Guadeloupe (2001) | Belarus (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 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:
24.99% (male 55,030; female 52,722) 15-64 years: 66.22% (male 141,294; female 144,232) 65 years and over: 8.79% (male 15,901; female 21,991) (2001 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 | bananas, sugarcane, tropical fruits and vegetables; cattle, pigs, goats | grain, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, flax; beef, milk |
Airports | 9 (2000 est.) | 136 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2000 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:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 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:
1,780 sq km land: 1,706 sq km water: 74 sq km note: Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin |
total:
207,600 sq km land: 207,600 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 10 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Kansas |
Background | Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint-Martin is divided with the Netherlands (whose southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles). | 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 | 16.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$225 million expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
revenues:
$4 billion expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $180 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Basse-Terre | Minsk |
Climate | subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity | cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime |
Coastline | 306 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 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:
Department of Guadeloupe conventional short form: Guadeloupe local long form: Departement de la Guadeloupe local short form: Guadeloupe |
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 | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | Belarusian ruble (BYB/BYR) |
Death rate | 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.97 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 | none (overseas department of France) | 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 | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual French subsidies | $194.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the US; an increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands. The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France. Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy. | 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 | 1.209 billion kWh (1999) | 27.647 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 2.62 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 7.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.3 billion kWh (1999) | 24.911 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
99.9% hydro: 0.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Soufriere 1,467 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-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 | black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5% | Byelorussian 81.2%, Russian 11.4%, Polish, Ukrainian, and other 7.4% |
Exchange rates | Euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) | 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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean FEDINI (since NA 1996) head of government: President of the General Council Marcellin LUBETH (since NA March 1998); President of the Regional Council Lucette MICHAUX-CHEVRY (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils election results: NA |
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 | $140 million (f.o.b., 1997) | $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, sugar, rum | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | France 60%, Martinique 18%, US 4% (1997) | Russia 66%, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands, a narrow green band (top), a wide red band, and a narrow green band; the green bands are separated from the red band by two narrow white stripes; a gold five-pointed star is centered in the red band toward the hoist side; the flag of France is used for official occasions | 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 - $3.7 billion (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $78.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 17% services: 68% (1997 est.) |
agriculture:
13% industry: 46% services: 41% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 15 N, 61 35 W | 53 00 N, 28 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked |
Highways | total:
2,560 km paved: 965 km unpaved: 1,595 km (1996) |
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%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
4.9% highest 10%: 19.4% (1993) |
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 |
Imports | $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, fuels, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials | mineral products, machinery and equipment, metals, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 63%, Germany 4%, US 3%, Japan 2%, Netherlands Antilles 2% (1997) | Russia 54%, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Lithuania (1998) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | construction, cement, rum, sugar, tourism | metal-cutting machine tools, tractors, trucks, earth movers, motorcycles, television sets, chemical fibers, fertilizer, textiles, radios, refrigerators |
Infant mortality rate | 9.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 14.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 200% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | 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) | 3 (2000) | 4 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique | 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 | 125,900 (1997) | 4.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | industry and construction NA%, agriculture and forestry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
10.2 km border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 10.2 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:
14% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 14% forests and woodland: 39% other: 29% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
29% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 34% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official) 99%, Creole patois | Byelorussian, Russian, other |
Legal system | French legal system | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - diverse left parties 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, diverse right parties 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - RPR 48.03%, PS/PPDG/diverse left parties 24.49%, PCG 5.29%, diverse right parties 5.73%; seats by party - RPR 25, PS/PPDG/diverse left parties 12, PCG 2, diverse right parties 2 note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, FGPS 1; Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May - 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FGPS 2, RPR 1, PPDG 1 |
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:
77.16 years male: 74.01 years female: 80.48 years (2001 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: 90% male: 90% female: 90% (1982 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | Eastern Europe, east of Poland |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,240 GRT/109 DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French Forces, Gendarmerie | Army, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $156 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 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 | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | 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:
Guadeloupian(s) adjective: Guadeloupe |
noun:
Belarusian(s) adjective: Belarusian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere is an active volcano | NA |
Natural resources | cultivable land, beaches and climate that foster tourism | forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas |
Net migration rate | -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,470 km; refined products 1,100 km; natural gas 1,980 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG [Christian CELESTE]; Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG [Henri BANGOU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Aldo BLAISE]; Socialist Party or PS [Georges LOUISOR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Marcel ESDRAS] | 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 | Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG; General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G; General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG; Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI | NA |
Population | 431,170 (July 2001 est.) | 10,350,194 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 22% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.07% (2001 est.) | -0.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Basse-Terre, Gustavia (on Saint Barthelemy), Marigot, Pointe-a-Pitre | Mazyr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 28, FM 37, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | 113,000 (1997) | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
NA km; privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines |
total:
5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% | 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: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
domestic facilities inadequate domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Martinique |
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 | 171,000 (1996) | 2.313 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 8,167 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 47 (plus 27 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin | generally flat and contains much marshland |
Total fertility rate | 1.93 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.8% (1998) | 2.1% officially registered unemployed (December 2000); large number of underemployed workers |
Waterways | none | NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems |