) | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
| Land boundaries | total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
total:
3,098 km border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km |
| Land use | arable land: 16.04%
permanent crops: 0.45% other: 83.51% (2001) |
arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census) | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Center Party 25.4%, Res Publica 24.6%, Reform Party 17.7%, Estonian People's Union 13%, Pro Patria Union (Fatherland League) 7.3% People's Party Moodukad 7%; seats by party - Center Party 28, Res Publica 28, Reform Party 19, Estonian People's Union 13, Pro Patria Union 7, People's Party Moodukad 6 |
bicameral Parliament or Natsionalnoye Sobranie consists of the Council of the Republic or Soviet Respubliki (64 seats) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Pretsaviteley (110 seats)
elections: last held October 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: party affiliation data unavailable; under present political conditions party designations are meaningless |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.77 years
male: 66.28 years female: 77.6 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
68.14 years male: 62.06 years female: 74.52 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
| Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Europe | Commonwealth of Independent States |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 212,998 GRT/177,488 DWT
by type: cargo 17, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 6 (Norway 6) registered in other countries: 51 (2005) |
- |
| Military branches | Estonian Defense Forces: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Staff, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Maritime Border Guard, Coast Guard
note: Border Guards and Ministry of Internal Affairs become part of the Estonian Defense Forces in wartime; the Coast Guard is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense in peacetime and the Estonian Navy in wartime |
Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $155 million (2002 est.) | $156 million (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (2002 est.) | 1.2% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,729,956 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,138,743 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
86,396 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 is the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20 August 1991 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union | 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: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian |
noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring | NA |
| Natural resources | oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas |
| Net migration rate | -3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 859 km (2004) | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
| Political parties and leaders | Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN, chairman]; Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP]; Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG, chairman]; Pro Patria Union (Isamaaliit) [Tunne KELAM, chairman]; Res Publica [Juhan PARTS, chairman]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR, chairman]; Social Liberals (group of 8 parliamentarians, former Center Party members) [Peeter Kreitzberg] | Agrarian Party or AP [Semyon SHARETSKY, chairman]; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB [Viktor CHIKIN, chairman]; Belarusian Ecological Green Party (merger of Belarusian Ecological Party and Green Party of Belarus) [leader NA]; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat or SDBP [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Socialist Party [Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV]; Civic Accord Bloc (United Civic Party) or CAB [Stanislav BOGDANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDPB [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH, chairman]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Republican Party of Labor and Justice or RPPS [Anatoliy NETYLKIN, chairman]; Social-Democrat Party of Popular Accord or PPA [Leanid SECHKA]; Women's Party Nadezhda [Valentina POLEVIKOVA, chairperson] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 1,332,893 (July 2005 est.) | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA (2000) | 22% (1995 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.65% (2005 est.) | -0.15% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Kopli, Kuivastu, Muuga, Tallinn, Virtsu | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 3.02 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 958 km
broad gauge: 958 km 1.520-m/1.524-m gauge (132 km electrified) (2004) |
total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
| Religions | Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census) | 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: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.84 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode; Internet services are available throughout most of the country - only about 11,000 subscriber requests were unfilled by September 2000
domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services is available throughout the country international: country code - 372; fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located in Tallinn (2001) |
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 | 475,000 (2002) | 2.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 881,000 (2002) | 8,167 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 3 (2001) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 9.6% (2004 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
| Waterways | 500 km (2003) | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |
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