Greenland (2001) | Belarus (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
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:
26.69% (male 7,649; female 7,392) 15-64 years: 67.87% (male 20,868; female 17,376) 65 years and over: 5.44% (male 1,385; female 1,682) (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 | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 13 (2000 est.) | 135 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (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:
5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (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:
2,175,600 sq km land: 2,175,600 sq km (341,700 sq km ice-free, 1,833,900 sq km ice-covered) (est.) |
total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | The world's largest island, about 84% ice-capped, Greenland was granted self-government in 1978 by the Danish parliament. The law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs. | 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 | 16.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$646 million expenditures: $629 million, including capital expenditures of $85 million (1999) |
revenues: $2.976 billion
expenditures: $3.211 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Nuuk (Godthab) | Minsk |
Climate | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 44,087 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) | 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: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
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 | Danish krone (DKK) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 7.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $25 million (1999) | $851 million (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) | 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 | 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 | 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 | $380 million subsidy from Denmark (1999) | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities, it will take several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. | 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 | 232.5 million kWh (1999) | 26.69 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 4.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 250 million kWh (1999) | 24.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
41% hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0% note: Greenland is shifting its electricity production from fossil fuel to hydroelectric power production (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Gunnbjorn 3,700 m |
lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m |
Environment - current issues | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting | 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, 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 | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (January 2000) | Belarusian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.951 (January 2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (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:
Queen MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Gunnar MARTENS (since NA 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Jonathan MOTZFELDT (since 19 September 1997) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the Parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarch is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by Parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 16 February 1999 (next to be held NA February 2003) election results: Jonathan MOTZFELDT reelected prime minister following the 16 February 1999 elections; percent of parliamentary vote - 57.3% note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) |
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 | $276 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products 94% | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | EU (mainly Denmark) 85%, Japan 8%, US 2% (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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is 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 Belarusian national ornamention in red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $62.56 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 36.4% services: 52.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 6.8% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 72 00 N, 40 00 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap | 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:
150 km paved: 60 km unpaved: 90 km |
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 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 | $400 million (c.i.f., 1999) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, petroleum products | mineral products, machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, metals |
Imports - partners | EU (mostly Denmark), Norway, US, Canada | Russia 65.8%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 3.1% (2003) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979)
note: foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland |
25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut), handicrafts, furs, small shipyards | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earthmovers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 17.77 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) | 1.6% (1999 est.) | 28.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ICC, NC, NIB | 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) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) | 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 | 24,500 (1999 est.) | 4.8 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | NA |
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:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 0% other: 99% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 29.55%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 69.85% (2001) |
Languages | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English | Belarusian, Russian, other |
Legal system | Danish | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 16 February 1999 (next to be held by NA February 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 35.2%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 22.1%, Atassut Party 25.2%, Candidate's League 12.3%, independent 5.2%; seats by party - Siumut 11, Atassut 8, Inuit Ataqatigiit 7, Candidate List 4, independent 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 11 March 1998 (next to be held by not later than March 2002); percent of vote by party - Siumut 35.6%, Atassut 35.2%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Atassut 1; Greenlandic representatives are affiliated with Danish political parties (Siamut with Social Democratic Party and Atassut with Liberal Party) |
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:
68.37 years male: 64.82 years female: 72.01 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.57 years
male: 62.79 years female: 74.65 years (2004 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: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Arctic Region | 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:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,289 GRT/1,500 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Denmark | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Air and Air Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $176.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,764,856 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,164,923 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 86,716 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | June 21 (longest day) | 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:
Greenlander(s) adjective: Greenlandic |
noun: Belarusian(s)
adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island | NA |
Natural resources | zinc, lead, iron ore, coal, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas, granite, dolomitic limestone, marl, chalk, sand, gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | -8.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 5,223 km; oil 2,443 km; refined products 1,686 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Akulliit Party [Bjarne KREUTZMANN]; Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Daniel SKIFTE]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH]; Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform [leader NA]; Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Jonathan MOTZFELDT] | 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 56,352 (July 2001 est.) | 10,310,520 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.06% (2001 est.) | -0.11% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aasiaat (Egedesminde), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn), Kangerlussuaq, Nanortalik, Narsarsuaq, Nuuk (Godthab), Qaqortoq (Julianehab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Tasiilaq (March 2001) | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 30,000 (1998 est.) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 5,523 km
broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran | Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 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:
adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995 domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long; local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity - Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus' 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 | 25,617 (end 1999) | 3,071,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12,676 (end 1999) | 1.118 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 publicly-owned station, some local low-power stations, and three AFRTS (US Air Force) stations (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 2.44 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (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) |