Faroe Islands (2002) | Belarus (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 49 municipalities | 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: 22.3% (male 5,149; female 5,110)
15-64 years: 64% (male 15,650; female 13,801) 65 years and over: 13.7% (male 2,818; female 3,483) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.7% (male 733,010/female 691,734)
15-64 years: 70.4% (male 3,327,119/female 3,520,690) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 471,863/female 980,307) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | milk, potatoes, vegetables; sheep; salmon, other fish | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 67 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 36
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: 7 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 31
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
Area | total: 1,399 sq km
land: 1,399 sq km water: 0 sq km (some lakes and streams) |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | eight times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | The population of the Faroe Islands is largely descended from Viking settlers who arrived in the 9th century. The islands have been connected politically to Denmark since the 14th century. A high degree of self-government was attained in 1948. | 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, Alexandr 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 | 13.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.5 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $488 million
expenditures: $484 million, including capital expenditures of $21 million (1999) |
revenues: $13.24 billion
expenditures: $13.76 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Torshavn | 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 | mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 1,117 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | 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: none
conventional short form: Faroe Islands local long form: none local short form: Foroyar |
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 |
Currency | Danish krone (DKK) | - |
Death rate | 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $64 million (1999) | $5.929 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | chief of mission: Ambassador Karen B. STEWART
embassy: 46 Starovilenskaya Street, Minsk 220002 mailing address: PSC 78, Box B Minsk, APO 09723 telephone: [375] (17) 210-12-83, 217-7347, 217-7348 FAX: [375] (17) 234-7853 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 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 | Faroese are considering proposals for full independence; Denmark dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary of 200 NM; Denmark disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM | as of January 2007, ground demarcations of the boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania were complete and mapped with final ratification documentation in preparation; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security |
Economic aid - recipient | $135 million (annual subsidy from Denmark) (1999) | $53.76 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The Faroese economy has had a strong performance since 1994, mostly as a result of increasing fish landings and high and stable export prices. Unemployment is falling and there are signs of labor shortages in several sectors. The positive economic development has helped the Faroese Home Rule Government produce increasing budget surpluses which in turn help to reduce the large public debt, most of it owed to Denmark. However, the total dependence on fishing makes the Faroese economy extremely vulnerable, and the present fishing efforts appear in excess of what is a sustainable level of fishing in the long term. Oil finds close to the Faroese area give hope for deposits in the immediate Faroese area, which may eventually lay the basis for a more diversified economy and thus lessen dependence on Denmark and Danish economic assistance. Aided by a substantial annual subsidy (15% of GDP) from Denmark, the Faroese have a standard of living not far below the Danes and other Scandinavians. | Belarus's economy in 2006 posted more than 8% growth. Trade with Russia - by far its largest single trade partner - decreased in 2006, 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. Since 2005, the government has 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 receives heavily discounted oil and natural gas from Russia and much of Belarus' growth can be attributed to the re-export of Russian oil at market prices. This growth will be threatened in 2007, however, when Russia raises energy prices closer to world market prices for Belarus. Russia is planning to increase Belarusian gas prices from $47 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) to $100 per tcm for 2007, gradually increasing to world prices by 2011. Russia has also introduced an export duty on oil shipped to Belarus, which will increase gradually through 2009, and a requirement that Belarusian duties on re-exported Russian oil be shared with Russia - 70% will go to Russia in 2007, 80% in 2008, and 85% in 2009. |
Electricity - consumption | 153.45 million kWh (2000) | 29.49 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 5.053 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 9.091 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 165 million kWh (2000) | 29.08 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 61%
hydro: 39% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Slaettaratindur 882 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Scandinavian | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish 3.9%, Ukrainian 2.4%, other 1.1% (1999 census) |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 8.418 (January 2002), 8.323 (2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 2,144.6 (2006), 2,150 (2005), 2,160.26 (2004), 2,051.27 (2003), 1,790.92 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Birgit KLEIS, chief administrative officer (since 1 November 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Anfinn KALLSBERG (since 15 May 1998) cabinet: Landsstyri appointed by the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the Faroese Parliament; election last held 30 April 1998 (next to be held no later than April 2002) election results: Anfinn KALLSBERG elected prime minister; percent of parliamentary vote - 52.8% note: coalition of People's Party, Republican Party, and Home Rule Party |
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 NA 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 and allowed the president to run in a third election, which was 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 | $471 million f.o.b. (1999) | 249,900 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94%, stamps, ships (1999) | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Denmark 32%, UK 21%, France 9%, Germany 7%, Iceland 5%, US 5% (1996) | Russia 34.7%, Netherlands 17.7%, UK 7.5%, Ukraine 6.3%, Poland 5.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | white with a red cross outlined in blue extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted toward the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) | red horizontal band (top) and green horizontal band one-half the width of the red band; a white vertical stripe on the hoist side bears Belarusian national ornamentation in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $910 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27%
