##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Georgia (2001) - Belarus (2004)
Compare Georgia (2001) z Belarus (2004)
| Georgia (2001) | Belarus (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 53 rayons (raionebi, singular - raioni), 9 cities* (k'alak'ebi, singular - k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics** (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika); Abashis, Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Sokhumi), Adigenis, Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Bat'umi), Akhalgoris, Akhalk'alak'is, Akhalts'ikhis, Akhmetis, Ambrolauris, Aspindzis, Baghdat'is, Bolnisis, Borjomis, Chiat'ura*, Ch'khorotsqus, Ch'okhatauris, Dedop'listsqaros, Dmanisis, Dushet'is, Gardabanis, Gori*, Goris, Gurjaanis, Javis, K'arelis, Kaspis, Kharagaulis, Khashuris, Khobis, Khonis, K'ut'aisi*, Lagodekhis, Lanch'khut'is, Lentekhis, Marneulis, Martvilis, Mestiis, Mts'khet'is, Ninotsmindis, Onis, Ozurget'is, P'ot'i*, Qazbegis, Qvarlis, Rust'avi*, Sach'kheris, Sagarejos, Samtrediis, Senakis, Sighnaghis, T'bilisi*, T'elavis, T'erjolis, T'et'ritsqaros, T'ianet'is, Tqibuli*, Ts'ageris, Tsalenjikhis, Tsalkis, Tsqaltubo*, Vanis, Zestap'onis, Zugdidi*, Zugdidis
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
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:
19.59% (male 498,575; female 478,663) 15-64 years: 67.91% (male 1,632,338; female 1,755,910) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 241,824; female 381,975) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.3% (male 859,219; female 823,839)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,469,926; female 3,662,203) 65 years and over: 14.5% (male 496,204; female 999,129) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | citrus, grapes, tea, vegetables, potatoes; livestock | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
| Airports | 31 (2000 est.) | 135 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
16 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 50
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 85
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 64 (2003 est.) |
| Area | total:
69,700 sq km land: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Kansas |
| Background | Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Russian troops remain garrisoned at four military bases and as peacekeepers in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (but are scheduled to withdraw from two of the bases by July 2001). Despite a badly degraded transportation network - brought on by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages - the country continues to move toward a market economy and greater integration with Western institutions. | 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 | 11.18 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$437 million expenditures: $626 million, including capital expenditures of $60 million (1999) |
revenues: $2.976 billion
expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.) |
| Capital | T'bilisi | Minsk |
| Climate | warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
| Coastline | 310 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | adopted 17 October 1995 | 30 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: Georgia local long form: none local short form: Sak'art'velo former: Georgian 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 | lari (GEL) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
| Death rate | 14.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.9 billion (2000) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Kenneth S. YALOWITZ embassy: #25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi 380026 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [995] (32) 989-967/68 FAX: [995] (32) 933-759 |
chief of mission: Ambassador George A. KROL
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 Tedo JAPARIDZE chancery: Suite 300, 1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 387-2390 FAX: [1] (202) 393-4537 |
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 diminishing border security; boundaries with Latvia and Lithuania remain undemarcated despite European Union financial support |
| Economic aid - recipient | $212.7 million (1995) | $194.3 million (1995) |
| Economy - overview | Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since 1995, increasing GDP growth and slashing inflation. The Georgian economy continues to experience large budget deficits due to a failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia also still suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the distribution network in 1998, and deliveries are steadily improving. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery on the development of an international transportation corridor through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. The growing trade deficit, continuing problems with tax evasion and corruption, and political uncertainties cloud the short-term economic picture. | Belarus' economy in 2003 posted 6.1 percent growth and is likely to continue expanding through 2004, albeit at a slower growth rate. The Belarusian economy in 2004 is likely to be hampered by high inflation, persistent trade deficits, and ongoing rocky relations with Russia, Belarus' largest trading partner and energy supplier. 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. In addition, 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. For the time being, Belarus remains self-isolated from the West and its open-market economies. |
| Electricity - consumption | 7.117 billion kWh (1999) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 850 million kWh (1999) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 550 million kWh (1999) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 7.975 billion kWh (1999) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
20.38% hydro: 79.62% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Mt'a Mqinvartsveri (Gora Kazbek) 5,048 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals | 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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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 | Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5% | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
| Exchange rates | lari per US dollar - 1.9798 (December 2000), 1.9762 (2000), 2.0245 (1999), 1.3898 (1998), 1.2975 (1997), 1.2628 (1996) | Belarusian rubles per US dollar - 1,790.92 (2003), 1,920 (2002), 1,390 (2001), 876.75 (2000), 248.795 (1999) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (previously elected chairman of the Government Council 10 March 1992; Council has since been disbanded; previously elected chairman of Parliament 11 October 1992; president since 26 November 1995); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (previously elected chairman of the Government Council 10 March 1992; Council has since been disbanded; previously elected chairman of Parliament 11 October 1992; president since 26 November 1995); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Eduard SHEVARDNADZE reelected president; percent of vote - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 80% |
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY (since 19 December 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir SEMASHKO (since December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Andrei KOBYAKOV (since December 2003), Vladimir DRAZHIN (since 24 September 2001), Ivan BAMBIZA (since 25 May 2004), Anatoly TYUTYUNOV (since July 2002) 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; October 2004 referendum ended presidential term limits allowing president to run for a third term in 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 | $372 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products; diverse types of machinery and metals; chemicals; fuel reexports; textiles | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports - partners | Russia 19%, Turkey 16%, Azerbaijan 8%, Armenia 6% (1999) | Russia 49.1%, UK 9.4%, Poland 4.4%, Germany 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below | 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 ornamention in red |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $22.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
32% industry: 23% services: 45% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.5% (2003 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2000 est.) | 6.8% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 42 00 N, 43 30 E | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
| Geography - note | - | 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 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | total:
33,900 km paved: 29,500 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: 4,400 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
total: 74,385 km
paved: 66,203 km unpaved: 8,182 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 20% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia | 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 | $898 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts, transport equipment | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
| Imports - partners | EU 22%, Russia 19%, Turkey 12%, US 12% (1999) | Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003) |
| Independence | 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| Industrial production growth rate | -0.3% (1998 est.) | 5% (2003 est.) |
| Industries | steel, aircraft, machine tools, electric locomotives, trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes, chemicals, wood products, wine | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
| Infant mortality rate | 52.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 13.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.1% (2000 est.) | 28.2% (2003 est.) |
| International organization participation | BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 4,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's recommendation); Constitutional 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 | 3.08 million (1997) | 4.8 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | industry 20%, agriculture 40%, services 40% (1999 est.) | NA |
| Land boundaries | total:
1,461 km border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 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:
9% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 34% other: 28% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
| Languages | Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia |
Belarusian, Russian, other |
| Legal system | based on civil law system | based on civil law system |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 October and 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - CUG 41.85%, AGUR 25.65%, IWSG 7.8%, all other parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - CUG 130, AGUR 58, IWSG 15, Abkhaz deputies 12, independents 17, other 3 |
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 Predstaviteliy (110 seats; members elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held 18 March and 1 April 2001 and 17 and 31 October 2004 (bi-election will be held March 2005 to fill one unfilled seat in the Palata Predstaviteliy); international observers widely denounced the October 2004 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 Pretsaviteley - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.57 years male: 61.04 years female: 68.28 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years female: 74.65 years (2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 100% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.8% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
| Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Europe |
| Maritime claims | NA | none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total:
37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 131,316 GRT/190,289 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 25, chemical tanker 2, container 2, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | a CIS peacekeeping force consisting of Russian troops is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia | - |
| Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $23 million (FY00) | $176.1 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.59% (FY00) | 1.4% (FY02) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,296,199 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,024,574 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
41,561 (2001 est.) |
males: 86,716 (2004 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 is the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 is the date of 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:
Georgian(s) adjective: Georgian |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes | NA |
| Natural resources | forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
| Net migration rate | -2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas 440 km (1992) | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | Citizen's Union of Georgia or CUG [Eduard SHEVARDNADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG [Panteleimon GIORGADZE, chairman]; Industry Will Save Georgia or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Irina SARISHVILI-CHANTURIA]; Socialist Party or SPG [Temur GAMTSEMLIDZE]; Union for "Revival" Party or AGUR [Alsan ABASHIDZE]; United Republican Party or URP [Nodar NATADZE, chairman] | Pro-government parties: Agrarian Party or AP; Belarusian Communist Party or KPB; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (Belarusian Patriotic Party) or BPR [Anatoliy BARANKEVICH, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [Sergei GAYDUKEVICH]; Social-Sports Party; Opposition parties: Belarusian Popular Front or BNF [Vintsuk VYACHORKA]; Belarusian Social-Democrat Party Narodnaya Gromada or BSDP NG [Nikolay STATKEVICH, chairman]; Belarusian Social-Democratic Party Hromada [Stanislav SHUSHKEVICH, chairman]; United Civic Party or UCP [Anatol LEBEDKO]; Party of Communists Belarusian or PKB [Sergei KALYAKIN, chairman]; Women's Party "Nadezhda" [Valentina MATUSEVICH, chairperson]
note: the opposition Belarusian Party of Labor [Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV] was liquidated in August 2004, but remains active |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Georgian refugees from Abkhazia (Abkhaz faction in Georgian Parliament); separatist elements in the breakaway region of Abkhazia; supporters of the late ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA remain a source of opposition | NA |
| Population | 4,989,285 (July 2001 est.) | 10,310,520 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 60% (1999 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.59% (2001 est.) | -0.11% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi | Mazyr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
| Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
1,583 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 1,583 km 1.520-m gauge (1993) |
total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003) |
| Religions | Georgian Orthodox 65%, Muslim 11%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6% | 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: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: local - T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi have cellular telephone networks; urban telephone density is about 20 per 100 people; rural telephone density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi; nationwide pager service is available international: Georgia and Russia are working on a fiber-optic line between P'ot'i and Sochi (Russia); present international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service are available |
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' fiber optics form synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries' systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational 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 | 620,000 (1997) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (1997) | 1.118 million (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus repeaters) (1998) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland | generally flat and contains much marshland |
| Total fertility rate | 1.45 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 14.9% (1999 est.) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers (2003 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 2,500 km (use limited by location on perimeter of country and by shallowness) (2003) |
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