industry: 11% services: 62% (1999) |
agriculture: 9.2%
industry: 41.7% services: 49.1% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 9.9% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 7 00 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 17 inhabited islands and one uninhabited island, and a few uninhabited islets; strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic; precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands | landlocked; glacial scouring accounts for the flatness of Belarusian terrain and for its 11,000 lakes |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 463 km
paved: 454 km unpaved: 9 km (1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 23.5% (2002) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 | $469 million c.i.f. (1999) | 378,200 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 29%, consumer goods 36%, raw materials and semi-manufactures 32%, fuels, fish and salt (1999) | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | Denmark 28%, Norway 26%, Germany 7%, UK 6% Sweden 5%, Iceland 4%, US (1999) | Russia 58.6%, Germany 7.5%, Ukraine 5.5% (2006) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (1999 est.) | 15.6% (2005 est.) |
Industries | fishing, fish processing, shipbuilding, construction, handicrafts | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, televisions, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 6.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 6.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.1% (1999) | 7% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | NC, NIB | BSEC (observer), CEI, CIS, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,310 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | none | 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 | 24,250 (October 2000 ) | 4.3 million (31 December 2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | fishing, fish processing, and manufacturing 33%, construction and private services 33%, public services 34% | agriculture: 14%
industry: 34.7% services: 51.3% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 2.14%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.86% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 26.77%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 72.63% (2005) |
Languages | Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | Danish | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Faroese Parliament or Logting (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis from the seven constituencies to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 April 2002 (next to be held no later than April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Union Party 26%, Republican Party 23.7%, Social Democrats 20.9%, People's Party 20.8% Independence Party 4.4%, Center Party 4.2%; seats by party - Union Party 8, Republican Party 8, Social Democrats 7, People's Party 7, Independence Party 1, Center Party 1 note: election of 2 seats to the Danish Parliament was last held on 20 November 2001 (next to be held no later than November 2005); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican Party 1, Union Party 1 |
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 eight members appointed by the president, to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Palata Predstaviteley (110 seats; members elected by popular vote 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: 78.74 years
male: 75.28 years female: 82.21 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 70.05 years
male: 64.31 years female: 76.14 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% note: similar to Denmark proper |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.4% (1999 census) |
Location | Northern Europe, island group between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Iceland to Norway | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM or agreed boundaries or median line territorial sea: 3 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 100,951 GRT/139,396 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 3, Norway 1, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Denmark | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; small Police Force and Coast Guard are maintained | Belarus Armed Forces: Land Force, Air and Air Defense Force (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Olaifest, 29 July | 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: Faroese (singular and plural)
adjective: Faroese |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | fish, whales, hydropower | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | 2.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,321 km; refined products 1,686 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Tordur NICALSEN]; Home Rule Party [Helena Dam a NEYSTABO]; Independence Party [leader NA]; People's Party [Oli BRECKMANN]; Republican Party [Finnabogi ISAKSON]; Social Democratic Party [Joannes EIDESGAARD]; Union Party [Edmund JOENSEN] | 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 [Aleksandr 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 (People's Assembly) or BSDP NH [Aleksandr KOZULIN]; 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 | NA | 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 | 46,011 (July 2002 est.) | 9,724,723 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 27.1% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.74% (2002 est.) | -0.41% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Torshavn, Klaksvik, Tvoroyri, Runavik, Fuglafjordhur | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 26,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 5,512 km
broad gauge: 5,497 km 1.520-m gauge (874 km electrified) standard gauge: 15 km 1.435 m (2006) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.945 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.481 male(s)/female total population: 0.873 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: good international communications; good domestic facilities
domestic: digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed international: satellite earth stations - 1 Orion; 1 fiber-optic submarine cable to the Shetland Islands, linking the Faroe Islands with Denmark and Iceland; fiber-optic submarine cable connection to Canada-Europe cable |
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; fixed-line teledensity of 33 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 58 per 100 persons; modernization of the network progressing with roughly two-thirds of switching equipment now digital
domestic: fixed-line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 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); 3 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 (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24,851 (1999) | 3.368 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 10,761 (1999) | 5.96 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus 43 low-power repeaters) (September 1995) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 2.27 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1% (October 2000 ) | 1.6% officially registered unemployed; large number of underemployed workers (2005) |
Waterways | none | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |